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.

The mistake was not running away.

I actually had no clue what had even possessed me to stay on that day - perhaps it was the length at which I had fought that wolf and how much energy it had sapped out of me. Perhaps it was the abrupt nature of which she approached me, and her incessant pleading for me to stay and at least, talk. Or perhaps it was because that wound was still fresh in my mind.

Once I had captured the wolf in my thermos, I should've known the drill - just get outta there, go back home, release it back into the portal, go back to bed, tuck myself in again and cry myself to sleep once more. And of course, I should've known it was natural - habitual at this point even - for Paulina to approach me again - her expression just as smitten and imbued with adoration as it always was. I could never refuse her - I mean, it had always been a dream to even so much as to be noticed by her, let alone get noticed in such a light that only existed in my fantasies, so the only way I knew how was to fly away.

It was always the same thing that she would say - to ask to talk, or ask for an autograph, or ask for a picture, or ask for-

"Let me repay you, ghost boy," she cooed amorably, "How about I treat you to a meal? How about a date? All the boys would give up their right eyeball for a date with me, that should be valuable for you, right?"

Like I said, I could never refuse her. And for her to ask right now, when I was at my lowest, or lowest at the time at least, point? When I needed some rebound like this the most? It really was the awkwardness of the situation, the suddenness of which she asked me, that was pretty much the major thing keeping me from saying, yes, of course I would, do you have any idea how long I've wanted this?

"P-Pau, I-... no, I have to g-, let me think about it, okay?" were the words that I had managed to stammer out, like an idiot. "You-... are you sure you're not hurt? You need me to call an ambulance or something, I could dial it on your phone if you-"

"Danny!" Thank God for Sam and Tucker, rescuing me from that point of awkwardness. The wave of relief that cleansed me when I saw them run over to me was like none other.

"Danny, the coast is clear, what're you still doing here? We're done here, let's just go back home so we c- oh." Sam's words that had galloped out of her mouth at record pace at that point, before grinding to a screeching, deadpan halt. "It's you."

"'It's you'?" Paulina repeated back at her venomously. "I was here first: can't you see I'm talking with the ghost boy? Get in line."

Sam pursed her lips into a maddeningly thin line, her eyes so wide they threatened to pop out of her sockets. I wondered how strong the temptation to just tell her her affiliation with me and give the jig up was. Did it ever flare up as much as mine? Her irises flickered towards me repeatedly, as if silently begging for me to just go invisible and fly home. That would've been the smart move, after all.

"Danny," Tucker started, trying to ignore them. "Do you… need a moment? I- Sam and I just wanted to check with you if you're fine, and uh-... if you wanna speak wi-"

"Y-yeah," I blurted out unthinkingly. "You guys get on ahead, I- uh, I just-... I was-"

"Danny, can't you just go?" Sam raised her voice pointedly, her tone more incredulous - a point that I myself should have taken to know that my time was up. "I don't understand what needs to be said here, and you-... you really shouldn't be here, given the headspace you're in."

Paulina scoffed in rebuke, now staring at my friends like they had thrown mud at her face. "Oh look who's talking!" She placed her hands on her hips. "Now I understand how you're such losers - how can you be so illiterate to the room, to not know when you're not needed?"

I didn't have to take a glance at Sam and Tucker's expressions to know just how taken aback they were by this flare of hostility - Sam in a more reciprocally hostile, furious state than Tucker's more contemplatively confused state.

"And why are you still standing there, staring at me?" She continued to jab. "Can't you just leave us for just a moment? You are ruining this for me, you realize that? Go on!"

I actually had no idea what possessed me to react in the way that I had. Obviously the protectiveness of my friends played a major portion - but never had I had such a visceral reaction to Paulina's usual, cold, snobby attitude. Perhaps it had been just a mix of the trauma and the pressure that had mounted on me. But nevertheless, some part of me snapped right in that moment, and for the first time…

"Shut up."

"W-... what?"

"Will you just shut the hell up!" I yelled, stamping my feet on the ground with a sharp thud and startling even Sam and Tucker, who took a step back and widened their eyes at me upon hearing my outburst. I was sure that my face was completely onyx black in fury, my hands curled up into tense claws as I glared at Paulina, completely livid.

When I saw Paulina's face, I knew it was too late - there it was, the stunned, near-devastated, melancholy-tinged expression that marred her face made me know that it had been too far. At that point of time, it hadn't even crossed my mind that I was speaking to the girl that I had been in love with for a while now.

At that point of time, a very ephemeral thought came as quickly as it went - surely any love that she may have had at that moment would have been shattered into smithereens. And perhaps there went any fantasy of being with her at all, any of the fantasies that drifted through my head at night and filled me with oxytocin.

Well, I thought to myself. In that case, perhaps it would serve well to at least give a piece of my mind.

"How dare you," I spat. "How dare you treat other people like that, while claiming to idolize me. How can you think you're even close to worthy of my attention when you treat people without even the smallest lick of compassion? And I'm supposed to be your hero?"

"I-…" she could only stammer meaninglessly. "But I-"

"Paulina," I said in a low voice, addressing her by name. "Perhaps if you want to repay me somehow - how about you start actually treating people like people. And get off your high horse to actually show some compassion for once in your life."

I shook my head, my grip around the thermos tightening. I don't know why at that point was when my flight instinct kicked in - and so I left her with some last words before flying off into the distance.

"I wish you would change, Paulina. It'd be easier if you did."

Looking back at this moment made me know just how deeply unjustified this was - here I was, years later unable to live up to the mantle of the idol and hero that had been engraved in Paulina's psyche. How hypocritical was I, anyway, to tell her what to do when I couldn't even walk my own walk? Who was I, anyway, to tell someone how to live? Of course at that point of time she had been harassing my friends…but to tell her to be kinder from then, who was I kidding?

But… strange and as serendipitous as it was, her process had been gradual. The frequency at which she continued to transgress us and step on our toes started to dip. The attitude that she had displayed towards others grew more passive. And then her expressions when people like Dash continued to rag on me started to transition from smug glee, to a clearly feigned happiness, to indifference, and then to just even the thinnest slivers of sympathy.

"You want to visit the nurse?" She asked me, with just the smallest, most infinitesimal amount of concern in her voice, as she extended a hand in front of me. Her eyes remained peeled on Dash, Kwan, the rest of the jocks who were too busy laughing at some dumb attempt at comedy one of them had made to notice her.

"Wha-? No. I'm good." I didn't have the heart to tell her the bruises and cuts on my palms had not been from the fall I took when tripped by a human foot. Nevertheless, I took her hand after some hesitation and pulled myself up.

"Don't be stupid," she hissed ever so quietly, her feet taking tentative steps back to the huddle of the clique that she had practically been absorbed into. "See the nurse if you're injured."

Before I could reply, she had already transitioned effortlessly into laughing along with the rest of her friends, before she lilted away and followed them as they moved on to their next target. It was sad to say, but in my human form, at that point of time, it was the nicest thing that she had ever done for me, in all the time that our paths had crossed.

Obviously the impetus might not have just been me. But it was too unlikely for it not to be, wasn't it? And at that point of time, I really could not help but feel that maybe, just maybe, her feelings for me ran deeper that just a 'stupid crush' that Sam had often labelled it to be.

Perhaps she was actually willing to change, whether she knew she was being watched or not.

So… why couldn't I?

Paulina stared at her watch, her eyes lingering at her watch face a touch too long, and she pursed her lips. Her feet began to tap on the linoleum at a rapid staccato pace.

"10 minutes," she sighed, her fingers fiddling with the edge of her iron-pressed blouse. "I really hope he didn't forget."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Relax, Paulina, I'm sure he'll show up."

She made a dismayed sound, and turned to me in annoyance. "How would you know, anyway? Do you have any contact with him?"

"If you're more doubtful than I am, I suppose I have more faith in his dutifulness and sense of responsibility than you do," I presumed aloud, which only served to annoy her further.

"You realize how screwed we are if he doesn't come, right?" She pressed. I hunched a little further, my arms wrapping around my stomach. Long game, Danny. "Not only is your effort of getting this slot wasted, you know what they will say when we've wasted their time? They can't help him, they can't do anything, they'll probably gossip about how he can't meet appointments…"

I wished I could be there to pacify her - I was now her boyfriend, after all, wouldn't it have been more responsible to be there for her when she was troubled? All I could do was try as me - well, the actual, human side of me, at least, merely her employee of sorts on her way to clear my name. And yet, I had to simultaneously ensure that she couldn't put two and two together - calling me by my name was already quite a conundrum, how we both shared the same names and had the same appearance, but not like she nor anybody else had ever come to that epiphany, anyway. It pained me to be this selfish, to have to hide my identity from her secondarily to protect her and primarily to prevent her two conflicting impressions of me from ever connecting.

"Danny, did you even listen to me?" she raised her voice at me, startling me back to reality. "You don't realize, do you? How important this interview is?"

"I'm not as daft as you think, Paulina," I defended myself.

"I didn't imply that, Danny."

"I know the consequences. But still, I know he's going to come. I know he will. He's always come through for you, hasn't he?"

"Well… that goes without saying."

"If he can save your life all the time, then surely he can - ack, sorry, my stomach - he can come for this, can he? I'm sure he won't let you down now."

She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes in meditation, before exhaling. "I suppose you're right," she said. "Still doesn't mean that I'm not worried."

"I get it," I empathize. "I think you just have to have faith."

"5 minutes," a producer shouted into our waiting room, as he passed by. He glanced over, frowning. "He's still not here?"

Paulina and I exchanged glances, and the producer groaned deeply. "You do know what happened to Wally Miller when he was a couple of minutes late right? Luke's not a patient man, and the back-up's been here 20 minutes already. 4 more minutes, your spot's up, capiche?"

He left before either of us could answer; Paulina jolted up, her eyes slightly widened. "God, I wish he would just listen, honestly," she blurted. "This is why I need his number, literally for times like this."

I frowned; she knew as much as I did why I couldn't do that. "But wouldn't that just mean you could trace back to him as a human?"

"I mean… yes, but also… gah, even an email address? Can't one of those pagers work too? Or I should just - I should really just buy a new phone for him or something," she muttered, and I clenched my jaw. The urge to tell her how unnecessary that was flared within me, but I pincered my tongue with my teeth.

"That might… be traceable, I think," I muttered back weakly. I took a look at the wall clock, and winced, making a pained whimper and sucking my breath in between clenched teeth.

"Are you okay, F-, Danny?" Paulina asked with a pinch of sympathy, finally taking the bait. "Did you eat something funny?"

"Must've been dinner yesterday," I feigned choking out. "Bathroom, okay? The passes are on the table, if I'm still stuck there."

"O-okay-"

The words had barely left her mouth before I was out the door, and immediately I felt the pang of guilt stab me. It seemed like even with this, there was still an air gap, one that prevented me from being useful when I was actually myself. I slammed the cubicle door behind me in frustration, letting the smack of the wood against the plastic frame reverberate through the empty bathroom. I pressed the lock and closed my eyes, transforming into my better and worse self.

Of course, heading to that island was one of the surefire ways that she could find me, but like she had mentioned, there was something remarkably and tragically one-sided about this. She gave me her address, her number (not that I had needed it anyway), it was like she could show her most intimate side to me and be available for me. The number of details she had disclosed with me privately - how she had been fading away from cheerleading and wanting to enter fashion, or how she was considering taking pills to help with her attention in class to get the grades she needed for her desired college - they were details that I knew there was nothing I could reciprocate with her.

Why was I still, irrevocably, closer to her, yet further away?

And yet she still wanted me, even wanted to get me another whole phone, just so she could reach me. It felt cruel, to have to say no, to make myself untraceable just to protect myself. Nobody was winning here. What if this barrier could have been knocked down too? Would she be okay to know that I was someone she despised at worst, tolerated at best, in real life? Even if she did tell me yes… it was difficult for me to reason that that would always be the case in the end.

I phased through the walls, lingering a little just outside our waiting room. Who knew what this interview would entail? Yesterday I had been pacing my floor practically until a rut had formed, trying to rehearse questions with Jasmine, hair pulled to the point that strands of jet-black were probably still nestled in corners of the room. But at this point, all that nervousness had dissipated, unfortunately assumed now by Paulina, and yet, it had replaced itself with something else within me. Impatience. Selfishness.

Avarice.

I entered the room, instantly catching Paulina's attention. But before she could say a word, I walked to the door, shutting and locking it, and strode over to her, and took her lips forcefully with mine.

I brought my hand up to her chin, gently but firmly squeezing, roughly exerting on her body against the wall. I kissed her ravenously, every movement of my lips and hands erratic, barely even taking any moment of respite to breathe. I could feel the blood rush to my head, a tinny whistling noise vibrating around my ears, my breathing now at a galloping pace as my body begged for oxygen. I growled animalistically, as if my soul was becoming full with euphoria; it only made me crave her more.

I heard her breath hitch, as my hands roamed south, making their way beneath her blouse, my fingers delicately tracing her scorching skin. Her eyes flew open, filled with desperation and desire. "W-what, Dannyy..., not nowww, please..." she moaned in pleading, her quivering lips parted slightly. Wordlessly, I cupped her breasts in my hands, kneading against the thin fabric of her bra. Paulina's head tilted upwards and she let out a pleasured moan as I worked my way with her, sliding under her bra and feeling her skin burn against mine. It surprised me how soft they were, how almost malleable and sensitive they were in my hands: my finger had only barely touched her nipple and a surprised gasp left her mouth.

"Danny!" she exclaimed. "Danny, no, please, not the- time!"

"I'm sorry Paulina, I needed this," I whispered hungrily into her ear. I could feel her skin form goosebumps. "Or do you not want this either? "

"I do! I mean… I do, but right now?... C-come on, Danny, please…"

"Okay," I chuckled. It felt so unspeakably gratifying to be able to yield this over the very woman that I had been pining for for ages. All the worries about abuse, and about the thin invisible barrier between us, faded away instantly, all that was remaining was a state of reverie in my head.

I quickly unlocked the door after the quick rapping of a fist on it, and the producer opened once more. He frowned in irritation upon exchanging glances with me, eying me up and down. "You sure love to make people wait, huh. Are you really going to wear that?"

Paulina turned around in irk. "This is his hero outfit and how everyone can recognize him, of course that's what he's wearing."

He rolled her eyes. "Whatever, you're on right now. Whenever you're ready."

Paulina nodded at me, and even without words I could feel her place her faith in me. "You can do it."

I smiled back at her. "I dunno about that, but when you say that I feel like that's true."

She leaned forward, as if about to kiss me again, but her eyes caught the producer, who stared at us irritably, and she retracted herself. "Go get 'em tiger."

I let out a gruff chuckle, my cheeks feeling slightly warmer. Before I could reply, I heard a clearing of a throat; I nodded, and quickly ushered myself out.