Whoo! I'm still kicking!
"Who the heck is that?!"
Elsa and Sam both ducked onto the ground as two figures zoomed overhead. Elsa watched as the girl dressed in red fired at Danny from her hoverboard. "That would be Valerie," Sam said with a look on her face, "She's always had an eye for ghosts, Danny especially."
They ducked behind the counter at the mall food court as Danny was blasted back into it. "Huh," Elsa quirked a brow, "I knew Valerie didn't like Phantom. But I never would've thought she would want to hurt him."
It had been the standard ghost attack. Someone showed up and began to terrorize everyone and Danny had to spring into action. Elsa had been astonished that, when the fight was over, someone else showed up and picked a fight with him.
"This is the first time in a while she's showed up," Sam observed, "Not only does she not like Danny but she's also pretty vigilant when it comes to other ghost hunting."
Danny suddenly appeared beside them and changed back into Fenton. Valerie flew over to them and peeked over the counter. After she mumbled a few words to herself, she flew out of the wrecked mall, leaving the three alone.
Danny let out a sigh of relief as Elsa laid a hand on his shoulder. "Danny?" she asked, "Are you alright?"
"Never been better," he gave her a small reassuring smile.
She blinked back at him, "Why did you never mention Valerie before?" Danny glanced at Sam, who merely shrugged.
"Look Elsa, she was one of your first friends here. I didn't want you to resent her. She doesn't know who I am."
"But didn't it worry you?" Elsa asked with big eyes, "Your girlfriend is best friends with one of your enemies. If I had known I wouldn't have-"
"Wouldn't have what Elsa?" he cut her off with a soft look, "I can't ask you to not be friends with someone. Besides, Valerie is my friend too," he gave her a small smile, "You're not the first one to bond with the enemy here."
She shook her head at him and gave him a soft laugh. Sam smiled at the interaction, "I'll leave you two to it. I've got to be getting home anyways." With that, the goth stood and climbed back over the counter, exiting the mall.
"So," Danny offered her his hand and he changed back into Phantom, "Need a ride?"
"No," she smiled as she took it and he scooped her up into his arms, "But I'd love one."
He laughed as he launched up through the roof. Once outside, he made his way back to her house. Elsa sighed in content at the view below her. The sun was just beginning to set and the different shades of light washed over the rooftops below them. This is one of her favorite parts about dating Danny. Up here it was just him and her. They didn't need to talk or make conversation. They could just take in the view in a comfortable silence. Granted, she would still like him even if he didn't have ghost powers but it was a part of who he was. And getting to snuggle up in his shoulder wasn't a bad thing either.
"Are your parents home?" he asked. Elsa didn't answer, too comfortable in his arms to look up. She shook her head no and he laughed at her. "Alright, balcony it is."
She pouted when she felt him land, tightening her grip around his neck to indicate that she did not, in fact, want to let go. He laughed again, "As much as I would love to stay like this all night, I do have a curfew and the town won't patrol itself."
"Alright fine," Elsa let him set her down. "Go be a hero or whatever," she sighed and rolled her eyes playfully.
An arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back to him. "Your hero," he clarified before giving her a kiss.
Elsa smiled and pulled away. She chewed her bottom lip as something came to mind, "Danny? Would you mind if I talked to Valerie?" Seeing his concerned face, she continued, "She won't know your secret, I promise. But maybe I can try and convince her that you're not the worst threat."
He looked a little uneasy, "Fine, but just be careful okay? I don't want you to get roped into any of this."
"Danny please," she huffed before speaking in a gentler tone, "I want to help you. One less problem to deal with can't be all that bad. I just want to try."
He smiled at her, "I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you," she gave him a kiss on the cheek before he took off into the darkening sky.
"Valerie?" Elsa approached the girl after school that day.
Said girl smiled back at her, "Hey Elsa. What's up?"
Elsa found herself chewing on her bottom lip again. "I, uh," she began, "Valerie I'm worried about you." Seeing her friend's confused expression, she went on, "I-I'm seeing less and less of you. You seem tired, your grades are dipping a bit."
"So," came her harsh reply, "What's it matter to you?"
Elsa was taken back by the defensive attitude, "I-I just wanna know if you're okay."
Valerie softened at the big blue eyes that blinked at her. "I'm sorry Elsa," she shook her head, "I've been under a lot of stress."
Elsa hugged her books closer to herself, "Anything you wanna talk about?"
"Not really," Valerie answered.
"I see," Elsa seemed a little disheartened before she gave her friend a weak smile, "Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, you know you can always come to me." With that, Elsa turned and left Valerie alone.
After that, Elsa's concern had stayed with Valerie. Elsa was her best friend yet, she didn't know her secret. Was she really ready to reveal a secret that big to someone? Well her dad knew, but other than that, she had never told anyone else. Elsa was her best friend and had been for almost a year now, never once turning her back on her even when the A-listers gave her attention.
Don't get the wrong idea, Valerie trusted Elsa. But a secret this big that you've been keeping to yourself for a long time can be hard to admit. Which is why Valerie waited almost a week to tell Elsa.
"Now you have to promise you won't freak out," Valerie urged her, "And you can't tell anyone."
With a firm nod, Valerie revealed her secret to her friend, who, coincidentally, already knew. After that, the two were closer than ever. Whenever Elsa wasn't with Danny, Sam or Tucker, you could guarantee she was with Valerie. It took another few weeks for Valerie to be completely open with her friend.
"It's not the Ritz but it's home," Valerie joked, leading her friend into her and her dad's apartment.
"It's lovely Valerie. Don't worry about it," Elsa smiled as her friend led her to her room. But the blonde paused in the doorway. Plastered all over the walls were not only classifications of ghosts, but almost all of them were Danny. "I take it you're not a fan of Phantom?" she asked tentatively.
"That's putting it mildly," Valerie frowned, tossing her bag on her bed, "That ghost's caused me nothing but trouble. I can't wait until he's gone and out of the way."
Seeing her friend beginning to seethe with anger, Elsa decide that the topic of Danny could wait. They worked well into the night on their project for history. As they began to pack up their things, Elsa tentatively spoke, "Valerie? Can… Can I pry about your ghost hunting for a moment?"
"Pry away," Valerie offered.
"Well," Elsa looked shyly up at her friend, "Why do you hate Danny Phantom so much? I mean, sure he's done some stuff in the past and made a nuisance of himself-"
"He ruined my life," Valerie cut her off, "He's the reason my dad was fired, the reason I live in this hole in the wall, the reason my life was turned upside down."
Elsa quirked a brow, "But did he ever hurt you intentionally? I might not have been here but I know that he messed up in the past. As much damage as he's done, he's done a lot to help people when he could easily turn a blind eye and let us fend for ourselves. He has to hold back in fights with you cause he doesn't want to hurt anyone."
"What do you know?" Valerie snapped, crossing her arms over her chest, "It's not like you know him. You only just found out about me a week ago so mind your own business."
The dark skinned girl's temper had shown itself again and Elsa was, again, the brunt of the attack. The blonde didn't mean to offend her friend. She was only trying to help not only Danny but Valerie too. "Okay," she answered in a small voice, standing with her bag, "I-I guess I'll see myself out."
As Elsa made her way to the door, Valerie's glare softened, "Elsa… wait."
"It's okay. I'll get out of your hair. I'll mind my own business. But just remember," Elsa spared Valerie a glance, "He's only around for so long. Who better to ghost hunt than a ghost?"
Those words had stuck with her as the days passed. Their distance was a shock to everyone around them, considering how close they had been before. Valerie was so frustrated she couldn't even properly focus on anything anymore. But as much as much as she wanted to blame Elsa, she wasn't mad at her but at herself. She shouldn't have snapped at her friend like that but the ghost kid was recently making himself a nuisance again. Add that to her grades dropping, not to mention high school itself. She's been under a lot of pressure. Which was why she was so eager to jump into action when Danny Phantom attacked the school.
Little did she know that Skulker had paid Danny a nice little visit today at three. He had just finished capping the thermos when he saw the familiar red suit out of the corner of his eye. "Oh come on," he huffed before he began to dodge the purple ecto-rays that were fired at him.
"So," Sam spoke from beside Elsa as they both paused to watched the fight unfold on the school grounds, "How's the 'get Valerie to be pro-Phantom' campaign going?"
Elsa gave Sam a look then gestured to the fight, "How do you think?"
Danny zoomed left and right to avoid all kinds of blasts and weapons. He could tell Valerie must've been very riled up to be able to carry out a fight this long. Usually he would be able to evade her but at every open window, she was quick to ensure he didn't have a chance.
But it was one particular shot that he dodged when he heard the cry of a familiar voice. Please tell me it's not her, was his immediate thought before he turned and looked down to find her laying near a bush on the school ground, her clothes smoldering the same pink color as the ghost hunter's ecto-rays.
Without even giving his opponent a second glance, he zoomed down to her, taking her in his arms as soon as he could. "Elsa?" he asked, "Elsa, please tell me you're okay." A slight nod and a soft groan that fell from her lips offered him some comfort and his shoulders relaxed in relief. She was okay, maybe a little scuffed up but nothing serious.
His eyes snapped open when he heard a hover board near them. He turned to see Valerie stepping down onto the the ground, barely able to make out the horrified expression behind her mask. His eyes narrowed and he pulled the blonde closer to him. "Haven't you done enough?" he warned her with a dark expression, "Stay away."
Valerie paused mid step, registering the look on Phantom's face. For the first time ever, he looked… menacing, like he could actually hurt someone. Like he was ready to hurt her if the need arose.
But did he ever hurt you intentionally?
No. Not once. Not ever. He had never done anything evil or immoral. Her heart sunk as, even though he stared her down with a dangerous look, he cradled her friend gently and protectively to his chest. The friend that she had hurt.
Valerie backed away from the couple and returned to her hover board. With one final glance, she turned and flew into the sky.
It was the first time she had ever willingly retreated.
Valerie fidgeted nervously as she continued down the school hall towards Elsa's locker. "Hey," she said once she was close enough.
The blonde turned to her, "Hey."
"Are you okay?" Valerie asked, her eyes slightly desperate.
Elsa nodded, "Oh yes, I'm fine."
Valerie shifted on her feet, "And… you weren't too badly hurt?"
Elsa couldn't help but smile at her friend's concern. "No, I wasn't." Valerie nodded and looked back down at the floor but it seemed like her shoulders relaxed just a bit.
"Look I," she paused and took a deep breath, "I didn't mean to hit you. I just-"
"Valerie," Elsa cut her off with a small laugh, "It's okay, really. Why don't we go to history?"
The girl smiled at the blonde and they both turned to walk down the hall together. And thus the rift was mended. Elsa practically had to shove her hand in Valerie's mouth to get her to stop apologizing. Danny was even a little cold towards her but Elsa made sure to fix his attitude.
After school, when Danny was doing his night patrol, he spotted a familiar figure on a nearby rooftop, one that he recognized to be Valerie's. With ecto-rays ready he flew towards her. "Relax ghost," she said with crossed arms, "I'm not gonna hurt you."
Danny raised a brow, fists still glowing green, "Yeah, like I'm gonna believe that."
"I'm serious," Valerie said, stepping off her hover board. Danny blinked back at the girl but lowered his hands and floated down to stand in front of her. She sighed, "Look, our fights have been getting out of hand lately and people could seriously get hurt. For whatever reason, you and I both don't want Elsa to get hurt."
"Elsa?" he nervously shrugged, "Wh-Who's Elsa?"
"Don't play games, ghost," she placed her hands on her hips, "I know you know her. I don't know how but you do. But we both want to keep her safe. So here's the deal, you don't interfere with my life and I'll try not to blast you peices."
He blinked back at her before looking down at her offered hand in surprise. He looked back up at her expectantly, "Is… Is this a trap?"
She scoffed, "If it were a trap I wouldn't reveal myself to you, ghost punk. That's basic hunting 101."
"I've been in too many traps to count. Eventually they all start to blend together," he deadpanned before shaking her hand, "You must really care about Elsa."
"So do you," she defended letting go of his hand, "If you even try to interfere with her or even Fenton, I'll break you in half."
"Noted," he nodded before jumping into the air, "Until next time." He gave her a salute and a small smile before zooming away.
Valerie shook her head, not really believing what she just did, "Heh, yeah. Next time…"