Thanks for all the great reviews! They all make me so happy. (Phantom of a Rose…you hit it right on the head. I just couldn't resist! Oh, and thanks for adding me to your C2! I'm honored!) And a HUGE thanks to everyone who has added me to their favorites and C2s!

And as for the comments on the bra thing…I know. Just remember the episode "Splitting Images" where Tucker said, "Did you see Danny in that bra? Puce is not your color, man." So HAH! (:

I thought this story needed a bit more interaction with other people, so this has some nice family bonding in it. (cackles evilly) Also, real life girly stuff returns full force in this chapter. I apologize in advance. I don't know what possessed me to write it. heh heh.

Well, This Is Awkward

Chapter 3

What Else Can Go Wrong?

At the end of the day, the only "plan" they could think of was for Danny to go back to Sam's house, and Sam to stay at Danny's house, and both pretend everything was normal, and hope that it would be in the morning when they woke up.

The two teens eagerly sprang up as soon as they awoke the following day, rushing to a mirror and groaning when they realized they were still stuck. They trudged into school, the looks on their faces telling Tucker everything. "Didn't work, huh?" They both shook their heads in frustration. One day in their best friend's body had been enough; when would it end?

"Well, our only hope now of getting back into our own bodies is to find Desiree," Danny said, trying not to pull on the bra under his shirt. Honestly, it was so constricting and uncomfortable, he would never understand why girls wore them.

"But what if we have to fight her?" Sam asked, noticing Danny's discomfort with a bit of sadistic glee. It was not fair that guys didn't have to wear any such thing. "You know I can't fight her like this, and neither can you."

"Well then, we'll just have to hope it doesn't come to that," Tucker stated simply, blissfully unaware of his friends' inner thoughts about evil underwear. "Besides, we've been in worse situations and come out on top. Why should this be any different? And what else can possible go wrong?"

"Please don't say that," Sam groaned. Things always had a way of getting worse, and tended to show it whenever somebody uttered those words. She noticed that Danny was wincing. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"Yeah, nothing," Danny replied. "It's just that my—your—back is kinda achey, right here." He rubbed a hand over his lower back. "Yesterday too, though I just figured it was the stress of being in your body. I'm sure it's nothing, though."

Sam nodded in agreement. She constantly had little aches and pains—just one of the effects of growing up. "Come one, we're gonna be late for class."

"Hey Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind showering? I'm starting to smell."

Sam fought down the irritating blush of embarrassment. "Danny, I'm trying to avoid even going to the bathroom. What makes you think I'm going to take a shower while I'm still in your body?"

Danny shrugged. "I took one in yours."

Sam stared after him agape as he walked away. "What! Danny, you're just kidding, right? Right?? Danny!"

"Come on, Sam, we're gonna be late for class!"

Sam resisted the urge to bang her head repeatedly on the nearest locker. 'When this is all over, we're never going to be able to look at each other the same way again.'

…………

The trio converged on Sam's house that day after school, planning out their next course of action. So far all they had was to check all the wishing wells and such for any ghostly activity, and if that failed, to walk around town with the Fenton Ghost Finder and hope to bump into Desiree.

Danny was in the bathroom as Sam spun around in her own chair and Tucker raided her video game collection, searching for any new additions that were not yet out on the market. Sam, deep in thought, ignored him as he rifled through her stuff. Surely there was some better way to find that cursed wish-granting ghost than just stumbling onto her. Perhaps Sam could cover more ground flying and relying on her ghost sense instead of the Ghost Finder. Though for all they knew, Desiree could already be back in the Ghost Zone…

Her train of thought was interrupted as Danny came back into the room, looking worried. "Uh, Sam? Could I speak to you?" He cast a glance at Tucker, who was too busy drooling over his newest find to notice them. "Privately?" He led her out into the hall and closed the bedroom door, looking rather uncomfortable.

"What is it?" Sam asked, trying not to let her thoughts get ahead of her. She prayed it wasn't what she thought it was.

"Well, I'm uh—you're uh—kinda," he paused, running a hand through his long black hair. "…bleeding."

Dear heavens, no! "Where?" she asked slowly, dreading the answer. She could feel her deepest blush yet all week building up.

Danny cast a nervous glance at the closed door, then leaned in and whispered something in her ear.

Sam felt the blush break across her face and turned away to hide it, looking everywhere but at Danny. "Ah yes—that. It's perfectly normal, really. Don't worry about it." She led him back into the bathroom and began digging under the sink for something. She produced a plastic-wrapped object, long and thin, and handed it to him.

He looked blankly at it. "What do I do with it?"

Sam felt her face grow even hotter, though she did not know how that was possible. On second thought, she snatched the object back and threw it under the sink again, fishing around for something else. This time she handed him a plastic-wrapped object that was flat and nearly square. "There. I'll let you figure that one out yourself." She hurried out and closed the door behind her, sliding down the wall. She was ready to die from mortification, and cursed Tucker darkly in her head.

Oh yes, what else could possibly go wrong?

…………

The trio stood next to the most popular wishing fountain in Amity Park, glancing around for any sign of Desiree. The Ghost Finder was silent, besides beeping at Sam, and her ghost sense had not gone off.

She caught Danny's hands as he massaged his thighs in pain. "No, don't rub. It'll only make it worse, trust me."

"But it hurts," Danny told her in a despairing tone. She could not help but feel sorry for him, going through what no guy ever had. Of course, not many people were half ghost, either, but that was completely different.

"What's going on, guys?" Tucker asked in confusion.

Danny and Sam shared a quick glance. "Nothing," they answered together.

"We should probably keep moving," Danny suggested, easily changing the subject. "We're not going to find Desiree by standing around."

The rest of the day passed in much the same way, with no sign of Desiree, though they did nearly run into a few other small ghosts that they chose to hide from rather than fight. As evening drew on, Danny and Sam were no closer to getting back into their rightful bodies and were forced to part ways again.

Danny arrived back at the Manson Mansion just in time for dinner, taking his place across the wide table from Sam's parents. He eyed the meat longingly, but reluctantly accepted the soy melt sandwich set before him. Sam had threatened him about eating anything she wouldn't, telling him she would find out about it.

"So, how was your day, Darling?"

After a moment of silence, Danny realized Mrs. Manson had been addressing him. He smiled politely and replied, "Just fine." Mrs. Manson just gave him a strange look, and he realized his mistake. To them, he was still their Goth daughter Sam. He covered the smile by shoving a large bite of sandwich into his mouth, wondering how Sam survived on this stuff.

Mrs. Manson shrugged off the rare occurrence of the smile, deciding Sam must have just had a very nice day, and changed the subject. "So, Sammykins, I bought you something today."

Danny felt terror wash over him at those words. He didn't have to be a Manson to know that anything coming from that woman had to be pink and frilly. And Danny just wasn't in to pink and frilly.

Mrs. Manson snapped her fingers and a maid came out bearing a very puffy, very pink and frilly dress.

And Danny especially wasn't in to dresses. He knew Mrs. Manson would beg him to at least try it on, so he decided to do a very Sam-like thing, and fight it all the way.

Mrs. Manson saw the determined look on her daughter's (as far as she knew) face, and knew she would never get anywhere by playing fair. "Tell you what, Sammy, you at least try it on, and I'll revoke the restraining order on Danny Fenton."

Danny's eyes widened. "What restraining order?" he nearly shouted. A remote part of his mind, though, was laughing hysterically at the irony. He wondered what Mrs. Manson would do if she knew that Danny Fenton was actually in her daughter's body.

"Why, the one I was just considering having put on him," Mrs. Manson replied, still in that same sugary sweet tone. "He isn't a very good influence on you, you know."

Danny glared and stood up, snatching the dress from the maid. He decided that Sam's mom was very, very evil.

Unknown to him, Sam was going through much the same situation, only she wasn't being forced to wear a dress.

Sam sat eating her salad in silence, ignoring the strange looks she was receiving from the three Fentons. Finally Jazz asked, "Are you sure you're alright, Danny? You've never been one to turn down a good pork chop."

She held the plate of meat up for Sam, who tried not to make her disdain too obvious. "I guess Sam has just been wearing off on me lately," she replied in what she hoped was not too much of a lie. "And besides, a salad is so much more healthy for you. You know if you don't cook pork thoroughly enough, you could get trichinosis."

"No need to worry about that!" Jack declared.

"We invented a way to cook meat faster and safer than on a stove," Maddie explained proudly.

So she hadn't been hallucinating when she thought she saw a green glow around the pork. Sam grimaced. She didn't think even Tucker would eat this meat. "You know what…I'm fine with my salad, thanks."

"Suit yourself, sweetie," Maddie shrugged as Jack speared another pork chop and moved it onto his plate.

Sam just sighed and continued eating her salad. A few minutes later she excused herself and headed up to Danny's room to finish her homework. Whether she was in Danny's body or not, Sam Manson still had homework to keep up.

She found her mind drifting off, though, only a few minutes later, slowly forgetting her homework as she thought about the last few days. With a snap, she forced herself to concentrate on the textbook in front of her. She wondered if Danny was doing his own homework…how he was getting along with her parents…if he was taking advantage of her home theatre and bowling alley…

Sam smacked her forehead, forcing herself to read the textbook before her. She rested her chin on her hand and merely stared through it. Jeeze, why was it so hard to concentrate? 'Danny must have ADD or something…'

"Hey Danny, I—"

The voice startled Sam and she gave a loud yelp, spinning around and consequently falling off Danny's chair.

"Jeeze, Danny, are you okay?" Jazz asked, eyebrows raised in concern. "I'm never able to sneak up on you like that."

"Ah, yeah, it's…nothing. I'm alright." Danny and she had already agreed not to tell anybody else about their little mix up, even Jazz. Tucker had been bad enough. "What's up, Jazz?" Sam asked, trying to change the subject. She put a hand on the seat of the chair to pull herself back up, but suddenly felt her arm go intangible. Her weight having been on that arm, she gave another yelp as it went through and her face was slammed into the seat. So that was what it felt like…

Jazz looked as though she were torn between laughter and concern. "Losing control of your powers? That hasn't happened in a while. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, Jazz, I said I'm fine like a hundred times already, jeeze." Sam pulled her arm out of the chair and managed to sit in it without further difficulty.

"Is it…girl trouble?" Jazz asked softly, as though conveying an important secret.

Sam felt a blush automatically creep onto her face before the full impact of Jazz's words sank in. This could get interesting…

"Is it about Sam?"

Oh yes…very interesting, indeed. Sam could barely restrain from laughing evilly.

Jazz only took "her brother's" blush as encouragement that she was right. "I'm not blind, you know. I've seen the way you look at her sometimes. And even if you don't acknowledge it, I know that you—"

Just then, the doorbell rang and Sam slumped back in her seat from where she had leaning forward in anticipation of what Jazz had been about to say. She cursed whoever was at the door and got up to look out the window. "Dan—Sam! Yes, Sam. It's Sam!" She smiled innocently at Jazz, who just looked at her strangely.

"Alright. I'll leave you two lovebirds alone then," the older girl smiled.

"We're not lovebirds!" Sam shouted. Jazz just gave her a look that said differently and the younger girl nearly screamed in frustration, stomping past her to go answer the door.

Danny looked a bit frazzled, his hair mussed and a muted grimly horrified expression on his face.

"Oh no," Sam realized. "What did she make you do?"

"I don't wish to ever speak of it," Danny said calmly, though his eye twitched a bit.

The two went up to Danny's room and spent the rest of the evening just talking and playing video games until night fell. Danny was leaning on the windowsill staring at the emerging stars while Sam hung upside down over the edge of his bed, thumbing through an old photo album of his.

"Hey, Sam, let's go look at the stars," Danny suddenly proposed.

Sam dropped the photo album, looking at him in panic. "What do you mean…like, fly?"

Danny laughed. "No, I don't really feel like getting dropped on your head tonight," he said. "I meant let's go out on the roof."

"Oh…" Sam sighed in relief. Needless to say, she was still not quite confident in her ability to control Danny Phantom. "Alright."

A few minutes later they were outside, lying on the roof and staring up at the stars in silence. Sam reflected that Danny had always loved the stars…She attributed it to his lifelong desire to be an astronaut, though she also felt an attraction to the celestial bodies of the night sky.

Danny frowned thoughtfully and sat up, looking down at Sam. "Hey Sam, I was just thinking…"

"Amazing!" Sam declared, smirking at him.

He smiled back, though it quickly disappeared again. "I was thinking that, if we're stuck like this forever—"

"Don't say that," Sam cut him off. She was not overly fond of the idea of spending the rest of her life in somebody else's body. "We'll find some way to fix this soon."

"Yeah, but I was just saying, what if…" Danny trailed off, a light blush coloring his face. "Well, it would be really awkward to get married, you know? 'Cause I would have to marry a guy, and that would be just weird."

Sam snorted loudly, quickly sitting up so she wouldn't choke. "What would make you think about such a thing?"

"I dunno," Danny muttered, his blush darkening. "But think about it. You would have to marry a girl. And then if we ever did find a way to get back to normal, well…that would just be even weirder."

"So, what are you getting at?" Sam smiled in amusement.

"Well, I was thinking," Danny started slowly, "that the only sensible solution would be to marry each other."

Sam choked again, coughing harshly as she swallowed the wrong way from surprise. She certainly had not been expecting that one.

"Think about it," he defended. "It will still be us, even if we're in each other's bodies, so it won't be like you marrying a girl or me marrying a guy. Plus, if we do ever get back to normal, it'll still be us!"

Well…he did have a point. But still…she smiled slyly. "Are you proposing to me?"

To her surprise, he grinned back. "I guess so. Will you, Sam Manson, marry me if we haven't returned to normal by the time we're old enough, to avoid utter awkwardness?"

Her smiled only increased. "Daniel Fenton, I accept your proposal of complete weirdness prevention." He grinned widely at her, and the next moment found them slowly moving toward each other. Their eyes dropped and their breath quickened in expectation until their lips were only an inch apart. Then something snapped and both their eyes widened, quickly jerking back from each other and looking away.

Sam chuckled slowly. "That was weird."

Danny giggled. "Almost like kissing a mirror." He looked at her and fell onto his back, laughing. "On second thought, maybe we'll just never marry, eh?" Sam nodded in agreement.

End of chapter. Well…it is named "Well, This is Awkward" for a reason, you know! (runs away)