Welcome to chapter two, and thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Danny Phantom series.

Danny stood before the mirror around 6:30 that night, putting the finishing touches on his look. Even though he was just going to the movies, he didn't want to look too casual. He was dressed in a short-sleeved black polo with a thin white chest stripe, dark wash jeans, and brand-new black leather sneakers, an early birthday gift from his parents.

Danny combed his thick hair, re-folded his shirt collar, and sprayed on a little cologne. He grabbed a light jacket off his desk chair and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Jazz, I'm taking off now!" he shouted as he passed his sister's bedroom.

"Okay, Danny, have fun, but be back by 10:30. And I know it's hard for you, but try to stay out of trouble."

"Yeah, whatever you say," Danny sighed. Ever since he got grounded three weeks previous for again coming home after his curfew, Jazz had been playing concerned adult whenever their parents weren't around, and he found it more irksome each subsequent time.

Excited and anxious, Danny took the stairs two at a time. As he left through the front door, he checked his watch. It was 6:45, meaning he had fifteen minutes to get to Paulina's house, and another thirty minutes after that until the movie started. He got his motor scooter out of the garage and put on the helmet. Ensuring that there was an extra one for Paulina to use, he started it and was on his way.

Danny got there five minutes early and was surprised to find Paulina waiting outside for him. He greeted her, and she smiled warmly and ran over to him, returning his greeting with a hug. "I'm so happy to see you, Danny," she proclaimed. "I was so excited about our date that I decided to wait for you outside."

Danny breathed a sigh of relief, thinking back to the one time prior when he had gone to her house to meet up with her, and her dad had given him the third degree. Paulina had actually agreed to go to a dance with Danny. Then again, she had been possessed by a power emanating from a mysterious amulet, so that didn't exactly qualify as anything romantic.

Danny handed the spare helmet to Paulina and helped her get situated on the scooter, sitting down in front of her. He couldn't get over how stunning she looked, despite the simplicity of her outfit-a bubblegum pink camisole, a cropped black shirt jacket, flared jeans, and black boots. His smile grew even wider as she wrapped her arms around his waist, holding onto him for safety.

"Hang on!" he said as he revved up the scooter, and she held him even tighter. For a moment, he forgot how to breathe.

When he finally returned to his senses, Danny steered the scooter away from the curb, and the two were on their way. They reached the theater ten minutes later and made their way to the ticket window. As soon as Danny finished purchasing the tickets, Paulina dragged him over to "meet" four of her friends, although he knew them because they made a point of treating him like dirt at school.

"Danny, you already know Dash, and this is Kwan, Valerie, and Star," Paulina said. She was clinging to Danny's arm, sending shivers up his spine and making him turn slightly crimson. He reached out his other arm to shake the hands of the other four, and, to his astonishment, they actually returned the greeting, as if seeing him for the first time. Normally, this would make Danny extremely suspicious, but he was too busy relishing the moment to worry.

The six made their way into the theater and took up the back left row. As soon as the previews began, Dash and Star decided to make out, and Kwan and Valerie quickly followed suit. Danny led Paulina to two seats a couple rows up, and she rested her head on his shoulder... and her hand on his leg.

"Oh, Danny, isn't this so romantic?" she said in an enchanting whisper, sighing happily. A shoot-'em-up flick wasn't exactly his idea of romance, but he was enjoying the attention entirely too much to give a damn. He took Paulina's hand and used his other hand to stroke her hair, hardly seeming to notice how frequently his fingers became stuck fast because of all the hair products she needed as part of her "natural beauty."

After the movie let out, the other two couples stopped kissing long enough to say good-bye to Danny and Paulina and leave the theater. It was only 9:30, so Danny took Paulina to an ice cream parlor, where they shared a banana split. Even the way she ate her dessert seemed to tease Danny; he could hardly take his eyes off her, and several times he came very close to missing his mouth and feeding his chin a bite of ice cream.

Danny dropped off Paulina promptly at 10:15. He walked her to her front door with every intention of bidding good-bye like a gentleman, but she instead reminded him that he was a hormonally-charged teenager. When he took her hand to kiss it, she pulled him to her, stood on her toes, and pressed her lips to his.

Danny was completely taken aback, but he quickly got into it. The kiss lasted but a few seconds, yet was just long enough for Danny to decide for sure that foregoing his previous plans was worth it. As if he needed any more convincing.

Paulina pulled away and flashed a toothy grin at Danny. "Thanks again for the wonderful night, Danny. See you tomorrow, right? There's a party at Dash's house at 8, and everyone's gonna be there. Everyone that matters, that is."

"Well, you, see, I already have plans for tomorrow."

"What, you don't want to spend time with me?" Paulina said, a look of sadness crossing her face.

"Of course I do. It's just that this thing I was gonna do is something I've been waiting on for months now. But don't worry; I'm sure I can work something out, maybe leave early or put the whole thing off 'till Sunday."

"Is it with Sam and Tucker? Because, you know, you can always invite them to the party. If they're friends of yours, then shouldn't they be friends of mine?"

"Are you sure?" Danny inquired, raising an eyebrow. He didn't know whether to just take her up on the offer, or to instead take her temperature to make sure some serious illness wasn't clouding her judgment.

"Of course I am, silly," Paulina answered, leaning in and giving him another kiss. "I'll call you tomorrow with all the details. Good night, Danny."

"Good night, Paulina," he breathed dreamily, watching her slink into her house. After she closed the door, Danny boarded his scooter, drowning in thoughts of romance as he touched his lips, the warmth of her kiss still lingering. He let himself daydream for another moment before finally starting up the scooter and heading home.

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