Disclaimer: Danny Phantom, the world set within it, and the characters in it are not owned by me - that privilege belongs not only to Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon, but also just as importantly to the vast team of co-writers, co-directors, animators and all other staff who laboured over its creation and development. Without their efforts this fanfiction would not exist, and neither would a good portion of what struck me in the first place in one of the most childhood-defining cartoons in my life.

My first instinct was to reject the sight right in front of my eyes. Surely this must have been an illusion, or some trick that she had orchestrated. I turned to her, blinking my eyes rapidly with a surprised smile. "Did… surely you didn't just… are these all real?"

"Their social media posts were all from the previous days," she stated jubilantly, scrolling through her phone and showing me screenshots of their posts and their timelines themselves. Some from just the few days ago since the incident but some dating back several months. Some detailing the admiration in some of the acts I had done, some just straight up praise. No edited markers, no Photoshop. I kept refreshing the pages, retyping some into different browsers - no HTML mock-ups either. These were real.

"How… how did you even…"

"My papi knows people," she grinned. "You pay a good enough investigator enough dough, finding other people's personal details is as easy as finding water in the ocean."

I rubbed my eyes. "Even so… surely this must be a dream. If this isn't some scheme you've hatched then surely it must be, given this number of people who have faith in a devil..."

"These posts are right there for you to see, aren't they? Don't you trust me?"

I pursed my lips. She was the exact same person, and yet there was nothing that would shake off the difference in mannerisms between her around me, the actual factual me, and the heroic villain that I was now. It was difficult to imagine this same Paulina who, 4 years ago, pranked me on Valentine's Day with a fake confession, or this same Paulina who saw me hiding from Dash and immediately yelled for him, was the same Paulina who would do something this altruistic for me. Did I really trust her?

The hesitation spoke a thousand words; she frowned in dismay. "Aw come on Danny… didn't I literally confess my love to you back then?"

"It's hard to separate the context that I had almost committed suicide away before that," I confessed. "The possibility of ulterior motives behind your words is just undeniable."

"If I didn't love you, or at least cared enough for you, would I have even tried to stop you?"

"..."

"I love you, Danny. And I have always loved you, from the start."

I shook my head. How was that love, to be so superficial to blossom at first sight? That was clearly not how love worked. "In that case, I suppose love is whatever you say it is," I muttered.

"Anyhow… I'd like to know. What're you thinking about right now?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"Meaning… don't you see that not everyone on this wretched earth is a blind demon?"

I chuckled humourlessly. "Well, even assuming that you didn't just pay off these poor souls to sweet talk me on camera, there's no shadow of doubt that this is a minority after all, isn't it? Surely there were more bad posts than good overall; there was no doubt that these were simply just cherry picked. Just turn on the news and see what literally everybody is saying about me."

"Didn't you think that there was nobody else, essentially, before this?"

"Well…"

"I had the same thought, you know. But then digging around and getting support from people turned out easier than I'd expected. I even managed to get a few people in my school to sign a letter."

The epiphany struck me like lightning - of course this was what it was. This is what she approached me this morning about as well - asking me to help her pass around the petition around school. It was surprising to me as well that I had managed to get a couple more signatures than I had thought, even one from one of the popular kids. I hadn't really thought twice about it, thinking that obviously this was something she wanted to affirm to herself and help her sleep at night that there was more support than we'd been letting on. But for it to boomerang back to me...

"I don't know what to say," I admitted, my fingers curling around her hand that was clutching the phone. "Other than… I guess, thank you."

She grinned at me. "De nada, mi héroe," she trilled, clearly satisfied. "I thought you would at least get the boost of confidence."

"So… what now?"

"Well, I've asked one of the guys in my school to get a website up and running," she said, pacing along with me on the sand. "If we can get it to spread awareness… maybe we can get someone in the public to clear your name. Surely a bystander must've caught the footage - it was an extended fight after all."

I bit my lip again; I had forgotten to relay to Tucker this request from her. I'd have to do it after this. "Don't you think if someone had the footage they'd release it by now?"

"Who's to say? Maybe not." It wasn't impossible, this scenario that she threw up in the air. "I think the best we can do is wait and see. But maybe you'd have to get press coverage…"

I pressed my palm onto my right temple. "That sounds like an excellent way to get me killed," I thought aloud, pessimistic.

She rolled her eyes. "We'd get a channel that'd at least be neutral about it. Maybe even supportive. But otherwise I find it tough to find another avenue to get something out there."

I inhaled deeply, letting the familiar sea breeze fill my lungs again. "I don't understand, Paulina," I disclosed, scowling. "I think you realize as much as I do, I mean, to sugarcoat this, I'm in deep, deep shit. I need to know - is it really worth dragging yourself into this mess? I say this 'cos… well, I care about your well-being. I don't want you to get hurt doing something for me when you might regret it in the future."

"Danny I-... I appreciate it," she started, slightly sheepish, her cheeks sporting a redder chromatic. "But you know, I care for your well-being as well. And you know that I'm just putting that lightly. Besides, after all you've done for me, this is just small in comparison."

"I just hope you know what you're getting into," I sighed. I dug my heels into the sand restlessly, letting the crunch of the gravel ring like music to my ears. I really needed something like this, just some tranquil getaway that would anesthetize me from the weight of the world.

"Could I change the subject?" she muttered softly, her eyes averting slightly away from me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead."

"Why have you been coming here?"

I shot her an accusing, defensive look, but I could feel my cheeks heat up slightly, like embers being lit near my face. "What do you mean? I was here first! I've been here first. Maybe I just wanted to be alone from civilization. In fact, I should be asking you that."

"Isn't it obvious?" she smirked. "I followed you the first few times. Hard to miss the green streak in the sky, after all."

I pouted. "Stalker," I jokingly muttered.

"Hey, I take offense to that." She nudged me playfully at my rib cage. "Besides, why would you think I was stalking you, anyway? You showed up here twice now, at the same spot, at the same time as the last. And even if you just wanted to be here for the sake of it, you've been coming here quite conspicuously too. So again, what brings you here?"

I groaned. I ran a hand through my silver hair, clutching my fingers slightly. I had always thought it to be serendipitous, that she had managed to catch me here, not once, but twice as it is. Even if she had stalked me here the first time - what about the second? Was it another pursuit, or was it an extrapolation of my location?

I supposed now this was our secret oasis now, shrouded from society, just the two of us in the world. But of course... there was something else.

"Why do you want to know, anyway?" I queried defensively again, making no effort to mask the exasperation and sense of defeat in my voice.

"I'm just curious is all. If you wanted to be truly alone, you'd have avoided me."

"I mean… I would have just disappeared right now if I didn't want to spend that time with you, you know?"

Her smile grew even further. "But you're not disappearing right now," she pointed out.

I smiled joylessly in defeat. "I'm not."

"I just wanted to confirm it for myself," she said, her voice soft as silk now, her posture now leaning more towards me. Her teal blue eyes glimmered radiantly in the moonlight, staring up at me. "That perhaps, you've been coming here - because you wanted to see me?"

My heart skipped a beat, and I let out a chuckle to myself. What an insistent woman. Were these the charms that she used when she wanted other guys to fall for her? How fortuitous was it that her feelings were reciprocated, right here in this spot?

"I just didn't want to leave my biggest fan hanging," I laughed off, putting up the best nonchalant act I could. "What if she got in trouble? Then I wouldn't see her pretty face anymore for the rest of my life! What a sad fate."

"Then you'd rescue her," she declared with firm conviction. She inched closer to me now, clinging onto my right arm. "As you always would. But to hear that you at least want to see me - I mean, I couldn't be happier if I wanted to."

She grinned with a contagious elation that I couldn't help but also smile at. I wanted so bad to let my guard down, to just discard away any responsibilities or ethics that came with being a hero. And that desire had been dormant, of course, bubbling away like the air in carbonated water, but today it felt stronger than ever, coming up to a boiling point.

I turned my face away, playfully trying to wrangle her free, but in reality savouring the time that my arms were spent wrapped around her. She was so warm, and soft. Touching her was so unfamiliar yet so familiar at the same time.

"Ahhhh whatever helps you sleep at night," I relented.

Her giggles seemed to be endless. I really wasn't sure whether to make the effort to conceal the happiness from her, or whether or not to let go in front of her. The overall bliss that she had been showing to me this whole time was so infectious that it probably didn't matter, and I could feel the corners of my mouth stretch back, flashing my teeth as I laughed with her as well.

"But I'm just glad that I could continue to spend time with you… Danny," she whispered, her fingers entangling with mine. Inside of me, a small part of my being was so indignant. This was such a simple problem - if she liked me, and I liked her back, why was there a need to hold up this pretense or pretend like there was some invisible wall separating the two of us? If only she actually liked me for me. It was so close, yet so far away. The most frustrating air gap known to mankind, and more.

"Paulina?" I asked pensively.

"Yes?"

"Do you really love me?"

"What?" Her voice bordered on ludicrous. "Of course I love you! I've been telling you that almost the moment our eyes met, and you know it."

"But you don't have any clue who I am. Do you?"

Her facial expression popped like a balloon. "What do you mean?"

"Do you know my actual name? My actual, human, born-with name?"

She opened her mouth briefly, but shut it when she was devoid of an answer, scowling deeply. "No."

"Then how can you say that you love me?" I sighed. "You don't even know my name, who I actually am. What if I was an ugly old man who used this appearance as a guise? What if I was secretly a serial killer and doing these acts as a selfish way to ease the guilt? What if I was someone you hated personally, maybe in school, one of those losers that gets picked on by the whole school or one of those popular kids who kept spreading gossip about you?"

"That's-"

"Would you still love me, even if those were true?" I asked, trying not to be accusatory. Because, God knows, I wanted her to say yes. "Would you still be okay with me like that?"

She frowned, her eyes now darting downwards, but her fingers curling around mine tighter. Instinctively, I pulled her closer to me, now embracing her, as if begging her to say yes. My heart was racing at what seemed like a million miles per hour, and I could feel myself trembling, and not from the frigid air that wafted along the shore.

"I know… I know that you're good, Danny," she said. "I know that you're kind, you're brave, you just want to do the best you can, for the world, for me. And I don't care, that's way more than enough for me. I mean, maybe I would've cared about what you looked like or who you really were in the past, but now, I -... I find it difficult to really give a damn."

"Even if I was just ugly as hell?"

She shook her head. "Wouldn't care a bit. I'd still be madly in love."

"If I was the kind of person to eat my boogers in public?"

"That's a breakable habit."

I laughed heartily. "Not false, I suppose. And even if I was just some loser?"

"If you're out here trying to be the best person for this city, you're not a loser."

I rested my head next to hers, inhaling the scent of her once more. She wore a perfume today, something rosy or lightly floral with the most subtle of mint. If I were honest though, I wished I could smell her familiar mixture of vanilla, saffron, orange all day.

"I wish I knew for certain," I offered weakly, and she wrapped her arms around me in response.

"I'm okay with this though, you know that, Danny? I know why you can't tell me who you are… even if we're close like this. But that's okay with me. And even for as long as that knowledge has to evade me, I'd always love you."

I let one of my shackles free; I pressed my lips softly against her temple, letting the heat of her skin ignite my lips. Around my arms I felt her freeze up, to my dismay, her muscles tensing - but almost immediately, her arms pulled me closer to her and part of her weight rested on me, and said dismay gave way into satisfaction. Maybe it was really time to create my own happily ever after. If this world was going to continue to throw these barrages at me… and there was nothing I could do to stop them, what was the point of also preventing myself from succumbing to my hedonistic desires? Perhaps it would be better to just give in.

"You'd need to wait," I cautioned her, and I could glimpse her nod at the periphery of my vision.

"Take all the time you need. All the weeks, months… if you need it to be, years, to figure that out."

Or days? Hours? Minutes? Seconds?

I took her hands in mine, and savoured the soft feeling of her skin beneath my gloves. If I had to hazard a guess, the barrier between us was already probably thinner than that now.