I own nothing! Yes, there is a reason I couldn't update immediately as soon as I like to. We have guests coming over, and we had to refloor and redo a bunch of stuff upstairs, so it was hard to finish this chapter, especially considering that I've been staying up at my grandmother's house, and she goes to bed really early, so I have to be there by 6:00 pm, usually.
I had gotten away with only a limp, though I knew my teacher noticed it, Mr. Lancer. He enquired, and I told him I was fine, I had merely hit my leg. He gave me a confused look, a little bit worried, but didn't push farther. Sometimes, I just didn't get him. He punished me one second, and acted concerned the next. Of course, I could tell he was sincere when he did both, but it was still confusing.
Chapter 27: Dateless Dance
Tucker Foley still smelled the meat from the all-meat buffet. Well, not so much the pleasant smell of fresh meat as the stench of rotting meat, well on its way to the "dust from whence it came", as his grandfather would have said. His grandfather had been highly religious. Tucker's family wasn't as religious as all that. In fact, his dad had run away when he was sixteen. His dad's mom had been nearly beaten to death because she didn't submit to her husband. On the other hand, his mom's family was also Christian, but had never been the way his paternal grandfather was. They were the only relatives that Tuck's family held a close bond with.
He had stayed outside yesterday, trying to get dates, and he had one final goal in mind, Valerie Gray. Currently, however, she wasn't close enough at hand for him to ask her, so instead, he sidled up beside his best friend since forever, noting his glum expression, and intent on changing it to a smile, as cheesy as he reflected that sounded. "Thanks to you, I now know the quickest way to a woman's heart: clean boxers."
Tucker heard Danny sigh softly, looking up, with a frustrated expression. There was something about his eyes that Tucker was worried about. "Man, I blew it yesterday. Paulina probably won't even look at me now." The way he said it made it seem as if there were many more things his mind was on than how he'd probably prevented Paulina from ever giving him a second chance.
Suddenly, as if to defy their every belief, Paulina walked up the hall, towards them, and waved to Danny. "Yoo-hoo, Danny!" All of the boys and some of the girls sighed. Immediately, Danny seemed to change, if only for a moment. He cast Tucker a meaningful look, which he instantly understood. Tuck wished him good luck, and left them together, wondering if he would ever find a date.
He waited for a few minutes, before hurrying to class. He had no idea if Danny had got his date, but probably, he had. From what Tucker had learned, quite a few girls around the school would have been willing to go on a date with him if it had been solely looks-based. Unfortunately, it wasn't, and the facts that Danny was the son of "crazy" ghost-hunting parents, and a loser in the bottom of the social ladder's rungs, were quite enough to put off any girls who thought he was cute. Tucker considered himself a master of the gossip chain, and he always knew what rumors were floating around in the school. Not all of them were pleasant.
His first class sent him to sleep quickly, but he could always read ahead later. The teachers were predictable, and Tucker could always get an easy A in most subjects. Like Danny, English was his worst class. On the other hand, Sam excelled at it. Tucker's favorite was math, and Danny liked science a lot. He was still sleeping when Danny walked in, looking worried, but settling down in the seat beside him, and poking Tuck awake, just in time to hear something about "…not the way that was expected, like sarcasm, in some ways." He didn't waste a thought on that, instead listening to what Danny had to say, or write, rather.
Danny: P. asked me to attend the dance w/ her.
Tucker: rEly?
Danny: rEly. + a p/t con. J.F. will KILL me.
Once again, Tuck saw a disturbing flicker in Danny's eyes as he snorted, writing down that last note. Tuck studied the note, noticing that the KILL part was scratched in oddly. A little more scrawly than the rest of the words. Also, Dany had abbreviated Mr. Fenton as J.F. instead of his usual D. He tried to remember things he'd read about analyzing handwriting, semi-photographic memory paging through sheaves of information. Nothing yet. He decided to dismiss it, for now. Instead, he returned to his memories of yesterday's humiliation for Danny. It had been kind of funny, from an outsider's standpoint.
He'd been grumbling to Danny and Sam about his datelessness, and Sam had just started to inform them that she didn't see the point behind going to a dance, when Paulina walked by. Her stance was proud, and she knew she owned the place. She walked on the street, and the many boys stared at her, himself shamelessly included in that number. A kid, who probably didn't have a chance at her, crashed into a tree, and another rammed into a boy, landing them both in the fountain. He stood up, and joined his best friend in gaping at her. Possibly the best looking female in all of Amity Park, Paulina was known for her beautiful figure amongst the boys, and most of the girls didn't like her very well, because she was so popular. However, because she was an A-lister, nobody dared to take vengeance on her.
"Paulina…" He drooled, simultaneous with his friend.
Sam was irate. "Oh, please! Paulina?Girls like her are a dime a dozen!"
The moment was obviously meant for a joke (for them, because Sam really didn't like the joke that occurred to Tucker. He reached into his pocket, and dug for change, pulling out a few handfuls of money. A few pennies dropped. He noticed that Danny had had the same idea. "How much change you got?" Danny asked Tuck, smirking, guessing what would come next.
"Ha ha! Very funny. Just remember: you can't judge a book by its cover." Sam shot back, voice laden with sarcasm. Sometimes, it seemed like her sarcasm could fill all the information bytes on his PDA.
Despite his (not at all very intense) efforts to contain his comment, it came out anyway. "Well, there's only one way to find out. Go on, Danny. Go to that library and check out that book!"
For a moment, Tucker was sure Danny would refuse, and it sounded like he would as he stated, "I can't! I get weak-kneed when I try to talk to cute girls."
Tucker could also see the expression that flittered across Sam's expression as she growled, "Oh, and you have absolutely no problems talking to me." Danny looked suddenly worried, and took a step back from her rage, preparing himself for some kind of explosion. It didn't come in the way he expected. "Skip it. Go give your weak knees some exercise." She forced him forward, towards Paulina.
Danny gulped, stumbled closer, intent on making it look deliberate. Then, Tucker heard him say, "Hi! I…" Suddenly, he toppled to the ground. Tucker guessed he'd misplaced his hand.
Paulina responded, looking amused and annoyed, if somewhat proud of herself for luring a boy over. "Please! Don't say you've suddenly fallen for me. That line is so last year."
She smirked, watching Danny stutter, rising to his feet, struggling to figure out what to say. "Yeah! I-I mean, no! T-that's not it. I'm...I'm Danny." Way to do it, bro. You probably just earned yourself a one-way ticket to Dorksville, and Paulinalessland, Tucker thought. Abruptly, it got worse. Tucker could see a faint green-ish sheen cover Danny's pants, and suddenly, they fell to the ground. He grimaced as he realized it had gotten even worse. His street cred was sinking. Actually, it wasn't sinking so much as it was taking a nosedive. Kids around them started to laugh, watching Danny turn bright red with shame.
Paulina was still smiling. "A gentleman usually tips his hat, but I'll give you points for originality." It was obvious that she was laughing at him.
Sam walked up behind Danny, and planted her hand on his shoulder as people began to walk away. "Kudos, Danny. You just set an all-time speed record for drowning in the shallow end of the gene pool." The sarcasm in her tone was once again obvious.
"Oh, no! You did not just call me shallow, did you?!" Paulina's mood switched, and Tucker both winced, and wished that Sam wouldn't go on. The more she talked, the less likely it was that Tucker would ever get a chance at her.
"If you mean do I think I can stand in a puddle full of you and not get my feet wet, then yeah." It would only get worse, unless Danny found a way to intervene.
"Shallow?! I am not shallow!" Sam chose not to grace her with an answer, instead grabbing Danny by the arm, and dragging him away, anger still lining her face.
Tucker whipped back to attention as the class was dismissed, smile on his face. He had no idea why Paulina was still allowing Danny within a few feet of her, and why she had decided to date him, but he shoved the thought to the back of his head, and trotted out the door, noting the couple off to the left. The girl's name was Reilly Marion, and the boy's name was Connor Kendell. Reilly would have been in the A-listers for her looks, if not for the fact that she'd been a geek since middle school, and Connor was one of those boys who were well-known for being geeky, too. It was said that he could recite the list of capitals of almost every country in the world. He had been openly flirting with her, and rumors flew that they had been more than kissing for a long time, something Tuck could only hope he would get to do soon.
The rest of the classes were just as boring, even math. He had already worked ahead in the text, anyway. During lunchtime, Danny ran over, looking pale, almost terrified. As he darted forward, and yanked Tuck to the side, he blurted out, "It wasn't an accident. It really happened." He kept mumbling that, until Tucker tried to find out what he was talking about. It took a while to get the story out, but Danny finally pushed out that he had possessed someone. Accidentally, of course, but he had taken control away from them. It took a while to get the message through, but Tucker was able to reassure him a little bit. It had been an accident. Still, he decided it was time to take in hand a project. He called it Operation: Cheer Up Danny. Step one? Invite him to the mall to look at the hot girls. How could that not cheer him up?
The food was good, as were the sights. It was funny to listen to the people throw tantrums over what food they got. A lady and her family were all sitting a few tables down, complaining about the less-than-great food their local Japanese restaurant served. Added to that were the complaints of several other people. Girls walked by, offering Tuck the excellent opportunity to gaze more. He started to invite another girl to the table, to sit between himself and Sam, but he was turned down before he could get the words properly out of his mouth with a sharp no.
Sam gave him a little glare, and turned her attention to Danny, focusing on him. "So, your dad is going to chaperone the dance?" Danny had mentioned it, but not in detail.
"Yes, but he doesn't know he's going to chaperone because he doesn't remember that I made him say yes!" Tuck winced. Not the best plan, dude. He didn't comment on that, though. Instead, he decided to ask him something else.
"Let me get this straight. You can just walk into people and take over their bodies from the inside?" he said. Danny nodded, and agreed with his assessment. "Hey, Danny. If you could control a girl for just about two minutes..." He trailed off at the end, allowing Danny to fill in the blank.
"Forget it. You can get your own date for the dance like I did." Danny gave him a look.
"Does he have to take off his pants and act like a dweeb? Or will either one do?" Sam shot off sharply, snapping.
He could see Danny flinch as if struck, before looking away, mumbling something indistinct under his breath, something that Tucker could swear sounded like, "If I knew you liked me that much, I should have just followed through with the plan." Tucker wondered what the plan was, but it didn't sound good at all. He decided to bring it up with Danny later, if he remembered.
Silence reigned at their table for a long time as they waited for someone to interrupt the awkward silence. Sam finally gulped, and said, "Honestly, guys, I'm glad I'm not going to the stupid dance. Saves me the embarrassment of wearing the lame dress my parents bought me." She chuckled, though something seemed off with it.
"So no one's asked you, huh?" Tuck asked.
"Maybe if I was as pretty as Paulina." There was a bitter, acidic note in her voice.
"Why are you so down on her? So she's pretty. It's not a crime." Danny protested.
"Looks are deceiving, Danny." She tried to sound incredibly wise as she stated this. Abruptly, they heard screaming, and people began to run quickly away. A stream of cool, blue air exited Tucker's friend's mouth in a long, trailing thread. Tucker asked Danny for his French fries. Maybe a ghost fight would cheer him up, he thought.
Danny darted into another part of the mall, and used his transformation rings to change forms. He flew quickly towards the dragon that had caused the screams. Tucker wondered if anybody would believe in ghosts after this, but chose to instead watch the fight as Danny said, "Say, haven't we met somewhere?" Tuck was confused, but dismissed it as something to ask Danny later as he dodged a fiery stream. "Let's try this again. Hi, I'm Danny Phantom. And you are?" He'd come up with a name already? Tucker decided that he should cut the Danny part if he was planning to be a superhero with a secret identity. Danny fell out of sight, through a wall, after the dragon struck her with its tail. Tucker heard a lot of noise coming from that area. Tucker heard something about a tee/tea thing, and something about punch, but he couldn't catch it all. Abruptly, Danny flew out of the ground at their feet, making Sam jump and exclaim, asking him if he was okay. Danny responded that he was fine. The second time part confused Tuck, and Danny informed them that they would be investigating the dragon's appearance, before asking how they were.
Tucker decided it was the perfect time to apply for aid again. "Great...if you don't count me still being dateless for the dance. Sasha, no. Denise, no. I've hit every girl in school except...Valerie." He mumbled the last part, because he spotted his target moving towards him.
"Yeah, hi. Sucker, is it?" A-lister probably wouldn't go out with him, but he could still hope.
"Tucker. Or Tuck. Or Tuckerino." He wondered if she would call him Tuckerino. He had made it up, but only because it sounded better if there were three names, instead of two, for him to introduce himself as.
"Which ends with "no." Which, by the way, is my answer, unless something happens in the next five minutes that makes me dateless." Tucker sighed, drooping. No way would she be dateless. She was too hot and popular.
Kwan walked up, grinning smugly. "You'll never guess what happened! Donna said she'd go to the dance with me, so you're dateless!" Tucker winced. Painful.
"You're on." She used a flat tone, upset with her luck.
Tucker grinned back, jumping slightly with glee. "I'll take it! Some may call it the rebound, but I call it a yes! I got a date! Whoo! And the pants are still on!" Danny failed to find it as amusing as Tuck had hoped he would.
Tucker was using his computer to talk to his friends. Danny dressed up nicely. It was funny watching him check off all the things that he needed to have on, though nobody commented. He stood behind Danny, and so got a good look at the screen on which Sam's face was. Finally, he inquired as to the state of the research. Sam was exasperated, but sent him the link, which popped up onscreen.
Danny grinned, and read aloud the information on the screen. "That's it! Medieval ghostly legend held that the cursed Amulet of Aragon—" There was a rough image of a ghostly girl wearing it "-could transform any wearer into dragon form—"The computer zoomed in on the necklace the girl wore, "-under states of extreme emotional duress or anger. That's the amulet I gave to Paulina. It must have accidentally fallen into my backpack. Wait. You mean...I'm going on a date with a dragon?!" He nearly shrieked the last part.
Sam smirked. "Like I said, looks are deceiving. I'm sure you boys will have a wonderful evening." Danny buried his face in his hands, groaning. Then, it looked like a thought occurred to him.
"She really wants to go to the dance." Tucker protested instantly, but remembered the number of times she'd spoken about the dance, and wondered how he'd never picked up on it. As if to add to his thoughts, Danny said, "We're her best friends. We should have known." He looked ashamed.
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now, right?" Tucker stated, more than asked. Suddenly, Danny smiled, and his eyes flashed a vivid, emerald green. Tucker backed a step away, and protested, "No way. Forget it. Absolutely not. No!" He knew exactly what Danny was threatening to do. He waited for a moment, silence alarming him, before finally he said, "Fine. But please cancel with Valerie for me…She might kill me. Please? This so isn't fair. You're using the 'best friend argument' against me!" He grumbled the last part. Life was so unfair.
Danny swept into his body, and Tucker felt a brief, tingly sensation, painful in its intensity. He didn't scream, but he didn't act very happy about it, either. He grumbled mentally as he was abruptly shoved out of control of his mind, leaving a disoriented Danny to take his place.
The next think he remembered was Danny zooming off into the sky, with him inside his own body's control room, once again capable of feeling. Danny grinned obnoxiously, and said goodbye, leaving Tucker to rail against him for a moment, until Sam walked out the door. I never realized she was this pretty before. Man, what a figure. How is she not an A-lister? Tucker shoved the thought aside, in favor of observing her sparkly purple outfit. He didn't feel genuine attraction for her, but he could still appreciate her looks.
When they arrived at the dance, it took a while to locate Danny, and very little talking went on between them, except a few comments regarding the food selection. Sam was pleased with the vegetarian choices, and Tucker complained about how small the meat slices were. However, the food was definitely better than their usual cafeteria food selections. Then, Danny's father walked over to them. "Tucker, Sam, we've got trouble." The two exchanged looks, and attempted to back out of any obligations simultaneously.
"We had nothing to do with it, Mr. Fenton. It was all Danny's idea." Tucker went with the first idea that came to mind. Had he done something wrong? He could swear he'd never seen the look he got in response on Mr. Fenton's face.
That was explained quickly by Mr. Fenton's response. "Tucker, it's me. It's Danny. Sam, you try to help me find Paulina. Tucker, keep an eye on my dad. If he starts talking to anyone, page me, got it?" He looked downright terrified. Tucker wondered what had him so…spooked. Sam mumbled something about how wonderful this dance was, obviously sarcastically, as he walked away. The two of them split up, hoping to come up with something interesting.
Tucker wandered towards the teens' punch line. Usually, they had something good there. The punch was better than the adult drink line, where he had heard there were wines and that sort of thing, paid for by Sam's parents. He didn't know how they funded it, though. Most of the adults didn't like the teen flavors, so few adults drank anything from there. He picked up a drink and settled in to Fenton watching. This was going to be a boring night, he reflected.
He heard Sam speaking over the talkie, saying she had found Paulina. Tucker snorted at her mumbled curses when she finally managed to enrage Paulina into dragonizing. He heard a few shouts through his talkie, before he had to warn Danny that Jack was being approached by Mr. Lancer. Danny was the one who growled a distinct curse of his own, speeding off (or so Tuck envisioned), to possess his Dad.
Within short order, the fight was finished. Danny sounded exhausted, and Tuck didn't blame him a bit. He had been chasing his dad and a dragon all over the school, and hadn't had time for a single dance. He walked up to his best friends, and asked them where Paulina was. They didn't know, and Sam invited Danny to dance with him. Dateless to the last, hmm? Tuck thought. He lamented that fact as his friends walked away, handing him the necklace.
He noted many of the adults' absence with curiosity, though only briefly, because his contemplations were cut off by the appearance of a ghostly girl, with green skin, blonde hair, and red eyes, who said, "I want to go to the ball!"
Tucker froze for a second, and backed away as she advanced, saying, "On second thought, I don't need a date that badly. Hey guys, wait up! Can I cut in?" As she came closer, he took off, dashing towards his friends, and forcing his way into their dance.
It wasn't long before Tuck left his friends, and Sam and Danny had to leave, because their parents had a curfew, and they were there to keep their children from disobeying it. Tuck didn't have the looming curfew threat because he was usually a well-behaved gentleman, so he stopped at the punch again, where new drinks had been laid out. He got himself some grape, and drank punch after cup of punch. He felt light and fuzzy, and continued to drink. He was aware that he began to talk louder, and found himself asking people for their phone numbers. He was going to have lots of friends, he though. Suddenly, he spotted Star, over by the drinks. He came up to her, and put on his best face, and his best lines. At this point, she was swaying back and forth and belting out the lyrics to the song that was playing.
"Hi! I'm Tucker Foley. That's T.F., as in Too Fine." He hoped that worked. He leaned forward, trying to be flirty. Her sways came in time to his, and she leaned forward as well. They exchanged words, and before he knew it, he had leaned forward, and kissed her. Her eyes widened, startled, before she leaned into the kiss. She hadn't rejected him yet? Tucker was stunned, but the buzzy feeling he had had since the first of the punch hadn't faded, and he allowed himself to become more daring. Within minutes, with barely any adults left, Tucker found it safe to transfer the two of them to a closet. It was at that point that he stopped thinking.
I'm gonna let y'all imagine what happened, because I've got to keep this a T rating. I hope y'all like my chapter. Please remember to review!
-MiaulinK
