A/N: Yay for reviews! I noticed that I need to update fast in the Danny Phantom section or I'll be on the third page after the second day! That's fast! (wipes forehead) Yikes….

If you're wondering about anything, or if you see anything that doesn't seem in character, let me know AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I want this to be as canon (with the right dose of fanon) as possible. Also, any spelling or grammar errors in either chapter so far, and I want to KNOW.

-glare-

As soon as possible, if that's possible.

Oh! And a big thanks to all of you who reviewed! MANY HUGS AND PREZZIES!

fallenoccultist

XThe UnwantedX

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Kradeiz

Jerry Unipeg

phantasiashadow

ghoulghast

Crazy Hyper Active Kitsune

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Disclaimer!: I own…cookies. Lots of cookies. Which I may or may not give to the characters of Danny Phantom, over whom I have no claim. That is all.

P.S. I don't own "Anthem" by Good Charlotte either. Just lettin' ya'll know.

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Gender Benders

Chapter Two: In Which Danny Performs

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Tucker was of course, still clueless.

"Er," said the girl behind Jazz with a similar inelegance to Danny, "Hello."

Sam just about had a minor aneurysm.

"What the--! How--!" she slapped a hand to her face and dragged it down. Taking a deep breath and letting it out again, Sam straightened her back marginally and tried not to go into catatonic shock. "Danny!" she asked again with quiet hysteria.

Those familiar blue eyes came back up from looking at the, apparently, fascinating carpet, and confirmed her obvious suspicions.

It was about this time that Tucker got it.

Sam wasn't surprised to see Tucker fall off his chair, and as a matter of fact, she completely ignored it.

Jazz made a startled sound and ran over to Tucker's aid, leaving Danny and Sam to continue to stare at each other uncomfortably. Actually, in some distant part of her mind that wasn't trying to pinch herself awake, Sam was surprised to see her friend wearing different clothes. The grey baby-tee and black pants almost darkened her friend's normally bright countenance…. Other than that, he looked almost the same as he normally did.

Aside from the obvious.

"How," asked the Goth girl, "Did this happen?" She finished her question quietly, trying to pretend that nothing, in fact, had really changed. Danny seemed to snap out of his previous awkward moodiness and walked slowly over to where she was standing.

"I don't know," he said, sitting down carefully, as if even the slightest bump would break him in two. "This is all way too weird."

"'Weird' is not the word I would use," said Sam deliberately. "You know, my main concern is school."

Danny had collected enough of himself to roll his eyes. "My first worry would've been Mom and Dad," he said, "but they're at the Phantom Convention in Boston." He smiled a wry smile. "The irony kills me."

Sam couldn't help but notice that the isolated part of her mind continued to ponder the 'new and improved' Danny. Silently, she marveled at the difference between the deeper clumsier voice that she had heard everyday for the past three years of their friendship and the new lilting and sweetness that seemed to accompany his voice now. Danny had really nice hair too, and now his facial structure was all…well, it was prominently the same, but is was softer and his cheekbones were higher. Sam thought it was extremely off-putting to think of her best guy friend as a delicate, but 'beautiful girl.'

Sam blinked, and mentally slapped herself.

Ok, that was it. This Twilight Zone episode had to end before she ended up stealing him and dressing him up in a skirt.

"Sam?"

Sam shook her head and coughed, a small blush crossing her cheeks. "Yes, sorry." She saw Jazz guiding a shell-shocked Tucker back into the room, and decided that they had to do something. Now.

"What were planning on doing for school?" asked Sam to Jazz, who was making sure that Tucker had closed his mouth and was sitting down before answering. Danny's older sister shrugged helplessly.

"I'm not sure," Jazz said, "but we can't enroll him again. That's a lot more trouble then its worth."

"Can't I just stay home?" pleaded Danny from the couch.

Jazz whipped out her authority like she was drawing a gun. "Absolutely not! Your education impaired or not, is vital!" She straightened and ignored Sam and Danny's exasperated expressions. "You can go, just not as yourself."

Sam froze. "You can't be serious," she said slowly.

"She can't be suggesting…" Tucker said faintly, at long last reclaiming his place in the realm of the living.

Danny paled significantly.

Jazz slapped her fist into her palm and nodded firmly.

Danny eventually succumbed with nothing more than a vicious pout as his older sister grabbed his arm and dragged him, quickly followed by his two friends, upstairs.

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"Alright, we'll go in first," said Sam just above a whisper, "then you follow behind us. Quickly."

Danny blinked and tugged at the tight (well, it was tight to him) grey shirt he was wearing with deceiving calm. "Are you sure it's been scientifically proven that you can't in fact, die of embarrassment?"

Tucker smirked, "It that was true, you'd be dead already." He made a face. "No pun intended."

It had taken some getting used to (understatement), but Tucker seemed to adapt readily to the strange situation. His reasoning included that they had been through some pretty strange stuff already, and despite the obvious tension that had developed between him and Danny due to this…complicated state, Tucker was, as he believed, first and foremost Danny's friend. And in spite of what Danny was going through, Tucker would do his best (along with Sam…hopefully) to keep a calm head on his shoulders, as Danny's would have probably spontaneously combusted without them.

"Ha," managed Danny in a strangled voice. He gulped and tapped his foot against the dirt with badly hidden anxiety.

Jazz also had brought out make-up, which had scared Danny so much, he had actually bolted out the door with a speed he didn't know he had. But Jazz, being the older of the two, commanded some sort of authority. And Tucker and Sam thought (even though they both felt slightly guilty for it) that giving Danny a make-over would be hilarious. So they, on Jazz's orders, dragged Danny back, kicking and screaming, so that he could be made 'presentable.' Danny swore vengeance.

Having long hair herself, Jazz had also attacked her brother's now very long hair with all the implements of destruction she owned. Eventually, even Sam reluctantly joined in. They had made it look less like a large knotted mass, and more like a curtain, pinning his already messy bangs behind his ear with a metal pin. Apparently, Danny thought with not a little glower in his mental voice, My hair is just 'begging' to be played with.

There were also random accessories added by Jazz and Sam both, to make sure that he reminded everyone of anyone other then Danny Fenton. Danny had agreed on one thing; it had worked.

"Ready?" asked Sam. Jazz had insisted earlier on going ahead, as any contact with this new Danny could be used as evidence if anything slipped out.

"As I'll ever be," muttered Danny, unconsciously trying to make his voice lower out of habit.

Sam and Tucker gave him reassuring smiles before slipping out of the bushes and striding swiftly toward Casper High.

Danny waited approximately five minutes before slipping out himself. He brushed himself off, nervously avoiding certain areas, and looking straight ahead he began to walk.

They had decided to stick to a 'cousin' story, as that was the only possible thing, really. Jazz had done some quick research and had found a loophole that would hold for about a week. Technically, as long as you were apart of the family, you could fill in for a student for a week without any real excuse before the guardians of said student had to send in their official notice. Jazz said that a week was short, but long enough to set up extra alibis and some prepping for the explanation they might have to give to Maddie and Jack Fenton, should Danny not return to normal within the aforementioned week. Also, Danny and his friends, plus Jazz, all agreed that calling his new persona 'Danni' might not be the smartest thing to do. So Jazz, Sam and Tucker huddled out of earshot with a name book, and together, they came up with a solution.

Danny was trying to avoid looking at anyone directly as he reached the front entrance. Before he could open them, he heard a faint high-pitched sound to the right.

He turned to look for the source of the sound, silently begging he had just been hallucinating.

A small group of guys that he was sure weren't of the Jock crowd, were looking at him. Actually, looking wasn't the right verb; they were leering.

Danny slowly turned back to face the doors, his hand starting to tighten around the handles so much that were indents beginning to form on the handles. He counted to ten in his head, a few more whistles and cat-calls echoing through the open air. He took a step forward, willing to forget all about it until….

"Hey," a voice said near his ear, far too close for comfort.

Danny jumped back and turned around, startled by the nearness of the sound, and almost pulled a martial arts stance out of thin air before collecting himself. He blinked and looked up into a very familiar face.

"Muh," he said in shock.

"You must be new here," said Paulina Sanchez, official Queen Bee of Casper High, and former crush of our young Danny Fenton. She eyed him with feigned interest. "I'm Paulina Sanchez," she said in a voice made of honey.

Danny quickly tried to collect his wits before they all came spilling out onto the concrete. He stood up straighter and smiled nervously. "Nice to meet you," he managed in what he hoped was a casual tone. Why on earth is she even talking to me? Danny asked himself this question, curiosity almost overriding his panic.

She looked him over once, a bored expression evident on her face. "You don't look like loser material," she said in a slightly scathing voice. "You should probably hang out near me during lunch," she continued to a completely shocked Danny. She tilted her head and smiled a smile that sent a strange and completely unwelcome shiver down Danny's spine. "Although, you might want to get rid of that bracelet, it so doesn't match your shirt."

As the popular princess spun around and waltzed inside without so much as a backwards glance, Danny found himself in a strange sort of fury. And it wasn't the usual annoyance that he got from Dash Baxter's bullying. Inwardly, Danny seethed, for the first time, really irritated at a girl (Valerie didn't count). Who on earth did she think she was?

A flash of luminescent green in the door's windows in front of him warned him that his control was slipping, and Danny once more took deep breaths. Finally collecting himself, he opened the (now slightly mangled) front doors and headed to the school Office, his mind still swimming with confusion and not a bit of anger.

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"And you're here as a stand-in for Mr. Fenton?"

"Yes," answered Danny with little confidence.

Mr. Lancer stared at the young girl before him a strange look on his face. "You must be his cousin, you look far too similar to be anything less," he said with mild interest, looking for a guest pass.

"Right!" Danny chirped. He caught himself just before he could start hitting his head on the desk. He had chirped! Would the madness never end?

"We will need confirmation from his parents that he is, in fact, out sick," Mr. Lancer added suspiciously. "Otherwise, young lady, you will be in serious violation of our school codes." He handed her a pass and a pen. "Is that clear?"

"Crystal," said Danny assuredly even though he felt nothing of the sort. He put the pen to the paper of the guest pass, and after he was done, he handed the pen back to Mr. Lancer.

As he was putting on the guest pass, Mr. Lancer gave him another strange look. "Ms. Lenore Blake?" he asked.

"Ah, yes?" Danny responded with a little wobble in his voice, making it squeak slightly.

Mr. Lancer, to Danny's ever-lasting surprise, gave him a sincere smile. "With your name, I'm sure you'll do fine in my class," he said standing as he spoke, "You may even raise Mr. Fenton's grade while you're here." He said this with a despondent tone, which Danny noticed but refrained himself from commenting on. As Jazz would have said, it would cause unwanted suspicion.

"You might as well follow me," said Mr. Lancer after a moment, "You have my class first." And as they walked out the door of the office, Danny pondered what Lancer truly felt about Danny Fenton, trouble student extraordinaire.

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"Class?"

The chattering ceased almost immediately. Most of the students respected Mr. Lancer, although they might mock him behind his back. At least they showed respect upfront. Lancer appreciated that much.

Danny couldn't help but dart a few nervous glances over in Sam and Tucker's direction. He was surreptitious about it, so that no one really noticed. They noticed however, since they knew Danny far better then anyone else in the room, and gave him identical reassuring grins.

"This is Ms. Lenore Blake," Mr. Lancer said in his usual bland tone. "She will be taking Mr. Fenton's place for a week while he's out sick. I expect you to treat her with courtesy."

He turned to Danny and nodded. "You may take Mr. Fenton's seat, as it is the only available space," he said and pointed in Sam and Tucker's direction, who pretended to look only vaguely interested.

Danny nodded back, smiling weakly, and quickly moved to the back of the classroom. As he sat down, he observed that Paulina was watching him with a calculating stare, something he had never seen her do before. Pretending to not have a clue, Danny stared straight ahead, the nervous gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach coming back full-force.

Sam's hand landed on his back and he almost skittered out of his seat. Her other hand put a small piece of paper in his lap. She moved her hand away after a reassuring pat.

Danny, trying to look as if he was paying attention, let his eyes wander down (still a disturbing sight) and his fingers nimbly opened the note.

You ok? You still breathing? Has anybody tried to hit on you yet? Because I can hurt them if you want me to. Tucker was gnawing on his pencil earlier. He didn't even touch his PDA. Give him props for that later; it must have taken extreme willpower. I just wanted to make sure you haven't died of embarrassment, despite what Tucker said earlier.

With Dark Goth-like Affection,

Sam

Inside, Danny smiled. He had the best friends ever.

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The class bell rung, signaling lunch.

Danny was beginning to like the feeling of not having to pretend he was weak and clumsy (though sometimes, he was still clumsy anyway). Under this persona, he could move like he normally would as Phantom, which was refreshing to him in ways he could not describe.

Sam, watching Danny leave the classroom first (yadda yadda blown cover, yes, she knows), noticed how smooth Danny's movements had become in the past class period. He must be starting to relax, she thought curiously.

Tucker stood up with her and, as one, they moved toward the door, keeping two eyes (one from each) on Danny, who had suddenly stopped walking.

"Uh oh," she heard Danny mumble under his breath.

Sensing that this might be a cue, Sam moved in. But before she could say anything, the last person she expected got there first.

"You need help finding his locker?"

Valerie had finally made her appearance.

Danny grinned sheepishly. "Nobody told me where it was," he said refraining from rubbing the back of his neck.

Valerie just smiled and patted Danny on the back, a movement which made a certain part of Sam's brain scream in fury. "I'm surprised," Valerie said with a surprised look, "I thought Mr. Lancer would've told you first thing."

"Maybe he forgot," Danny said quickly, his nervousness slipping back into place. "You know where it is?" he asked, hope in his voice.

"Yeah," said Valerie with a grin, starting to walk. "You and Danny must be close," she said, "I mean, if you're taking his place in school."

Danny nodded and smiled. "We've known each other pretty well for just about, ever," he said, completely truthful.

Sam refrained from rolling her eyes as the two walked off, and proceeded to head to the cafeteria, Tucker following behind. She could tell he was snickering and she closed her eyes.

"Tuck, if you are going to say anything," Sam said with the air of casual conversation, "Then don't."

The snickering quickly turned into a polite cough, and the two friends continued their journey in silence.

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Danny followed Valerie down a familiar corridor. He was surprised at how well Valerie was treating him, but then again, it was weird to have girls talk to him as if he were one of their own. He was really trying not to think along those lines, as it gave him this cold shiver that never seemed to leave.

The silence allowed him to think a bit. How long was he going to be stuck like this? He didn't even know what he did to upset Artemis in the first place. How was he supposed to apologize if he didn't know what to apologize for! It was a bit of a dilemma.

This was the apocalypse. He was a guy! Being a girl wasn't part of any great change he was supposed to go through.

"Here we are!" said Valerie, who waved her arms in a flourish.

Danny grinned and proceeded to open his own locker, when he stopped and groaned.

"What?" asked Valerie with raised eyebrows.

Danny tried not to smack himself in the face. "I don't know the combination."

"Oh that's ok," said Valerie with great enthusiasm, "I can do it."

He blinked. "What?" he asked in a dumb-founded voice, "I mean, really?"

Valerie, one of the most merciless ghost hunters in Amity, blushed slightly. "Um, yeah. It's not that hard to remember when you see him do it every morning."

Danny was trying hard not to show any surprise, but it was starting to get really difficult. "You're with him every morning?" he asked, knowing full-well that the answer was no.

Valerie proceeded to face the locker, though her blush suddenly became more prominent. "Uh yeah, that's it," she said, a nervous trill entering her voice. She fiddled with the locker and it opened with a creaking noise. "There you go," she said, still embarrassed. "It was great to meet you," she said, rushing through her words, "I'll-I'll see you at lunch, ok?"

Exit Valerie, pursued by an invisible bear.

Danny, still in a shell-shocked state of mind, put his books away and took some out. Whatever he was expecting, that was certainly not it.

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Lunch was difficult.

Later in his life, Danny would remember this particular lunch period as one of the most harrowing moments in his adolescent years.

It all started, as most of his problems did, with Dash Baxter.

Danny had entered the cafeteria with a lingering stunned sensation. The way Valerie had acted before…was she watching him every morning? Jeez, that was kind of flattering and completely creepy at the same time.

It was on automatic instinct that he started towards Sam and Tucker before he realized what he was doing. He stopped in the middle of the cafeteria and paused for thought.

"Lenore Blake, right?"

Danny seized up and whipped his head around so fast it might as well have fallen off.

Dash Baxter stared down at him like he was some sort of meal. It was, to say the least, disturbing.

"R-right," he answered slowly, looking around for any kind of escape at all. Dash was someone he was not in the mood to deal with, but as Lenore, there was no real reason to leave.

"You lookin' for a place to sit?" he asked him in a suave voice that made half of Danny's brain twitch in disgust while the other half shocked itself into submission. That was happening a lot lately.

"Yeah," Danny gritted out, as if the mere admission to such a thing caused him physical pain. "I am."

"You can sit with us," Dash said, as if it was the biggest privilege in the world to sit in his presence. Danny wondered in the distant part of his mind, whether or not Dash had ever been dropped on the head as a baby.

"I wouldn't," said Danny as if he was talking to an exceptionally slow person, "want to impose." He edged away from Dash as one would edge away from the plague.

Dash laughed in an obnoxious manner that involuntarily made Danny's stomach churn with resentment. "Yeah, right, whatever that means," he said, chuckling. "Just as long as you don't sit with those losers," he added, jerking a thumb at Tucker and Sam's table.

Danny frowned. "You do know who I'm related to, right?" he asked shortly, getting annoyed with his own façade.

Dash scoffed. "Yeah, that loser Fentonio," he said carelessly, taking Danny's tone the wrong way, "I'd never imagine it though." He tilted his head and gave Danny what was supposed to be a charming look. Danny just thought it made him look drugged.

"Heh, and why would you think that?" asked Danny innocently, even though his hands were starting to melt the plastic tray he was holding.

"Well, a pretty girl like you couldn't possibly be related to that weirdo," Dash said, unknowingly digging himself into a hole no human could ever dig themselves out of.

Danny seemed to stop twitching, and smiled slowly. It was a smile that boded something disastrous; something so horrible, that no words in the English language could describe its malevolence.

"Really," he said, biting the words off syllable by syllable. His eyes started to glow, ever so slightly.

However, before any bloodshed could occur, a hand placed itself on Danny's shoulder.

"There you are!" cried Sam, "Lenore, right? You know, we're best friends of Danny's. You should come sit with us, ok? Oh, that's great to hear you say that! Bye!"

Sam yanked Danny over to their solitary corner so fast, dust was still left floating in the places where she had passed.

"Deep soothing breaths Danny," she murmured, clutching her friend's shoulders, which were beyond the word 'tense.' "He's a moron, and you know it. Do not blow up the cafeteria." She paused for a moment where they reached their usual table, with Tucker sitting there looking wide-eyed. Then, Sam added, "Please."

A low growl emitted from the depths of Danny's throat as he sat down. He was surprised to find that he had, in fact, melted his tray to his hands. This did not help to improve his disposition.

"Wow," Tucker finally said as Danny snapped his fingers loose from his tray, "I totally thought you were gonna go ghost on that sorry boy's behind."

"So was I," admitted Danny after a short pause where his eyes turned back to normal and his hands were free. He had said it before, and he would say it again: Thank God Dash was a moron. Ew. He was never going to be able to undo that scene from his head. Ew. Ew. Ew.

Sam shook her head and made her own angry noise in Dash Baxter's direction. "Have I mentioned that I loathe them?" she said with great vehemence.

"Yes," echoed Tucker and Danny.

Danny sighed. "I think I might be better off hiding. Why did Jazz insist on an education?" he asked to the air.

"Because she's Jazz," Sam emphasized.

"Oh right," said Danny in a dry voice, "I forgot." He looked at his hands, which were now slender and refined looking and he grimaced. "Have I ever asked the 'why me?' question, or is it too late?" he said in a numb voice.

"Never too late," said Sam with sympathy, "but it's still completely unanswerable."

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Having established that they had now met, the trio now could talk and walk together again. Danny was glad to have the support of his friends, which he had sorely missed this morning, and was chatting about anything he could think of to clear his mind of the Situation. Valerie had taken a shine to Lenore, and was happy to talk and walk with them, despite the heavy loathing that was coming from Sam's corner o' malice.

Danny found that being a girl meant talking like one, and since Sam wasn't exactly the best candidate for practice (he would never EVER say that out loud), Danny listened to Valerie instead. And he learned.

He swore he would try to forget everything after this ordeal was over (if it ever ended, that is). It was far too alarming a thought to think that he had ever been a girl at all.

Unfortunately for Danny, despite his previous torment, today's horrors were not yet done.

"The Talent Show mandatory try-outs are this afternoon," said Sam as they stood outside the double door entrance to the gym. Her tone was reminiscent of someone who had just remembered that she was due for an execution later today.

"Oh that's right," Valerie said, far more cheerfully, but not by much. She looked to Danny. "Are you gonna do anything? I don't think it's mandatory for you," she said, trailing off in a questioning tone.

"Then I'm probably n-," started Danny before getting elbowed in the side violently by Sam. "-ot going to dance or anything," revised Danny quickly, fearing for his ribs.

"What can you do?" asked Sam, full of hope that her question from yesterday might finally be answered.

"I might –," began Danny.

"You losers are actually trying out?" a snide voice interrupted from their right.

Paulina had come back, bringing along Star, much to everyone's dismay.

"Well we have to don't we?" Valerie said coldly, "It's not like we have much of a choice."

"Oh I know that," Paulina said waving her hand casually as Star snickered, "I was just pointing out the uselessness of having that girl try out." She smirked at Danny, who was just starting to try and edge out of the conversation. "I mean, it's not like she has any talents what so ever, being related to that Fenton loser."

"One: it's Lenore, ok?" Sam growled. "Use her name."

"Ooh," Star exclaimed with mock excited tones. "You're defending her already? Must be some freaky form of Goth love!"

Danny was surprised to hear this, although not as surprised as he would have been if he hadn't met Paulina just this morning. He didn't really notice that Sam was blushing like mad.

"Well," he interjected pointedly, "I might do it anyway."

Paulina made a point to laugh. "What can you do? Be yourself? That would be a great act, I'm sure. You're already freakish enough," she said in an unpleasant tone. She turned around and walked into the gym while Star followed behind, her nose in the air.

Sam was clenching and unclenching her fists. Danny recognized this as one of her many methods to assure no homicidal rage would occur.

Danny felt a familiar anger boil up inside of him. It had been weirdly infuriating this morning, when Paulina had seen fit to antagonize him because he was 'new'. He had never seen her act that way around guys, after all. Now it was personal.

"You know," said he, in a calm voice. "I think I will go and try out. Now's as good a time as any, right?"

And before anyone could say anything, Danny marched through the double doors, leaving behind two stunned friends and one confused Valerie.

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"You guys know what you're doing?"

"You got it babe," said the guy with spiked hair. He grinned at Danny and winked to the rest of his band, who all nodded with similar expressions. Danny refrained from rolling his eyes.

"Can I have the guitar?" he asked one of the guys. He gave Danny a disbelieving expression.

"You for real girl?" he said in a skeptical tone.

Danny swore that if he heard one more female related comment, he was giving something a serious butt kicking.

"Yes," he said with great finality. The guitarist shrugged to his band mates and handed Danny the guitar.

"Suit yourself girlie."

Maybe he could use all this built up anger on Vlad. Yeah, that ought to do it.

As Danny took hold of the guitar, tuning it as he did so, he saw Sam run up to the edge of the stage.

"Da—Lenore! You don't have to do this," she said breathlessly, "Really, I was just kidding earlier!"

Danny frowned. "I'll be fine," he said calmly, just above a whisper. "Just watch." He picked at the guitar lightly, smiling confidently. Sam just gulped and nodded, backing away into the small crowd. She had no idea….

Mr. Lancer spoke into the loudspeaker, "Lenore Blake, you're up next!"

'Lenore' moved forward into the light, and without wasting anytime, he struck the guitar, opening a song that Sam suddenly recognized.

It's a new day
But it all feels old,
It's a good life,
That's what I'm told,
But everything, it all just feels the same…

Sam gaped. When he had mentioned doing something for the talent show, she had no idea that this was what he had in mind. While Danny played, fingers practically dancing up and down the strings, Sam could only begin to ask one thing: Where they heck had he learned to play the guitar?

And my high school
It felt more to me
Like a jail cell,
A penitentiary
My time spent there, it only made me see…

A swarm had started to pour in from outside, joining the now cheering crowd in which Sam, Valerie, and Tucker were standing. The band backing Danny was good enough that the song didn't fall apart, and so they were close to sounding professional. Danny was, to Sam's unrelenting astonishment, a very good singer. It hardly registered on Sam's weird-shit-o-meter that the voice singing was an octave higher than usual. It hardly mattered.

As her friend continued to sing, the small group that had been standing there originally had morphed into a throng of people that filled most of the gym.

Do you really wanna be like them?
Do you really wanna be another trend?
Do you wanna be part of that crowd?
'Cause I don't ever wanna
I don't ever wanna be

You…
Don't wanna be just like you
What I'm sayin' is
This is the anthem

Throw all your hands up

You
Don't wanna be just like you

This is the anthem
Throw all your hands up
Y'all got to feel me, sing if you're with me
Another loser anthem...!

As Danny finished with one final flourish of guitar chords, Sam swore half the student body had crammed itself into the already over crowded gym, and all of them were cheering. She ripped her gaze from Danny for a moment to see Tucker dumb-founded, his PDA recording the whole thing. Well, thought Sam, At least we'll have proof.

Danny was sweating and laughing, giving high fives to the supporting band, who were all whistling and yelling various forms of congratulations. After handing one of the band members their guitar, Danny leapt off the stage and headed toward his friends, ignoring most of the cheering crowd that had gathered. Inside her head, Sam smiled; Danny was practically glowing. She had never seen him stand so straight.

When he finally reached them, Sam wasn't sure what to say. "Where…how…?" she began, gesturing helplessly with her hands. Danny blinked, oblivious.

"I think she's trying to ask you," said Tucker slowly, "How the heck did you do that, dude?"

"What?" said Danny in surprise. He just grinned a small grin and leaned down, his expression exasperated and little sheepish "You think that guitar in my room was just for decoration?" he asked them in a whisper.

Sam and Tucker gave him identical pained looks. Danny shrugged embarrassed.

"Lenore!" cried Valerie, who had squeezed through the throng. "That was totally awesome! I can't believe you know how to play the guitar!"

And as the conversation followed the four sometimes friends (sometimes enemies, but that was usually just Danny and Valerie) out of the gym, it was interrupted by various students giving comments like 'Totally Cool!' and 'That was awesome!' Only one girl was left glaring from the back, planning a few unkind things.

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Jazz had been in the gym. She had ran after Danny as soon as he had left, catching up with the three friends just a few feet outside of school grounds. Valerie had said her good byes a few minutes earlier, saying she had a job to do. Jazz was breathing heavily and her hair was askew, but she was smiling.

"Where the heck did you learn the guitar?" she cried, waving her arms. Danny pretended to shield himself while laughing.

"It was just something I picked up. I didn't really wanna tell anyone," he answered, hiding behind Sam. Tucker was smirking at them, but Sam pointedly ignored it.

"Why the heck not?" Sam asked, looking over her shoulder. "You were great!"

Danny paused and stared at her, as if he couldn't believe she had actually said that. "Really?" he asked in a small voice.

"Ye-es," Sam answered, drawing out the word to make it more obvious.

Danny actually blushed, which, to the other three, looked very strange.

Then, he shivered, and groaned aloud.

Sam felt her previous well-feeling drop like a stone into a pit of foreboding. "A ghost? Now?" she exclaimed.

Danny sighed. "Well, it shouldn't be too bad right? I mean, this curse thing shouldn't affect my other half, right?"

Jazz nodded, but she looked uncertain. "I'm not sure. The only way to know for certain is to try it."

Danny nodded and stepped back. He quickly scanned to see if anyone was near before shouting, "Goin' ghost!"

And as the ring of bright blue light encircled him, Danny closed his eyes, hoping against all hope that he would still be….

"Oh no," he heard Jazz gasp. Danny's hopes plummeted into hard concrete.

"He's still a girl," managed Sam in a horrified manner. He could hear Tucker slap his hand to his face.

"Oh no…"