Hey, guys! So fun fact: this chapter was initially going to be the ending of the previous chapter but I was tired of writing and wanted to get it out so I decided to turn that ending into its own thing. Besides, having these one-off chapters away from the episodes are always nice. Sorry it took so long to get out, I've been on a bit of a video game kick which was followed by a reading kick. I'll let you get to reading now. I don't own anything, Danny Phantom belongs to Nick. Enjoy!


Tell Her

The day recovering from their fight with the Ghost King was nice and peaceful. Sasha was pleased that she and Danny got some time off from the ghost hunting and got to have some nice conversations outside of that. Danny would ask her about her baking, favorite recipes along with if she discovered any new ones she wanted to try out. Sasha, in turn, would ask him about space and it's different constellations, knowing that he understood the science side and some of the stories the stars came with.

It was nice. But Sasha wasn't naive, knowing it wouldn't last. Her nice break ended upon hearing that Vlad was planning on heading home the next day. Not wanting him to get away so quickly, Sasha told her mom how nice it would be for Vlad to stop by their house before he left to which Zoe agreed and promptly invited him over.

Sasha waited up on the roof in her ghost form, watching for Vlad to come out of the Fenton's. There wasn't that long of a distance between the two houses, but she was determined to confront him before he could reach her front door. It was after lunch time that Vlad emerged, waving goodbye to the Fenton's as he left. Once the door was closed however Sasha took her chance, hoping off her roof and appearing right in front of Vlad. The man grabbed his chest in surprise.

"Oh! It's just you, my dear. You're… quite good with the element of surprise," Vlad said, on edge. He was hoping he could get out of Amity Park without another confrontation from the ghost girl.

"Years of experience," Sasha commented. "Here's the deal, Vlad. While I still don't trust you I'm not gonna go rat your secret out to my mom."

"That is very kind of you," Vlad said surprised.

"Because you're going to tell her yourself," Vlad went to protest but Sasha wasn't having it. "If you thought that I'd just let it slip by you're sorely mistaken. If you truly care about my mother, if what you said is true about hoping to have found a family you could be apart of, then you're telling her. Otherwise, I will."

Sasha stared Vlad down, and even though he was taller than her the daggers she was sending his way made him feel extremely small. He was sent back to those moments the days before when she confronted him. The look in her eyes, she could kill him. And after seeing the end of her and Danny's fight with Pariah Dark, he knew she had the power to do so.

All for her mother.

Vlad nodded. Sasha backed off a bit, stepping out of Vlad's path and ushered for him to go on. She made sure he headed inside her house before going intangible and heading upstairs to her room, not wanting to make her mom suspicious. After changing back into her human form Sasha hung back, allowing Vlad a moment alone with her mom while also being in earshot to make sure he told her.

o

Vlad gently knocked on the Lucas' door, feeling the most anxious he had in a while. He didn't want to reveal his ghost identity but he didn't want to lose Zoe. Vlad knew that if Sasha ended up telling Zoe than it would be the end. And the young girl wouldn't be gentle. Still, there was a fear that even if he told her he'd lose her anyway. He could only pray that wasn't the case. Zoe Lucas opened the door and smiled upon seeing her boyfriend.

"Hey, Vlad," Zoe said reaching up and giving him a kiss, causing Vlad to relax a little bit.

"Hello, dove," he greeted.

"Come on in," Zoe welcomed.

Vlad took up her offer and headed inside the house, slowly making his way into the hall.

"Sasha is up in her room. I'll go tell her that you're here, after all, it was her idea for you to visit before leaving," Zoe explained, and went to head upstairs.

"Before that, I was hoping to talk to you alone," Vlad interrupted, catching Zoe's shoulder. Zoe nodded and let Vlad usher her into the living room and over to the couch.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" Zoe asked.

"I've been keeping a secret from you. A secret that deals with a large portion of my life. Part of me was hoping that I would never have to tell you but recent events have convinced me otherwise," Vlad sighed. He opened his mouth to continued but nothing came out.

"Vlad, you can trust me," Zoe encouraged.

Sensing his nervousness she placed a gentle hand on his knee. Vlad looked down at Zoe's hand. She unintentionally made this harder.

"It's just… I'm not sure whether it would be better to show you or…," screwing his courage Vlad took hold of Zoe's hand and looked her in the eye. "Zoe, my dear, I am half ghost."

Zoe's eyes widened in surprise. Vlad himself waited, watching Zoe's face as she processed the information. He had felt her tense but she had yet to rip her hand out of his so it was going better than he expected. Upon seeing her eye refocus on his face Vlad himself tensed up.

"Sasha found out didn't she?" Zoe questioned.

"What?" Vlad asked in surprise.

"You wouldn't have told me about a secret this big unless Sasha found out, and that's most likely because Sasha threatened to tell me herself," Zoe explained, having figured it all out.

"You aren't frightened are you?" Vlad asked.

"I'm… still taking it in. Would you mind telling me how, it, happened?" Zoe replied.

Vlad let out a small sigh of relief after seeing that she was allowing him to continue the conversation. Still, the tension in the air had yet to settle.

"It was during junior year of university. I was working on a ghost portal prototype with Maddie and Jack. We each had a fascination of that world and bonded over it. The structure was complete but I had my doubts, something about the calculations not being correct. Maddie discovered my doubts to be true but Jack, in his foolishness, activated the portal while I was standing right in front of it. The prototype overloaded, blasting me in the face with ectoplasmic energy. I was diagnosed with an aggressive case of ecto-acne and spent years of my life recovering in the hospital. It was once I was completely healed that I discovered the true side effect from the blast. My DNA had been altered from the ectoplasm, turning me into a half-ghost," Vlad explained.

As Vlad finished, the living room fell to silence as Zoe took all his information in. Gentling removing her hand from Vlad's knee, Zoe sighed deeply and rubbed her face as if waking up. Vlad became nervous, his leg starting to bounce.

"Would you care to see my ghost side?" he asked.

"Another day perhaps," Zoe waved off. Another day, another sprig of hope. "So I'm guessing the accident is why you dislike Jack so much?"

"So you noticed," Vlad muttered.

"I believe my intelligence is high enough to pick up on how genuine your comments to Jack have been. I've also seen you tripping him," she replied.

"I'm… trying to be better. Old habits tend to die hard," Vlad said.

"If old habits die hard then let me ask you a question. When the Fright Knight grabbed Maddie and I, who were you referring to when you told him to let go of the woman you loved?" Zoe questioned.

Vlad's eyes widened in shock. "How…?"

"Like Maddie wouldn't have told me," Zoe said point blank.

Her eyes bore into him, waiting for Vlad to answer her. For the first time in years, shame washed over the man as he bowed his head, not feeling the strength to look her in the eyes.

"Both of you."

Zoe nodded, biting the inside of her cheek. Panic set in as Vlad got up off the couch and knelt down in front of her. There was a moment where he debated whether or not to take Zoe's hand in his but decided against it. He wasn't one to beg but for this woman, he would.

"Zoe, I promise you that with each day we've been together my affection for Maddie has evolved into something different. I believe I will always love her but it's becoming evident that will be out of friendship. It has taken me a while but I have learned it is futile to pine after a relationship that will never be. You've taught me that it's possible to love another person. Because I truly have fallen in love with you."

Vlad waited, watching her eyes take all of him in. His position in front of her, his words, his expression. After a deep sigh, Zoe gently took his hand in hers.

"Vlad, you fall fast and hard. With everything that's happened in my life I'm afraid I'm more so the slow and steady type," she informed him.

"So you don't love me back," Vlad asked.

"No," Zoe answered.

His heart had shattered once before with Maddie. Now, Zoe's words had caused it to break once more.

"I guess this means you never want to see me again," Vlad almost whispered.

"You need to stop jumping to extremes," Zoe told him, causing Vlad to look up in surprise. "People fall in love at different rates and as I just told you I'm the slow and steady kind. And while your admittance to your ghost side has set me a bit on edge, I'm still willing to pursue this."

A warmth spread throughout Vlad's body, the cracks in his heart repairing themselves. Overcome with emotion Vlad practically lept at Zoe, kissing her with a burning passion.

"I love… You are an amazing woman, Zoe Lucas," Vlad said, before going in for another kiss that caused Zoe to laugh.

o

From her spot hiding in the kitchen, Sasha leaned against the wall, having listened to their whole conversation in case things went south.

"She sure is," Sasha said to herself.

With the approval from her mother, Sasha would back off of Vlad. She was surprised that her mom was still giving the relationship a chance but that was her decision. Besides, she knew her mom would get out if Vlad started showing any concerning signs. And if that ever happened Sasha would be there to deal with him.


Thanks for reading. Be sure to leave me a review and a crazy "So Tell Me About Yourself" answer. And be sure to check out my profile for character designs and my writing schedule.

"So Tell Me About Yourself" is an inside joke between me and my friends which started from my one friend's hatred for the typical getting-to-know-you question "So tell me about yourself". She, being so annoyed with the phrase, gave a silly answer that she murdered people in their sleep. When she brought it back to me and my other friend we both gave a silly answer. That is where the idea for my account name came from.