beforehand

nothing that i can think of... except it's damn near midnight when i'm writing this TT.TT stupid random urges to write. i've been wanting to work on this all day but nooooo i had to go to my little brother's birthday party. oh well i got to see my cousin who i haven't seen for nine years... but he stole my Manga! and my puppy and my bracelet O.o TT.TT

sorry for the delay! i got so wrapped up in RL events (starting school in less than a week T.T) so please be patient with me from now on

shoutouts

Chaos inducer - XD yes, yes he is... but, as much as the idea of the pairing makes me shudder, I knew it would create more tension between Fenton and Phantom, and what's a fanfic if you don't put the main character through as much Hell as possible:-)

dannychic - thanks for the e-mail address, now we can keep in touch! i'm so glad you're liking my story. i don't really like vlad x danny, but i was going to say something about Dan in there when Danny Fenton was going through that confusing ramble about who's calling who what and whatnot XD but i don't want to give the boys -too- much trouble, ya know:)

Forbidden Secrets - thanks so much! glad you liked the title. i'm pretty fond of it myself XD

crazyvi - thank you and Vlad won't amount to much just yet, but we'll see what future chapters hold.

Bunny Bubble - yes he is (takes choco bar) thanks! i like the title X3

Anon - glad you liked it, i planned more awkwardness but it's hard writing awkward scenes because then i start feeling awkward and lose confidence in my writing TT.TT

gabriella phantom - yeah.. hopefully it won't last long. i don't know why i insist on putting them through so much.. they just don't deserve it. oh well, who likes a fluffy kitty story neway... it's all about the angst, baby XD shut up, it's 11 p.m. here TT.TT i hate the vlad x danny pairing as well, it creeps me out, hence the spasm which created chapter 10's title XD and everyone knows what sam meant, but can you blame her for asking? XD i'm not a guy, however, so i couldn't answer it and decided to have their moment interrupted.

disclaimer

i don't own danny phantom. i know, it's such a shock! you would think that i do, because the characters on the show behave exactly in the ways that i portray them! T.T

Silent Departure

Chapter 10 ½ - I Hate to do This ((Danny Fenton's POV))

When he catches up to us, Plasmius sneers. "What, are you going to fly all the way back to Amity Park? We're in Wisconsin, now. Don't you think that'll take a while?"

Danny glares, spins around and flys at full speed back into Plasmius' house, back through the portal, and back into the Ghost Zone. He flys back over the same path I'm assuming Walker carried him, and flies straight up to Wulf.

"Tear me a portal to the real world, now," he growls. I don't understand why he's so pissed off... well, I mean, I have an idea... but, still... oh well, it got Wulf to obey. Danny switches control back to me and I fall through the portal and land in a stall in the boy's bathroom. I glance back through the portal before it closes, expecting to see Plasmius following us, but he's not. I wait until the portal is completely gone, then leave the stall and leave the bathroom only to walk right into Mr. Lancer.

"Heart of Darkness, Fenton!" he exclaims. "Why are you skipping class?"

"I... got an upset stomach after lunch!" I cover quickly. "I didn't want to risk going to class first and getting sick on the way there or back, and I didn't think I could make it to the Nurse's..."

"Alright, already," he scribbles out a hall pass, but before handing it to me he glances at me suspiciously. "Tell me, did Manson and Foley get sick, too?"

"Tucker is avoiding me and Sam today," I reply truthfully, "And I haven't seen Sam since we left the lunchroom."

"Hmm..." he doesn't want to believe me, but he saw the way Tucker behaved this morning, and I kept a straight face and honest tone the entire time. Reluctant as he is, he hands the pass to me. I grab it, check the hallway clock, and run off to fifth period.

((Sam's POV))

"So what happened?" I ask as we leave school. I tried to talk to him in class but he'd seemed really pissed off. He seems calmer now... and he agreed to let me come to his house so obviously he's willing to hang out. "Did you find out why your Ghost Sense didn't work?"

He explained everything he could remember, from escaping from Wulf only to fly into Walker, to waking up to Plasmius kissing the phantom.

"What?" I interject, "Well, the phantom wasn't returning it, was he?"

"No," he replies. "At laest, I hope he wasn't. I don't think he was..."

"Was he struggling...?"

"No... but I think he was too shocked to react sensibly. I know I was."

"Did he put up a fight at all?"

"Eventually... he tried to blast Plasmius away from him but his powers were still recovering from being blocked by that belt."

"I'm surprised he didn't realize what it was... don't you have on just like it that's been used on you before?"

"Yeah, by my mom," he rolls his eyes. "But I guess he wasn't really thinking straight."

I bite my tongue. As opportune as it is, now is not the time for jokes. "Did the phantom seem annoyed?"

"When he lost his powers? I told you, I wasn't..."

"No, after Plasmius kissed him."

"Oh... yeah, he was pissed."

"Well that's good! In a sense..." I realize we've walked pretty far from the school. I'd expected to get a ride from Jazz, but, oh well. It's easier to talk to Danny without her around anyway. "Is that why you were mad when you came back?"

"Pretty much. I want to forgive him, but I haven't yet because I don't know if he'll be happy that I understand, or mad that I was suspicious in the first place."

"It's natural jealousy," I say as comforting as I can. "You didn't get mad at him for being watchful of me... so he should be thankful that you love him so much that the thought of him even considering doing anything with anyone else devastates you."

He gives me a look I can't quite read... it's like confusion mixed with amusement mixed with anger... hey, it's raining. He looks to the sky, takes in a deep breath, and sighs.

"Thanks, Sam..." he says, actually smiling at me. "You always know just what to say."

"Because I love you, Danny," I say without thinking. His smile drops, but I cover, "As a friend! I meant I love you, as a friend." I rest an arm along his back. "I may be gothic, but I have a heart, and it cares deeply about you. I want nothing more than your happiness."

He hugs me unexpectedly, quietly thanking me a time or three again. Then a car horn interrupts our moment. We look up to see Jazz stopped next to us. "Want a ride?"

Before we can answer, the Fenton RV zooms past us. Jazz pulls to the side of the road, and the RV turns around and drives up to us.

"Kids!" Danny's mom says. "Get somewhere safe!"

"Are you crazy, Maddie?" his dad exclaims. "Let's take them with us!"

"It's too dangerous, Jack. Have a cookie," she gives him a cookie and he gobbles it up.

"What's going on?" Danny asks while he can. "Where's the ghost?"

Smart boy. He can't go ghost with his family around, and the phantom following the RV is just asking to be attacked. If he knows where the ghost is, the phantom can fly ahead of the RV and beat them there.

"Okay," Danny says. My rambling thoughts caused me to miss Maddie's reply.

"What'd she say?" I ask as the RV zooms off.

"Ghost attack at the electronics store," Danny says while transforming, his voice overlapping itself as Phantom takes over.

"Technus," I say flatly. "Of course. The day we're on bad terms with Tucker, Technus decides to return."

"Yeah, it really would be nice to have him here now," Phantom picks me up and flies off, seemingly forgetting all about Jazz. I glance back to see her turn the car around and head in the direction of the store, but think nothing of it more than her wanting to protect her brother's secret.

forgive me, loyal readers!

I hate to do this to you again, I really do, but I'm stumped! I can't do these battle scenes but like seventy five percent of DP is ghost battles! argh... I need serious help... I really don't want to put this fic on Hiatus but i have no clue how to write the next scene and I'm not skipping it. i'm sure you can figure out what will be essential about it... but if not, i'll be glad to tell you.. or you could use your imagination and possibly inspire me. So sorry again, and I thank in advance anyone who will help me keep this fic alive.