AN: Hello! A whole five reviews for Chapter One! I'm happy! (Hugs herself) lol. Well, thanks to those who reviewed. I didn't know there was such a high demand for Freakshow stories! Good thing I'm here, right? (Silence) Yeah, well, same to you! lol! Just kidding! Anyway, here we go with Chapter Two! (To all you D/V shippers out there, this chapter is nothing BUT D/V! Hee hee.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or any of the characters. Wait! Maybe if I wish reeeeeelly hard, I will! (Closes eyes and opens them) Darn it! Still don't!

Chapter Two

Valerie didn't know how she could feel so much hate and so much love all at once. She'd never experienced anything like what she was experiencing right now. All because of two boys…well, one boy and a ghost boy.

For a while now, Valerie had been in love with a boy in her class: Danny Fenton. There was so much about him that she liked. He was kind and smart. He had a great sense of humor. Not to mention, he was handsome. During the past year or so, he had bulked up considerably, as well. He was still skinny, but not a wimp. He was Valerie's perfect guy. And he liked Valerie back. So why weren't they together?

Because of her enemy. Her ghostly enemy, Danny Phantom. It was because of that ghost that their relationship was put aside. The ghost boy had threatened Valerie's life many times over. She didn't think that the issue between the two of them would escalate to this: having Valerie fear for Danny's life as well as hers, therefore rejecting the prospect of them ever dating. The situation made her even more furious at the Phantom, just when she thought that couldn't be possible.

Now, because she knew they could never be, she thought about him even more and wanted to be with him even more. Trying to keep her mind off him worked in reverse effect. She just wanted to kill the Phantom and run into Danny's arms, not having to worry any more.

God, do I wish it were that easy, she thought, as she left her last hour class. Phantom had proved too difficult to defeat, however. It had been a little over a year since she had started her hunt on him, and every time she thought that today was the day he would go down, he got away. She had stopped expecting great things until she got into a fight and he started to lose. Even then, though, he'd weasel his way out of the fight. What a coward, she thought, reaching her locker and spinning her combination.

Valerie didn't want to give up hope on her and Danny yet. She had told Danny that they could still be friends, and they both hung out together at lunch, much to Danny's other friends' dismay. That was the one thing she looked forward to every day, and after that, everything else seemed so pointless. Unless the Phantom showed up. That was an exception.

When is this going to end? She wondered.

"Hey," she heard a voice from behind her.

Valerie whipped around. And there he was. Danny was standing in the archway of one of the hallway entries, arms crossed. There was no one else in the hall, so Valerie saw him right away. His blue eyes flashed wildly and his black hair was even more unruly today. Valerie didn't really care though. She liked the way his hair seemed to fly every which way. It was cute. His smile was amazing, as well.

"Hey," she said back, smiling and closing her locker.

Danny walked toward her. "How was last hour?" he asked, stopping right next to her locker.

"Nothing important," Valerie answered, swinging her backpack over her shoulder. "Yours?"

"Same," he replied. He scratched the back of his head. Valerie had noticed he did that a lot when he was around her. It was a nervous trait, she figured. She blushed at the thought of a boy, especially this boy, actually getting nervous around her. "Mr. Lancer just kept going on and on and on about the Krebs's Cycle or…something," he told her.

Valerie gave a quick laugh. "Doesn't sound like the most riveting class of the day," she commented.

"It wasn't," Danny said with a smile.

She smiled too. He was so easy to be around. With him, Valerie didn't have to be popular for him to notice her, like she had to be with everyone else at school. She just had to be…her. She didn't have to pretend.

She liked not having to pretend.

She liked it a lot.

"You want to do something tonight?" she asked before her head could tell her not to. What am I doing? She asked herself. Valerie couldn't do something with Danny! What about Phantom? What about protecting the man she, dare she say it, loved? What was wrong with her?

Danny looked just as confused as she was. "Do something with you?" he asked, one eyebrow furrowed in befuddlement.

"Uh…" Valerie stammered. Well, it was too late to retract her statement now. "Yeah. You know. Do something together. As…friends…or…more than…friends…."

"So you're asking me out on a date?" Danny wondered.

He was catching her drift. No! Valerie's thoughts screamed at her. You can't! The Phantom will use him against you and you know it! Tell him to forget about it! "You know, I wasn't thinking straight for a minute there, Danny," Valerie said, painfully. "I don't think we should do anything. I'm sorry."

Danny nodded, his hope fading. "Yeah, just as well. I promised Sam I'd…." he trailed off when he saw how fallen Valerie's face went at the mention of Sam's name. Valerie heard things. A lot of people heard things and Valerie was one of those people. One of the things she heard was that as soon as Valerie gave Danny the "let's just be friends" speech, he went ahead and started dating Sam Manson. Danny had explained countless times that they were only really good friends, but ever since then, Valerie was slightly crestfallen whenever he brought the Goth girl up. "Well, I promised and Tucker did, too. It wasn't just me. It's just…you know…we…she…" he stuttered shakily.

"It's ok," she reassured her friend. "You don't have to apologize. I know you guys are friends. And plus, I'm not going to prevent you from dating anyone else. You'll never get married then… at least if things don't start shaping up."

"You know," Danny said, after a pause. "You never did tell me why it was so dangerous for us to be together. I mean, we've been eating lunch together for a while and I'm still in one piece," He looked her straight in the eye. "Why…why is it so bad?"

Valerie wanted to tell him, she really did. But how could she? He might not see her like he did right now. And if that happened…it would be yet another reason to hate the Phantom…

…And another reason to kill him more.

"I wish I could say, Danny," Valerie said. "I really do. But I can't."

"Look, I know you think you can't tell me, but I'm your friend." Danny said. "Friends don't hide things from other friends. Or so I've heard. How can we even be friends if we don't trust each other enough to know why we have to be friends and not be together?"

Valerie stared at him in confusion. "What?" she asked.

"Well…ah. You know what I'm getting at," he said. "I don't think some things should be kept secret between us."

"I trust you, Danny," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's other people who are the ones I don't trust."

The boy sighed. "Yeah, ok," he said, giving up the battle. "I just wish I could know."

"It's better if you didn't," she told him. For a moment, she felt like she should kiss him. Not just that she wanted to kiss him, but like she should kiss him. Like she needed to kiss him. She hadn't done that yet. Not on the lips, anyway. And she needed to. The feeling would drive her crazy sooner or later if she didn't.

But she resisted the need. She slowly lowered her hand from his shoulder. Once it fell limply by her side, she faced the ground and turned around, heading down the hall.

"Can I make a suggestion?" Danny called after her.

Valerie turned back around. He was standing in the same spot, looking dead serious. "Sure," she replied.

"What if we were a couple only at school?" he wondered.

Valerie looked at him strangely. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, whatever it is that's putting me in danger seems to be something non-school related. So what if we just went out at school and just, you know, talked online when we were at home?" Danny explained.

It actually wasn't a bad thought. Valerie could see that happening. And successfully, too. The two could hold hands, eat lunch together. They had a couple of classes together, as well. Going out just at school might work.

But, come on! They wouldn't even be able to go on a date!

Not to mention, what if the Phantom spied on them some how? He could turn invisible, couldn't he? That was the ultimate ability when it came to spying on your enemies.

But still. The idea was irresistible.

"I don't know, Danny," Valerie said, even though she wanted to yell, "YES!"

"Can you at least consider the idea?" Danny asked.

She looked at him hesitantly.

"Please?" he pleaded.

She sighed. "I'll consider it," she agreed.

"Really?" Danny asked, just making sure he hadn't been Punk'd or something.

Valerie nodded.

He smiled bigger than she had ever seen him smile before. "Cool," he said, obviously satisfied. "That's good. And I'll be more careful, too. I'll stop going down dark alleys late at night and I won't talk to strangers any more."

She laughed. "Funny," she said, turning back around.

Valerie was suddenly falling backwards. Something under her foot had caused her to slip and there was no way she was able to catch herself. She only yelped as she flew backward toward the hard, tiled floor and braced for impact.

Before she hit, though, she stopped in mid-air. She felt someone's arm across her back, holding her up. She looked up and there he was. Her knight in shining armor. And holding her up off the floor didn't seem to bother Danny one bit. Valerie was just thankful he was quick enough and strong enough.

"So, you'll consider?" he asked again, still holding her.

She smiled. "I'll consider," she answered.

Although, with the way he was holding her right then, she didn't even have to think twice about her answer.