Chapter 2

The three friends congregated outside, with Danny having returned to human form. The night was warm and with the exertion of fighting the ghost, he was pretty sweaty. Sam could feel her gauzy top stick to the small of her back. It was an old, ratty, off-white T-shirt that she had worn so many times, it had about a dozen holes and was pretty much see-through. It was anarchic, just like she was. Old ladies were constantly frowning at her in the street which never failed to give her a sense of self-satisfied accomplishment. She did have some class though, so she now wore it with a black tank underneath.

Tucker had whipped out his PDA and was eagerly playing a noisy shooting game with his tongue peeking out of the side of his mouth. They were waiting for Valerie to emerge, knowing that they had given her enough time to rid herself of her Red Huntress guise. It was something they were used to, something they did so that Valerie could feel like her "secret" was safe. Sam hated pretending but Danny insisted on it. He was leaning against the hood of their Toyota cracking his knuckles nervously. Earlier in the year, she, Danny and Tucker had pooled their money to buy a car. Sam couldn't drive yet – she'd have to wait until November to get her license, but she had insisted on chipping in. Unfortunately, the day the boys had actually bought the car, she'd been at the dentist. She was horrified at how safe and suburban the car was. She'd wanted a hybrid. That was admittedly even more suburban but at least it was better for the environment. The only thing she approved of in their car was the colour – a dull, patchy black.

Danny was chewing his bottom lip, eyes trained on the door of the building. "She's taking a long time."

Sam followed his line of sight. "I'm sure she's fine. Probably just fixing her hair or something." She turned to the boy beside her. "What about you? How are you?"

Danny ran a hand through his jet black hair. "Now I know how a bowling pin feels." He shot her a sheepish smile. "I'm fine," he insisted, when he didn't receive a smile in return.

"You need to tell her," Sam stated.

Danny sighed. Not this again, he thought. He got off the hood of the car and took a step away from her, intimating that he didn't want to talk about it.

"Seriously, Danny," Sam grabbed his arm and forced him to face her. "You can't fight when she's around because you're too busy trying to protect her. Meanwhile, the only thing she wants is to serve your carcass on a platter."

"That is an unpleasant image," Tucker grimaced, fingers still moving madly over the keypad.

"That bowling ghost was nothing," she continued. "The only reason he got a shot in is because your head wasn't in the game. It never is when she's around and one of these days, it's gonna come back to bite you."

"True dat," Tucker chimed in. He finally looked up from his game. "What? When she's right, she's right."

"You know it's not that easy," Danny said. "I can't just tell her. You know how she feels about ghosts."

"But if she really loves you—"

"I don't want to talk about this, okay?" he interjected angrily. "Just stop bringing it up."

Tucker cleared his throat and nodded his head towards the door. Danny turned and Valerie launched herself into his arms. He squeezed her tight and she jerked against him.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" he demanded, pulling away from her and running his eyes down her body and back up to her face. There was no visible injury. "Did I hurt you?"

She lifted her beaded brown shoulder bag. "No, my bag was just pressing against me." He searched her gaze but her unaffected grin held fast. He leaned down and pecked her on the lips. Sam looked away.

"Well, good 'cause I was worried about you," he said.

"We all were," Sam added. "Where did you disappear to?"

Danny shot her a fierce glare but Sam didn't falter. "I ran into the girls' bathroom," Valerie replied calmly. All these years of leading a double life were beginning to affect her. She was an excellent liar. "What about you guys? Are you all right?"

Tucker and Sam assured her they were.

"I guess that's our cue to leave then," Danny said, clapping his hands once.

"Um, aren't we forgetting something?" Tucker asked. He pointed downwards. The four were still in the maroon and white bowling shoes. They shared a light laugh and went in to get their shoes. Valerie played shoe attendant and passed everyone their shoes from behind the counter. However, just as she was leaving, the toe of her leopard-print ballet flats connected with something. It turned out to be her precious camcorder, lying abandoned and forlorn. She glanced at Sam, who was lacing up her heavy boots, feeling rather irritated at her carelessness. Okay, yes, it might be understandable under the circumstances but still, it was a pretty expensive thing to just leave lying about. She picked it up. It was still on so she pressed the power button and dropped it into her bag. On her way out she admonished herself for her thoughts. She shouldn't be mad at Sam over a camera. That was the old Valerie. New Valerie valued people over property. As long as everyone was all right, that was what mattered. Besides, it wasn't her fault. It was the stupid ghosts' fault.

Once they got outside, Danny announced that he was going to ride with Valerie. He tossed Tucker the keys to their car, which he received with an ecstatic hoot. They said their goodbyes and Danny got into Val's dad's white BMW. She wanted to drive him home but he insisted that as a gentleman, he should see her to her door. Her dad was out of town, he pointed out, and he just wanted to ensure she was safe. Valerie thought it was sweet how overprotective he was being. She was a strong, capable young woman, but sometimes, she had to admit she liked the feeling of being taken care of.

She parked in front of her apartment building. This was a much nicer place than the one she and her dad had found themselves in after the ghost boy and his dog ruined their lives. It was two-bedroom, two-bath (which is all they really needed anyway) and it had a spacious living area with fantastic wood floors and large windows. It was also a lot closer to Fenton Works, an added bonus.

They climbed to the first floor and stopped outside apartment 2D. In the old building, there would have been the smell of pee in the hallway, dodgy lighting and a baby's wail permanently in the background. New Valerie or not, she couldn't be happier to be out of that place.

She fiddled with her keys. "Well, Officer Protective, here we are," she stated. "Is this good enough for you or would you like to escort me to my room?" Her face warmed. "Crap, that came out wrong."

Her boyfriend laughed. After a moment's embarrassment, she joined in.

She brushed away the curly strands of hair that had escaped from her ponytail. "Seriously though, thanks for seeing me home. Very chivalrous."

He decided to assist her. His fingertips grazed her cinnamon-brown forehead as he gently pushed her hair back. "Of course. I just want you to be safe."

She felt a shy smile take over her face. "Anyway I had a lot of fun tonight. Thanks for everything." She kissed him on the cheek and stuck her key in the door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he echoed, hands in his jean pockets.

"Val?" He called as she was going in. She turned to him questioningly. "You know I love you, right? I really do." His voice was low, gravelly and his eyes, so startlingly blue, were solemn and intense.

She searched his gaze, lines of worry crossing her forehead. "I know, babe," she answered slowly. She raised her hands to his lightly tanned cheeks. "And I love you."

They drew together into a tender, affectionate kiss. He kept his arms around her even when they broke apart and she let herself be crushed against him, inhaling the scent of his body spray. He pressed his lips to her forehead and released her. With a final wave, she bid him a goodnight and shut the door. He lingered and stared at the curvy gold letters on the mauve door before tucking his hands back into his pockets and heading home.