Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of the characters. Danny Phantom is the sole property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Viacom International.
Stranded
Chapter 8: The Storm II
Previously
Star soon found herself being shaken awake, with somebody calling her name over and over. It's Danny, she could recognize his voice.
"Star, wake up...wake up!..."Danny shouted as he kept probing her until she is finally awake.
Star is finally up but is still too groggy to notice her surroundings...
"W-what's up? Is it my turn to stand watch?..."Star muttered, still a bit drowsy, only for Danny to yank her up.
"Get up, we have got to go..."Danny ordered, just in time for Star to come to her senses and notice the distressed look on his face.
"What's going on?..."Star asked only to hear the sound of thunder .
The blonde girl turned around and looked up and was dismayed to see so many storm clouds forming.
"Trouble. ..."Danny said with a frown on his face.
This is not looking good.
The storms clouds were gathering, the sound of thunder is heard from a distance and the possibility of lighting is very high. Yes, a storm is about to fall and from the looks of it, a big one.
"Hurry up Star..."Danny ordered as he and the blonde girl left the beach and were now hiking up a steep mountain in the island, much to Star's dismay.
"I'm hurrying...'Star said as she climbed up, but nearly slipped due to the slippery terrain.
"Come on, we have to get to high ground fast before the storm gets worse...'Danny said.
Star sighed as she tried to climb as best as she could.
'Do you even know where we are going?..."Star asked, not helping it.
"No but as soon as we are on high ground, we can find a cave or something and hide in there until the storm blows over...'Danny said, not even looking at her.
Just in time as the rain chose then to fall, making this climb even more difficult.
"Oh, perfect...'Star sighed as she tried hard to ignore the cold rain and focus on getting up this darn mountain.
The blonde girl was about to take another step, but due to the slipperiness of the mud under neath her feet, the hapless blonde girl ended up losing her balance and was about to fall back.
'AHHH!...' Star shouted as she lost her balance.
Thankfully, she didn't fall, as she noticed that her hand was in Danny's, who helped her get steady.
"Are you okay?...'Danny asked the blonde girl.
Star blinked until she realized he just helped her again...and that his hand is in hers now. Star immediately let go but sent him a passive look.
"I'm fine...thanks..."Star said in a low voice.
CRACK!
A huge blast of lightning was heard, startling Star and Danny, who remembered of the dangerous situation they were in...they also noticed that the water levels will rise soon.
"Come on...only about ten more feet..."Danny said to her.
Despite all of the slipperiness of the mud and the hindrance of the rain and wind, the two of them eventually managed to get to high ground and luck was for once on their side.
"Look...a cave...'Star pointed only 15 feet away from them.
Danny smiled and sighed in relief...
'Bingo...'He said, feeling hopeful for their survival.
Inside the cave
Danny and Star had entered the cave, soaked, cold but alive and Danny wasted no time in using a bunch of twigs and leaves to form another, albeit smaller fire that they are now surrounding. They were sill wet but being close to the heat of the fire helped a bit.
"You got to show me how to do that...'Star commented after Danny managed to get the sparks going.
"Boy scout 101..."Danny said simply as he fanned the flame to make it bigger.
Suddenly Danny sneezed loudly.
"Bless you. .."Star said to be polite.
"Thanks..."Danny said as he noticed that his shirt is still soaking wet.
"Uh...I think it's best to lay this near the fire to dry...don't want to get a head cold on top of all of this..."Danny said...until he noticed Star and Danny felt a little self conscious.
She is after all, a girl and we'll. ..
"What are you waiting for? If your soaked, take your shirt off..."Star said and Danny looked a little embaressed.
The boy sighed as he sucked it up and just took his soggy white and red t-shirt off and wringed it in his hand, managing to get most of the water out of it. He then placed it nearby to the fire to help it dry. Hopefully in the morning, it will be alright. Danny sat back down, only to notice that Star is staring at him...
"What?..."Danny asked in a clueless tone.
Star flinched at being addressed and turned away, almost like she is embarrassed about something but Danny didn't notice that.
"Nothing..."Star said as she tried to avert her eyes...though not from a bad sight or anything.
Fenton...okay, Star has seen way buffer guys before like Dash and Kwan but Danny, despite his baggy clothes, he's. ...okay, he's not exactly ripped like Kwan is but he is no where near the wimp that Dash always calls him. He's. ..pretty toned. It really surprised Star since he didn't seem like the guy to care about working out.
Star didn't really want to think about it, so she tried to think of a conversation that didn't involve Danny's physique.
"Ship wrecked by a storm...stuck on an island...nearly attacked by snakes and now hiding in a cave from another storm...I feel like I'm in a lousy survival movie..."Star snarked.
"At least we're alive, that's the most important thing..."Danny said as he looked around the cave.
If Sam was here, he is sure that she would be marveling over it. It's pretty big and he noticed several other tunnels that went deeper and deeper inside. Danny had no interest in them, he and Star would be in this spot until the whole storm blows over and then they will head back to the beach to try and put another signal fire.
It's their only chance now...
There was a silence in this cave...until Star finally decided to break it.
Hey...Fenton..."Star started, in a surprisingly shy voice.
"What is it, Star?..." Danny asked and he noticed that Star is looking away from him, like she didn't want to look him in the eye.
"I...Thank you...you know...for helping me...again..."Star said in a soft voice
Danny blinked, before he smiled at that.
"Don't mention it, Star..."Danny said simply.
"But...I...I wanted to know something, if you don't mind my asking...'Star said.
'What is it?..."Danny asked in a curious tone.
"Why...why did you went out of your way to protect me all day? I thought you didn't like me...'Star said and Danny blinked.
"Just because we aren't friends Star, it doesn't mean I want anything bad to happen to you..." Danny said simply.
To Danny's confusion, Star looked like she was surprised by what he just said, before she looked away. Danny continued looking at the fire, until Star finally said something once again.
"You know..I don't think I really said thank you...for the snake and the berries...and for trying to pull me back on the ship...'Star said.
"As I said, don't mention it...'Danny said as he added another twig to the fire.
Star still couldn't believe he's not even gloating about it or telling her that she owes him. She also couldn't help but notice that right now...they way he looked when he saw feeding the fire...well...he almost looks kind of... cool. It really confused her, making her wonder why he is at the bottom of the school's social order...
"Hey Star..."Danny spoke up, just in time to snap Star from her staring before he noticed.
"W-What is it, Fenton?..."Star asked, hoping he didn't notice her stuttering.
Thankfully he didn't, as he just chose to ask his question.
"There is something I kind of want to ask you, you don't have to answer if you don't want to but I kind of would like to know..."Danny said.
"What is it?..."Star asked, wondering what's on his mind.
"Why...why don't we get along at school?..."Danny asked, surprising Star.
"Even when we got paired up, all we did was fight and all you did was yell at me...I just want to know what I did that made you dislike me so much?..."Danny asked.
Sure, it might be a strange question and sure, compared to the other A-Listers , Star wasn't his worst harrier, but she is the only one here. He just never understood why he ended up being the least liked kid in their grade, sure he's not rich or a jock but was there another reason other than being the son of the town's eccentric ghost hunting family?
Star looked surprised and looked down, almost in confusion and maybe even some guilt. Sure, before he saved her life, she didn't care about this guy due to his lack of popularity and being from a freaky ghost hunting family...but now that she thought about it, aside from what happened at the Happy Princess Beauty Pageant last semester, he never did anything to her personally.
Before, Star didn't care since that was irrelevant to A-Listers ...but now...now...
"Dash and Paulina don't like you or your friends..."Star answered, but Danny blinked at that.
"I didn't ask if they liked me...I asked why you didn't like me..."Danny said.
Star blinked, she thought that answered it but it looks like she had to explain more.
"I'm not allowed to like anyone who isn't part of or approved by the A-Listers. ..."Star said, looking down.
"Excuse me? What does that mean?..."Danny asked, not getting it.
"Exactly as I said, Dash , Paulina and the others don't like you or your friends...so I'm not suppose to like you either..."Star said, as if that made sense.
"Wait, so the reason you don't like me is just because your friends don't. ..."Danny said.
"It's how it works in the A-Listers, Paulina and Dash are the highest ranking members and what they say goes...on how to dress, what to listen to, which trends to follow...and who to hang out with..."Star said as she looked away, thinking about Valerie.
She wonders if she will ever be able to see her again...
Danny however, looked like he was disturbed to say the least . ..
"Are you serious? You aren't "allowed" to hang out with whoever you want?!..."Danny said in disbelief, and Star nodded.
"But what about Valerie? I thought you two were still friends?..."Danny asked, not understanding.
"I still like her but...I can't hang out with her around the other A-Listers...it's against our code..."Star said sadly.
"It's one of the prices to pay for popularity..."She said to the dark haired boy.
Danny looked surprised, before he frowned. He knew the A-Listers can be shallow, but basically making rules like that...
"It's a really lousy price...No offense but after hearing all of that, I think I rather stay unpopular...at least then you don't have to follow such stupid rules..."Danny said and Star frowned.
"Hey, sure Paulina and Dash an be stressful to deal with but the A-Listers have those rules to keep order at school..."Star said in an insulted tone.
"Order? Is that what you think it is?! Wake up! They only made those rules because they are snobs who think they are too good for everyone and want everyone in their club to be as mean and shallow as they are..."Danny said with his arms crossed.
"Look...sure Dash and Paulina can be hard to deal with but...but...but..."Star paused as she tried to think of something positive about her friends to justify their policy.
To her immense surprise, Star realized that she couldn't think of any...and Danny noticed..
"You have no comeback, do you?..."Danny pointed out and Star frowned and turned away from him.
"Oh forget it, Fenton...it's not like I could expect you to understand..."Star huffed and Danny just sent a disinterested look at her now.
"Maybe I don't. ..and I don't want to understand something like that..."Danny said as he looked away.
There was another thick silence between the two, who refused to budge on their opinions. Danny sighed as he got up.
"It's late...if you don't mind...I'm gonna go to sleep..."Danny said as he crawled to another corner of the cave and tried hard to find a comfortable position.
Thankfully, his adrenaline from the entire day had worn off and his exhaustion finally kicked in. Danny was soon sleeping. Star looked at him and sighed before looking away. She didn't understand what just happened, just a moment ago, they were actually getting along fine and now they had a fight about the A-Listers and what they stand for. Star knew that yes, a lot of them can be mean but the school has a social order that needs to be acknowledged.
It's how things are suppose to be...
"I'm not wrong...Fenton just doesn't understand..."Star said as she sent another look at the strange, shirtless boy who is finally asleep.
Sleep really sounded like a good idea, right about now...
Star yawned and decided to get some sleep too. Hopefully the storm will be over in the morning and they can think things clearly after a night of rest. Star yawned as she made herself comfortable in her own corner. She felt her exhaustion once again and felt her eyes closing, the need for sleep finally kicking in.
Both teenagers were now sleeping within this cave, safe from the storm and any other danger...
For now...
-To be continued-
Next time on Stranded
Spooky Happenings
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewers:
Guest(1):Thank you, how's this?
Guest(2): You're welcome :)
Fatcatjohn: He certainly did...
cg037: Thank you :)
Wiseguy2415: :)
SophiPhan29: We will have to wait and see...
Invader Johnny: Could be, let's see how this goes from here...
Devilxknight86: They certainly are...
The Wolf of Mordor: Hey, every story needs some form of conflict in it, or else it gets boring...
erebus13th: Well...they are in a cave...
:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)