Author's Note: A fluffy little one-shot I came up with while listening to the song on my MP3 player. Hope you like it.Italics are flashbacks. Rating is for a few small innuendos.
(10/29/05) I just found this again, after having deleted it due to the announcement concerning songfics. I have edited this story to remove the verses; however, I still recommend that readers listen to "Holding Out for a Hero" by Frou Frou while reading this. It can be found on the Shrek 2 Soundtrack, and the lyrics can be found at: http(colon slash slash)www(dot)lyrics007(dot)com(slash)Frou (percent)20Frou(percent)20Lyrics(slash)Holding(percent)20Out(percent)20For(percent)20A(percent)20Hero(percent)20Lyrics(dot)html
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or any affiliated characters,"Holding Out for a Hero" by Frou Frou,or M. Night Shaymalan's The Village.
Holding Out for a Hero
Samantha "Sam" Manson stared out the open window into the warm, muggy June evening. In the sky, dark, heavy clouds threatened to release a deluge of rain; however, at the moment, only the occasional flash of heat lightning could be seen. Looking down at the streets of Amity Park, Sam could see men and women scurrying about, securing or bringing in valuables in preparation for the inevitable storm. She saw a teenage boy with a mop of black hair, and immediately her thoughts changed.
To take her mind off of Danny Fenton (who had arrived, unbidden, to her thoughts at the sight of the raven-haired boy below her) Sam stood and walked over to her stereo system. Turning it on, she tuned into a random radio station, hoping a good song would come on. She was answered almost immediately by the opening chords of an unfamiliar, yet refreshingly different song: "Holding Out for a Hero: by Frou Frou, the announcer had said before the song had started.
Sam couldn't hold in the wry smile that appeared on her face during the song. She knew exactly how the artist felt when she sang about tossing and turning; some nights, Sam could hardly sleep because dreams of Danny plagued her. It wasn't even always Danny Fenton; on occasion, she dreamed of Danny Phantom, the dashing, strong, ghost-fighting alter ego.
Sam shook her head as she continued to listen to the song. The song's words, describing Frou Frou's idea of a hero,had just made her remember the incident that took place not even a week ago, after a harrowing day of ghost hunting.
Danny was fighting a large dino-ghost. His physical attacks were useless against it; the dinosaur's hide was tougher than rhinoceros skin. The only thing able to hurt the ghost were Danny's ectoplasmic blasts, which actually moved the dino-ghost several feet with each hit. Sam was impressed with how his powers were improving.
Danny zoomed in circles around the dino-ghost's head, easily breaking the 100-mile per hour mark. The ghost followed Danny carefully with its eyes, trying to track him down to attack. However, all the spinning was making it dizzy. Finally, once it was good and disoriented, Danny opened the Fenton Thermos, capturing it.
Danny Phantom flew down and landed next to Tucker and Sam, panting heavily. When he transformed back into Danny Fenton, Sam could see beads of sweat on his oddly pale face, and exhaustion in his eyes. Oddly enough, his deep breaths, along with the way his hair was plastered down with sweat, were starting to make Sam feel a little lightheaded as her hormones, regrettably, went into overdrive. "He looks hot," she mumbled to herself, blushing slightly.
"What did you say?" Tucker asked.
Catching herself quickly, Sam replied, "I said, 'He looks hot.' As in, he's sweating and pale. Maybe he's suffering from heat exhaustion. I mean, it must be at least ahundred degrees out."
"It's only eighty-five," Tucker corrected. "Are you sure that's what you meant?"
"Yeah, I'm sure." Danny suddenly passed out, allowing Sam to put an end to the discussion so that the two could help their friend.
Sam still couldn't believe she'd slipped like that. One more little twitch could set even the densest person on the carefully-hidden trail to her secret crush on Danny; after all, a lot of kids were already accusing her of being his girlfriend. She returned her thoughts to the song.
Frou Frou continued singing about fantasies and reaching out for someone. With a smile, Sam closed her eyes and lay on her bed. She could picture Danny flying through the dusk on a night such as this, coming to her rescue just in the nick of time. It reminded her of the movie The Village, when Lucius came in just enough time to save Ivy from the monster. Ivy had reached out for him, and he'd reached back. Only half-aware of what she was doing, Sam stood and walked over to her window, reaching her hand out. She was greeted by nothing, save a cool breath of wind to stir the stagnant evening air.
A moment later, with a bright flash and a loud clap, the clouds released their hidden moisture upon the town. Part of Sam was grateful; they'd been suffering from a drought the past few weeks, and she'd had to watch her Ultra-Recyclo Vegetarian diet because growing the grass was using too much water.
On a whim, Sam ran out of her room and down the stairs, taking them three at a time. She threw open the front door and ran out into the yard, reaching up to remove her hair band so that all of her hair was down. Tilting her face toward the heavens, she closed her eyes and let the rain fall down, cascading over her body and soaking her hair and clothes. She felt clean and pure; only after her impromptu bath did she feel like she was ready for a hero like Danny Phantom. She could still faintly hear the music from her window; Frou Frou had moved on to sing about mountains, and someone watching her.
Opening her eyes, Sam noticed something; there was a discrepancy in the pattern of the raindrops, almost as if an invisible object or being was there... Immediately, she felt her blood begin to boil, coursing through her veins like fire following a trail of gasoline. "Danny? Is that you?" She cursed her voice; it sounded weak and distressed, like a child's after a nightmare.
She felt a slight pressure against the small of her back; another at her cheek. She felt a third, and very different, sensation on her ear: the breath of a whisper. "You know, if you're going to play in the rain, you might want to think about changing out of a white tee-shirt." The voice was, in fact, Danny's. "Otherwise, you're gonna drive me and every other guy on your street insane."
Sam looked down; her cheeks went pink as she quickly crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you doing here?"
"Besides looking at the view, you mean?"
Sam couldn't see his expression, but his tone was playful, teasing, almost seductive. She shivered slightly, but she wasn't entirely sure it was because of the rain. "Yes."
"Well," Danny began, still invisible and still whispering into her ear, "It all started when I was just fourteen...my parents built a very strange machine. It was designed to view a world unseen..."
"Danny, quit playing around. Tell me."
"Okay. Here's the deal; I've been...studying you."
"Studying me?"
"Yeah. Every evening, I come and float outside your window and watch you. I always make sure I'm invisible, though, so the neighbors don't see me. And, every once in a while, I'll phase through your window and give you a good-night kiss."
"How often is 'every once in a while,' exactly?" Sam asked.
"Uhh...pretty much every night," Danny admitted. Sam felt him move away, and suddenly she was alone. Instinctively, she reached out her hand...
...and Danny took it in his own invisible one, placing a soft kiss on her palm. Sam smiled. Closing her eyes and relying only on touch, she drew him in for a tentative, gentle kiss. When she opened her eyes again, he was regular Danny Fenton; that made Sam smile. "You know something? I need a hero, and I think that's going to be you," she whispered in his ear before he attacked her lips with his once more.
A/N 2: (sighs with happiness) I wrote this in about an hour and a half, I'd say. Not bad for my first songfic in quite a while. Please review and tell me what you think.