Disclaimer: If I owned Danny Phantom, there'd be a futuristic episode where Dash and Tucker would be very happy boys, while Danny and Sam would be too sore to walk for awhile. ;-D

Author's Notes: Yay, I found a computer on my trip and was able to upload this! Enjoy!

Chapter 9: The Mall Mambo

Danny couldn't help but laugh at the joke the blonde made. He quickly stifled it however, when he saw a voluptuous redhead walk past them, "Ok what about her?"

"Nah," Dash said dismissively.

Danny looked at him in disbelief, "What's wrong with her?"

"Trust me, she ain't my type of chick." Dash said. Danny gave Dash a small smile and waited for the next girl to pass by.

More than a month had now passed and his relationship with Dash had taken a strange turn. The two became friends ever since the night he got drunk at Kwan's party. Seeing each other the morning after, the two acknowledged the underlying trust they'd been building up. The weeks passed by and their trust grew into a strange but strong friendship. As they grew on each other, they grew because of each other.

Most people didn't understand the dynamics of what the pair could ever have in common, much less what they were like as friends. It was only clear to them that as the two grew closer they formed a balance around each other. Even Dash didn't understand it all the way through, but every now and then he admitted to himself that the shy and clumsy boy had grown on him. Danny was no longer some guy he picked on merely for kicks. No, he was more than that now. He was Dash's friend, an odd one, but his friend nonetheless.

'Dash is worth saving', was one of the more random thoughts Danny kept having around the blonde. The first time Dash proved to him that he wasn't such a jerk was that fateful morning. Half-naked and hung over, he watched in surprise as the blonde moved around his kitchen as if he owned the place. A fluffy and delicious omelet was all Dash gave him, that and something to help him get over his headache. He expected the blonde to tease him endlessly and recount the embarrassing details about his drunken exploits, but all Dash did was smirk at him and make conversation. After that morning he learned that he shouldn't assume Dash's actions and that digital cameras were going to the bane of his social life.

Dash looked at Danny from the corner of his eyes. He didn't understand the other's boy recent obsession with his love life. For the past week Danny had kept bringing up the subject of girls with him and had wrangled him into going on 'hunting excursions'. They'd judged almost every girl that came their way and while had Dash flirted with some of them, he had yet to make a move on any of them. His eyes looked over to a spunky looking girl walking by them.

Before Danny could even ask, he spoke first "Nope." He look on in amusement as Danny slouched in exasperation.

"She has a nice body, probably does sports or something. From her walk I can tell she has a lot of confidence, but a Sailor Moon t-shirt and ponytails? Even the gum she keeps popping tells me she's a fun person to be around but more immature than me. At least she gets points for being a brunette." Dash said grinning.

"Oh yeah I forgot you had a thing for brunettes." Danny replied smiling. As he looked at his watch he saw it was 12:33 in the afternoon. He flipped the switch and let the top lid lift up. 'I only have...40 days, 7 hours, 27 minutes and 2 seconds to help him. I thought becoming friends with Dash was hard, but finding his true love when he's so picky is practically impossible.'

"Just why are you so dead set in helping me snag a babe anyway?" Dash asked suspiciously. His eyes roamed over to Danny's strange watch. For some reason the other boy never let him see the inside lid.

"You said you needed a date for homecoming." Danny said as if it was the most obvious answer. He clicked his watch into place and made himself more comfortable on the bench.

"Yeah I did, but when I said that I didn't think you'd drag me around town looking at chicks all day. Look dude I appreciate the effort or whatever, but this is actually getting kinda...boring. I'll find a girl on my own and anyway if anyone needs a date it's you." Dash said matter-of-factly.

He rolled his eyes at the confused look the raven haired boy gave him in return. He let out a small sigh of frustration before he spoke, "Valerie told me that Paulina's having a hard time picking between you and Kwan."

A sly smile came to his face and made Danny blush. Danny shifted slightly in his seat, inside acknowledging the rumor to be true. Lately the flirtatious brunette had started to hang around him more. She made all sorts of excuses to try to be near him and while at first Danny didn't mind the attention, he now found himself a little surprised by her actions. In reality the more time he spent with her, the more he found her interesting, albeit overbearing. His previous perception of her had been wrong, but it was still fun getting to know her more. The truth was that all his pent up feelings for her were beginning to change and fade slightly.

"Yeah I heard about that. I think Kwan likes her more than I do though so they should go to the dance together." Danny said somewhat sadly.

"Geez you sound so...lame right now Fenton, it's really pathetic." Dash said smirking. Danny hid the hurt look on his face and was about to retort when the blonde interrupted him again, "What's that weird expression our English teacher taught us?"

Dash thought for a moment before a smile came to his face. "All's fair in love and war. Don't be such a martyr, if you want Paulina then you gotta go through some friendly competition with Kwan."

"Isn't Kwan like your best friend?" Danny asked suspiciously.

"This isn't about that Fenton, it's about you growing a spine. If you want a girl like Paulina then go for it dude. You have a chance so there's nothing wrong with asking her." Dash stated firmly.

Dash gauged the other boy's reaction, seeing his words were being taken seriously. Before he could say anything else someone in front of them cleared their throat. Dash and Danny turned their gazes to the broad form until they landed on Griffith's amused face. Danny's breath suddenly turned into a smoky blue haze, but luckily for him Dash didn't notice it because he was so focused on the annoying boy in front of them. The blonde's dark blue eyes narrowed and his body tensed out of habit.

Danny had long ago cleared up the lies Griffith had told Dash and had warned him that Griffith was not to be trusted. As he stood up to face the sophomore, he realized Griffith had a small height advantage over him. Nonetheless he stood his ground ready for whatever the other boy was going to do. Over the past 2 weeks the Goth boy had caused all sorts of mischief to them and frankly Dash was just itching for some payback.

"Don't get all defensive meathead, I'm not here to see you." His eyes never wavered as he spoke, and his smirk grew as he saw Dash's eyes shine with realization. He looked down to see his raven haired friend stand up and move toward them.

"Hello Dannyboy, may I have a word with you?" Griffith asked in an affable voice. As Danny looked into the green eyes, he realized the other boy was going to be anything but friendly to him.

Dash took a step forward as he spoke, "I've got a word for you."

Danny moved a hand to stop him. "Dash don't," he said as he looked at Griffith with contempt. "He's not worth it." He kept his gaze steady and started to walk toward his evil doppelganger.

"Yeah meathead chill out, I'm only borrowing your boyfriend for a few minutes," Griffith said with a devilish smile.

Dash's eyes narrowed at his words and felt his hands clench. Before he could get close enough to hit Griffith, Danny merely dragged the Goth away with him. Dash looked at Danny in surprise, while all Danny did was give him a look that told him to stay put. He crossed his arms angrily, but watched their body language closely since he couldn't hear them. Right now he didn't like what he was seeing.

Danny stopped at a far enough distance from Dash. He looked at Griffith with guarded eyes. The other boy merely looked him up and down with a smile. Danny felt uncomfortable under the gaze and spoke first, "What do you want Griffith?"

"You to join G.R.I.M." He said bluntly. A smirk appeared on his face at the annoyed glare he received from Danny. "In truth I merely came to see your progress first hand. By the looks of it things are going in your favor now that you've managed to gain the meathead's trust."

"You sound almost happy about it." Danny said suspiciously.

"Since you will be a future associate of mine, it is vitally important that I understand how you operate. I won't have losers or idiots for employees." Griffith said condescendingly. On the inside he was thrilled to be pushing more of Danny's buttons. The younger boy was restraining himself from his irrational anger and most likely the urge to hit him.

Danny spoke to him through gritted teeth, "I'm never going to be your lackey, ever, and I don't have time for anymore of your stupid mind games or annoying pranks at school. Just leave Dash and me alone, alright?"

"Aww are my bits of fun finally getting to you and the meathead, Dannyboy." Griffith said mocking him.

"No, but your bad breath is." Danny retorted back with a smirk. "No matter what you do, I'm going to win your challenge."

Griffith merely laughed at his words and replied in a colder voice, "You really are nothing but a foolish ghost mutt. All your pathetic efforts will bare no fruit, you imbecile! Can you not see that the small sands of time you have been given make it virtually impossible for anyone to truly fall in love with that Neanderthal. He is nothing more than an arrogant idiot with absolutely no future. His brawn is the only thing that makes up for his sad excuse of a brain. You cannot help him cultivate feelings for someone else and vice versa as he is now. Face it, you were doomed from the very start and now you must accept the truth. You. Will. Fail."

"No I won't!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. Several passersby stopped in surprise and turned wary gazes at him. Danny let out an uncharacteristic growl before lunging himself at Griffith. He caught the other boy by surprise and managed to punch him square in the jaw. Griffith reeled back, but Danny gave him no time to recover. He tackled the older boy and the two began fighting for dominance, punching and kicking each other on the floor.

Griffith managed to gain the upper hand and looked down to see Danny's body shaking in anger and his eyes beginning to take on a green hue. Before he could hit Danny's face, he was grabbed by the scruff of his shirt and roughly thrown off him. Despite landing hard on the ground, he quickly picked himself up to face his new attacker.

He smirked and realized that he really should have expected the blonde to aid Danny, especially if it involved him. He watched as Dash helped the raven haired boy up and asked if he was okay. Danny ignored the question and instead looked at Griffith, his eyes shining with anger and back to their normal blue. Dash must have noticed this and had enough common sense to hold Danny back.

Seeing the two together like that triggered an unholy thought within Griffith's mind. As the seconds passed by, he watched them like a surreal dream. Everything was different now and he suddenly realized that no mere tricks could be used here anymore. He felt a small bout of anger at himself for not seeing this sooner. Now that the answer was in front of him, his mind quickly formulated a plan. Perhaps he was the one who had no time.

His expression changed into one of indifference and he slowly came closer toward them. The two stiffened up and glared at him in response. Danny managed to get out of Dash's blockade and stand face to face with Griffith.

"You could have been spared all this Danny, even what you're going through now, but I understand why you won't quit. The problem is that you don't and that is why I will always have the upper hand in this game. I leave you only some words of advice; it is not I that stand in your way, it is your emotions."

The distant sound of two people yelling caught their ears and the three saw the approaching security guards. Griffith bowed dramatically before running off at top speed and getting lost in the crowd. Danny was going to chase after him, but Dash quickly dragged him in the other direction.

"Forget about it Fenton. If you get caught starting a fight with him, Lancer will suspend you." he said hastily.

The two wove around other people, until Dash managed to sneak them into one of the maintenance hallways. Danny felt lost as he ran with Dash and felt the blonde's grip on his wrist starting to hurt. The other boy seemed to know his way around and when they turned another corner a look of relief came to Dash's face. Danny saw the red door and wondered where it led to. His question was answered as Dash quickly opened it and dragged Danny with him.

The two stopped to catch their breath and Danny was briefly thankful for Coach Higgins's crazy sprinting exercises. He turned his attention back to where they were and realized that they were near some kind of loading dock. It was probably where trucks made their deliveries for department stores or something else. His mind let the anger die down as his body relaxed. He could think about Griffith later...much later.

Just as he was about to start walking away his brain zapped him with another realization, Dash hadn't let go of his arm yet. Danny looked down at the calm grip and then at the owner. The good thing was that Dash wasn't even looking at him, but around the corner to make sure they hadn't been followed.

Danny wondered if he should casually ease out of the hold or wait for the other boy to let go first. It's not that he cared that Dash was touching him, he just wasn't used to being touched like that by anyone. While the debate continued inside Danny's mind, the other boy turned his attention to him. The blonde flashed him a triumphant smile before he spoke, "Looks like we lost them."

As Dash started to walk away, he let go of Danny's arm and shoved his hands into his pockets. For a moment Danny stared at Dash's retreating form before letting out an involuntary shrug and following after him. He shoved his own hands in his pocket and quietly walked alongside Dash.

"Dude you really nailed him." Dash said smirking. "Ya know I've never actually seen you fight before. You might be able to even take on me."

"Yeah I guess." Danny replied absentmindedly. The two turned a corner and walked onto one of the more busy main streets. Dash wondered how he could prod the brunette into explaining what happened.

"I hate him." Danny muttered. If Dash hadn't been walking so close to him, he wouldn't have heard Danny's words. His shoulder slumped slightly as he admitted, "He's the first person I've ever actually hated."

"What? You mean I wasn't the first?" Dash said only half-joking.

"It was different with you. I disliked you, but I never hated you." Danny said seriously. Dash heard the sincerity in Danny's words and felt a small sense of ease.

"You must have had a good reason to fight him." Dash said casually.

Danny looked up at the taller boy smiling, "Yeah, I did."

Something about the look Danny on Danny's face, made him feel like he was missing something. He decided not to push the matter further and gave Danny a big grin, "So the way I see it, your fight with that freak show doesn't have to be a big deal. You didn't get caught so no harm, no foul and...you also proved me wrong."

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked bemused.

"Yeah you're a do-gooder dork sometimes, but you do have a spine and a mean right hook." Dash said laughing. Danny just looked at him before chuckling right along with him. When the two finally settled down, they found themselves in front of the local diner.

"Hey I'm kinda hungry after all that chick watching, let's go to get burgers." Dash said.

The two made their way inside and found an empty booth near the jukebox. They both picked up a menu and looked at all the tempting selections. Danny looked up from the top of his menu at the fun atmosphere around him. He recognized most of the people inside from school and couldn't help but smile at the interesting sight they made. A nearby waitress saw them and quickly set down someone else's order before walking toward them.

"Hi there, are you two ready to order?" the young girl asked in a friendly tone. She took out a pad and pencil to take their orders.

"Yeah can I have a cheeseburger and some fries?" Danny said. The waitress nodded and wrote his order down. "Oh and a chocolate milkshake."

"Sure thing, what about you?" she said turning her attention to Dash.

Danny looked at the blonde seeing a strange glint in his eyes as he stared at their waitress. With a smirk he moved his hands in front of Dash's face, "Earth to Dash."

Dash finally snapped out of it and blushed in embarrassment. Danny couldn't help but laugh as he realized the waitress was blushing with him. He looked between the two with a smirk and waited for what they would do next.

The waitress cleared her throat, "What can I get for you?"

A smoky blue mist escaped Danny's mouth just as Dash was about to say his order. With a gasp he looked around him to find the ghost. Nothing inside the diner seemed out of the ordinary, so that meant it had to be outside. Sure enough a strange pirate ghost was causing a rampage near the bank. He slid out of the booth and quickly stood up.

"What's wrong Fenton?" Dash asked in surprise.

"I just gotta go do something really quick, but I'll be back before the food gets here." he said distractedly. He maneuvered his way around the other customers and out the door. As he ran outside he bumped into his two best friends.

"Hey Danny! You want to go grab a bite with us?" Tucker said smiling. He and Sam were back from their date at the zoo. Normally he would have teased them, but right now he had a crisis on his hands.

"No time you guys. I gotta go stop a ghost at the bank." He said quickly.

"We'll go with you." Sam said. Danny nodded in response and looked around for somewhere to transform.
"Does your friend always do that?" the waitress asked smiling.

"Yeah he's kinda of a flake sometimes," Dash giving her a broad smile in return. "but he's a cool guy."

"I see. Well what can I get for you?" she asked him for the third time.

"Your number." Dash replied boldly. She laughed and gave him a coy smile in return. "Ok, I'll settle for knowing your name."

"The name I can do," she said smiling, "it's Sandra, Sandra Perkins."

End of Chapter 9

Author's Notes:

1) Just in case I get attacked for it, no I have nothing against Sailor Moon fans. That girl is a description of a friend of mine who dresses like that and claims it's because she's too cool to be mature. lol

2) So yeah quite the small rumble that was between Griffith and Danny. Anyone care to make bets on who would've won if Dash hadn't interfered? hehehe. :)

3) Thanks for reading the update! Please review!

Spider's Shout Outs:
(because I'm too poor to buy you all souvenirs)

Dela the Hidden: Hey there! Yeah a wasted Danny is cool and you know that a lap dancing one is even cooler, ;) , but alas this is a pg-13 fic...for now. Yay, you called me Spidey! I dunno I just like that nickname a lot, lol. I thought it was kinda obvious who that girl is. After reading your reviews I know you can definitely figure out who she is. ;-D Thanks for the review!

Leanie: Hey! ::cheers:: Yay, another review! Hehehe, I'm glad you enjoyed reading this chapter and thought it was cute. I hope that you'll dig this one even more. Thanks again for the nice review!

Ranma Higurashi: Hey again! Yeah poor Danny, but that's going to nothing if Dash ever prings those pictures and shows them around school. That will be just a massacre. lol. At any rate, I hope you liked this chappie update! Thanks for the review!

Kayu Silver: Hello again groovy reviewer! lol, I understand what you mean. My parents thought something was wrong with me because I chuckled most of the time I wrote that chapter. As I mentioned earlier I have found a way to upload this chapter and I hope this is somewhat on time. hehehe, thanks for the too cool review! :)

What the G stands for: Awesome! I got another new reviewer and one that has a dope pen name at that. :-) Can I know what the G stands for? lol. ::Spidey waves around some delicious tamales and enchilidas fresh from the stove:: Hehehe, I'm glad you liked the chapter and I hopeyou like the next one. Thanks for the cool review!

KimuraSato: Hello 'ello! Danny and digital cameras don't mix either, lol. Yeah it's a good thing he didn't open up his yap about that, but I think if he did Dash would keep it on the downlow...that is if Dash even believed him. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter that was chock full of more Dash and Danny moments. Thanks for the awesome review!

Katy Kreger: Hey girl! Actually it's a long list of them and I plan to e-mail ya about it soon and I hope you do the same. :-) I'm glad you're still digging this fic! Thanks for the cool direct e-mail review!