Kiss Me

Chapter 2: Pairing Up

Danny takes Sam on a date to prepare for a date with Paulina and unexpected feelings arise.

Disclaimer: Besides using the characters created by Butch Hartman for Danny Phantom, my major plot ideas are from the TV series 'Friends' including several dialogues that are taken directly from the series and altered appropriately. So I give ultimate and full credit there to Marta Kauffman, Kevin S. Bright and David Crane, executive producers of the show. I try to keep them as in character as I can, with all due respect to Mr. Hartman, but really. I'm human and they'll vary.


"The term 'cruel and unusual punishment' comes to mind right now," Sam frowned.

Due to Danny's lateness and her and Tuckers louder than normal vocal chords, they were now sitting in detention with Mr. Lancer, who was using a locker mirror to trim his hairy eyebrows with his feet perched atop the desk.

"Eww," Danny cringed, just watching him. "This is even more painful than watching Vlad hit on my mom."

"Quiet!" Mr. Lancer snapped from the front of the room. "You're supposed to be contemplating what life must be like following orders."

Tucker snorted.

Sam's voice lowered,

"So what were you doing talking to Valerie?"

"Yeah," said Tucker in a strange voice, "I'd like to know too. You know better than to approach her after revealing you-know-what."

"I….well, I---" Danny looked from side to side and then back at the two. "I had thought, you know…..about asking her to the dance."

"And?" Sam asked anxiously, "What did she say?"

"She didn't think it'd be appropriate for her to go with me," Danny frowned, "You know. Cause I'm the ghost boy and when we're not in school, she's trying to kill me."

Sam laughed, but quickly turned it into a cough to hide her apparent non-surprise.

"Dude, that sucks," she added.

"And it's not even that!" Danny threw up his arms and hit his head against the desk, "She's already got a date!"

"Seriously?" Tucker asked.

"YEAH! At this pace, I'll be the only one without a date before tomorrow ends."

Sam coughed loudly and pointed both her hands at herself. So as not to make it obvious.

"Well we have two weeks so you'll probably find somebody," Tucker pointed out with a smirk. "AND Paulina's still free…."

"Hey, that's right!" Danny grinned again, both boys still oblivious to their friend's antics.

Sam's head banged against the table in exasperation.

"Hey Sam, what's wrong with you?" Tucker asked.


"Hey Paulina!" Danny waved her down between classes the following morning.

"Yes Danny?" She switched her books to her other hand and battered her eyebrows flirtatiously.

"Have you….er, that is---" Danny spluttered, his gaze faltering as he looked at the ground, "Has anyone-----?"

Stop staring at me like that when I want to ask you something important! Danny screamed in his thoughts.

"Of course I will go to the dance with you!" Paulina cried happily. Then her voice dropped and she brought her face dangerously close, "After all, you are my hero….."

Danny blushed furiously,

"Yeah, well I-----"

"See you later Inviso---er, Danny!" She gave him a kiss on the forehead and sauntered off.

Danny waved, to nobody in particular since Paulina was gone. He was gone, lost, in the fact that Paulina had said yes!

He still couldn't believe that out of every girl in this school, Paulina was trying to seduce him. Paulina! Then again, he did have a harder time nowadays trying to avoid the lovesick nerd taunts of crushed schoolmates. Valerie….Valerie who? He thought happily.

He continued this trail of thought as he walked airily down the hallway until he bumped into someone.

"Ouch!" Sam snapped before turning around. "Why don't you watch where you're----Oh Danny! Sorry, I thought you were a jock trying to get satisfaction out of knocking into a non-existent lowlife by bragging about it to your friends."

Danny laughed,

"Nope. Sorry to disappoint you. It's just me."

Sam folded her arms,

"So have you stalked Paulina out?"

"Yeah," Danny suddenly felt embarrassed, conscientiously remembering that Sam was a girl and thinking why am I telling her this? Why is she even asking? Sure made it awkward.

"….she said yes?" Sam pushed, with an unreadable expression.

"Yeah….." Danny began to smile, thinking maybe she would react positively this time.

"GREAT!" Sam snapped, opening her locker with force in his face.

Danny jumped back in surprise. Maybe not.

"Something wrong Sam?" He asked carefully.

"The world as we know it is coming to an end!" She over-gesture with her hands. "Tucker was the first one of us to grab a date, which he fully plans on keeping a secret. You are being seduced by Paulina, of all people---"

"Yeah, I can't believe that myself," Danny rolled his eyes.

Sam continued as if he hadn't even spoken,

"Valerie turned you down because she would rather hunt and kill you tonight and…..you're going on a date with PAULINA!"

"You said that already."

"Whatever!"

"Don't you have a date yet?" Danny asked.

"Are you serious!" Sam asked incredulously, mouth dropping. "Me? At a mandatory hormone-raging social event? I think I'd rather die first."

"I'll take that as a no," Danny grinned, wiggling his finger at her. Then he sobered up a bit,

"The world's not ending! We're just changing, Sam. That's all. Valerie and I….well, feelings are there, but we know we're just not made for each other. And Paulina is attractive. Why would I not want to take her out? And Tucker….well, I don't know what's up with him, but he IS a guy and we do like to, well, kiss girls….."

Suddenly it got very awkward. Sam slung her backpack over her shoulder,

"Yeah, well. I like to kiss guys, but you don't see me freaking out because I'm not meeting society's standards."

"It's not like that Sam----" Danny started.

"Well? What is it like then?" She put her hands on her hips and waited.

"It's well….um…..it's like this……" Danny looked up, looked at the locker and all around him. He seemed to be at a total loss for words.

"Uh-huh." Sam's eyes narrowed slightly. "It's okay Danny. You don't need to explain anything to me. You're right."

"I am?" Danny's eyes widened in amazement, "A-about what?"

Sam's eyes closed briefly before she continued, "Things are changing. We're growing apart. You two are guys and I'm a girl. Society tells us we can't be friends without having romantic connections, right? You're a hormonal puberty driven hero boy who wants to go make out with Paulina and Tucker, though he claims to enjoy his techno-world, would rather be skirt chasing. It's all good."

"You know," Danny's eyes narrowed as he realized she was making fun of him and making light of their friendship, "Just because we're changing doesn't mean you have to pull your usual ugly grim outlook on life and drag us down. Maybe you should try putting yourself out there with us instead of keeping us locked up in the forever realm of friendship."

"I LIKE the forever realm of friendship!" Sam yelled, causing a few eyes in the hallway to stare and a few freshmen to jump. "And I'll jump when I want to, okay? Jeez, Fenton, stop telling me what to do."

Danny stopped and suddenly felt his fists clench. She'd never called him by his last name. Before he could boil up, he turned around and walked away, wishing he'd never answered her question.

Sam watched him leave, then slammed her locker angrily and skulked down the hallway.


"FENTON!" Dash shouted on the football field after school. "You're going to the dance with Fenton!"

"Jeez, you act like it's a monstrosity," Paulina blew on her nails as if they'd been chipped by his voice.

"It IS!" Dash cried, "That nerd-o ghost freak!"

"He is NOT a freak!" Paulina jabbed him in the chest, then big puppy eyes arose quickly, "He's Danny Phantom, my hero….!"

Kwan made a gagging noise and Star laughed.

"Really!" Paulina because indignant, "I don't see YOU fighting bad guys for my honor."

"I----I……" Dash stopped. Then—"I don't HAVE to be a ghost to beat up punks that hit on you Paulina. In fact, if you keep seeing Danny, we will just have to remove your membership from the A List!"

Star gasped and Kwan's mouth dropped. Paulina started in shock, her mouth open.

"I AM the list!" Paulina growled.

Then she switched gears,

"How dare you? I'll tell daddy! I don't want to be a member of the A List! I'll make my OWN list!" She flipped her head up and shut her eyes, refusing to let anyone talk to her other than as a princess.

Star sputtered,

"But…..but PAULINA! You can't!"

Paulina opened her eyes briefly to look at her,

"Oh, it's okay Star. I allow you to be a part of my group."

Star looked from Paulina to Dash and Kwan, who had asked her to the dance.

"But----er, but, Paulina…."

Paulina's fists clenched and her eyes narrowed, standing as high as she could go,

"Fine then! Stay with these…..these losers! I'm still popular and all the boys still want me. I'll make my own group. And when you are no longer popular, don't come crawling back to me!"

She spun around on her heel and marched off, before realizing that was not attractive. She turned it into a brisk saunter.


Authors Note: Yeah, Paulina would think she was the A List. I imagine Paulina's theme song to be "Milkshake" by Kelis: ""My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard and they're like, it's better than yours, dam right, it's better than yours. I can teach you, but I'd have to charge. Watch if you're smart. La la la la. Warm it up. The boys are ringing…""Anyway. haha. Bad song, youngsters! Maybe I should give this ficcie a 'T' rating.

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