Chapter 3

Valerie and Phantom had by now finished their ice creams and were walking through the mall in an awkward silence. They both felt guilty for different reasons. Valerie, for dumping her life problems on the ghost even though it wasn't entirely his fault and Phantom, for causing her life problems.

Valerie stopped mid-walk when she realized Phantom wasn't beside her. She looked back to see the ghost standing in front of one of the larger, not-very-expensive department stores. "What is it?" she asked, surprised.

Phantom looked at her. "Huh? Oh, nothing. I just need to run in here and get something. I'll be right back." Before Valerie could say anything, the ghostboy ran into the store and disappeared.

Valerie face-palmed. She hadn't really expected the ghost to hang around for long had she? He had probably left the instant he was out of her sight. Growling, Valerie walked away. He was definitely getting a beating if they ever fought again. He at least could have had the decency to say goodbye.

"Hey, wait up!" Valerie spun on her heal to see Phantom running towards her. He was carrying a small bag. "I said I'd be right back. You didn't have to leave."

Valerie blushed, realizing she had been the one bailing out on him. "Uh, sorry. What have you got there?" she asked, quickly trying to change the subject.

"Oh, since my last suit got burned up, I needed a new one," he said, as if that explained everything.

"Wait a minute. Back up. You buy your suits in a department store?" Valerie asked, incredulous.

"Well, not my first few, obviously. But ever since 'Danny Phantom' became popular, they've been making 'Danny Phantom' suits. It's pretty handy if mine is beyond repair or something." He shrugged. "Plus, they're only like ten bucks. It's much cheaper than buying a new hazmat suit, putting the logo on since Sam would freak if it wasn't there, etc."

Valerie blinked. "Did you just say Sam?"

"Huh? No! What makes you think I said Sam? I don't know a Sam," he answered, a little too quickly.

"Uh, right," she answered, doubtful.

Now they were rounding the corner and found themselves face to face with the technogeeks's favorite haunt: Wired Wiring. An especially huge sign advertised free goes on the new Xbox Kinect (A/N: I wrote this story when the Kinect had just come out). Valerie flinched in surprise when Phantom started jumping up and down. "Ohmygosh! I've been waiting sooo long to try that! C'mon, we gotta go see!"

He grabbed Valerie's wrist and practically dragged her into the store. Valerie blanched. Phantom liked video games? Well, he seemed the type. He must keep up with the latest video game news if he knew about this new system.

Valerie laughed out loud. "What is it?" Phantom asked.

She sniggered. "Nothing. Just imagining you, in a tree, reading some tech magazine."

The ghost chuckled nervously. "Yeah. Heh. Not like I do that… at all…"

Despite the humongous sign at the front of the store, the actual gaming system was at the very back and there were next to no people around. The flat screen glowed, offering games like Ping Pong, bowling, tennis, and boxing.

"We can do a two player game. You want to play me?" Phantom asked, his eyes glinting mischievously.

"Oh, you are on, ghostboy," Valerie answered. Phantom selected boxing and they settled into their fighting positions.

The screen showed the two players: Phantom in blue and Valerie in red. The two boxers squared off in their virtual ring and the crowd of pixels cheered them on. Then, the bell rang, and the players started giving each other a flurry of shots. Valerie used quick, strategic uppercuts and blows to the chest. Phantom poured on his superhuman speed and hit Valerie every chance he got, though he wasn't as powerful.

Valerie's strategy was winning and Phantom's green bar that showed his energy was slowly turning red. Growling, Phantom's arms turned into barely more than blurs as he desperately tried to get past Valerie's blocks.

By this time her bar was now going yellow. Valerie descended into Phantom's method and gave up her blocks and uppercuts to furious punches. Now their bars were going down equally fast. But Phantom was still going to lose. He didn't realized his hands were starting to glow green.

There was a bright flash and a shower of sparks when the flat screen exploded. And then silence fell on the two warriors, still panting from their exertion. Phantom looked down at his hands as the last wisps of green energy disappeared. Then he let out a short, sweet spew of profanities. Valerie was tempted to cover her ears.

"I am so grounded. How much did that cost?" the ghost asked, after his tirade had finished.

Valerie walked over to the system and read the price tag. "Well, at least you didn't hit the Kinect. You would've been paying a lot more. You just got the TV."

"Well that makes me feel better," Phantom replied, sarcastically. "How much do I owe?"

"$699," Valerie replied, smirking.

Phantom slapped his forehead. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a scrap of paper and a stubby pencil. Valerie watched as he scribbled a hasty 'IOU' on it. He then placed the piece of paper by the destroyed TV.

"Wait, did you just say you would be grounded?" Valerie asked, suspicion flaring up.

"What? No! Anyway, we better get out of her before security comes. After all, we don't want to add another thing on the list that proves 'Phantom is an evil ghost bent on destroying the town!'" he sighed, putting his hands up in air quotes. And with that, he walked through the back wall of the shop.

Valerie raised an eyebrow. Thirty seconds later Phantom reappeared, grabbed her wrist and brought her through the wall as well, out into the parking lot. Phantom turned them tangible and then rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It's gonna take like a million allowances to repay that."

"Okay, Phantom, I've had enough," Valerie said, losing it.

"Look, I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault. I'll pay for it. It was an accident."

"I'm not talking about the TV. You say you have a family. You breathe, you eat, you sweat, you shop, you have money. You mention Sam. You say you have an allowance. You can get grounded. You say your family is still alive and I know them. I want answers, Phantom. Tell me. I know all of this is connected. What am I missing?" Valerie yelled, emphasizing her point by waving her hands in the air.

"I – I can't tell you," the ghost answered, shoving his hands into his pocket and looking down.

"Yes you can! Please, if it's a secret or something, I won't tell anyone. I can handle it."

"That's just it," Phantom said. He looked up and his sparkling emerald eyes met Valerie's own forest green. "I don't think you can." He sighed. "You hate me, right?"

"Well," Valerie replied, thinking. "I'm not so sure anymore."

Phantom took a shuddering breath. "Well, that makes things easier. Can we go to that alley, over there? In case someone hears us."

Valerie nodded, suspicious. She surreptitiously checked for her ectoweapons, in case Phantom tried something.

Once they were in the alley, Phantom made a last check to see if anyone was listening. He licked his lips and began. "The reason I eat and sleep and sweat is because… I'm not completely dead."

"What?" Valerie screeched. "What do you mean?"

"The ghosts call me a halfa: half alive, half dead, not really either. I have ghost powers but I still have human emotions."

"How? How's that possible?" Valerie asked, backing up a little. This, this didn't make sense. This made no sense.

"There was an accident in my parent's lab. It made me… like this," Phantom continued, gesturing to himself.

"But how are you stable?" No sense. Absolutely no sense.

"Well, Jazz says the only reason I'm stable is because I have a human form and a ghost form."

"Jazz? Do you mean Jazz Fenton? A human form? What does your human half look like?" The gears in Valerie's mind were churning fast. He had said Sam and Jazz. Sam Manson? Jazz Fenton? "What – ? What do you – ?"

Phantom didn't stop. "I've been like this for a year, Valerie, before you even knew ghosts existed. I have never meant to hurt you. Please. In all our fights you had to notice that I never targeted you. I always shot the board because I knew your suit could withstand impact. I am not evil."

"But, you said Sam! And Jazz! And the only parents I know who have a lab are – "

"And things only got more complicated when you liked my human half but hated my ghost half."

"Liked your human half?"

"And I thought that maybe if I could prove to you I wasn't evil you would like all of me."

"But, but that would mean…"

"I'm so sorry, Valerie."

Valerie put her hand over her mouth. The ghost hunter and the ghost. The girl and the boy. The way he rubbed the back of his neck. His laugh. His smile. A human half. Sam. Jazz. Parent's lab. Valerie called up a mental image of the only boy she had ever truly liked. Raven hair and blue eyes. She placed the image over the ghost she thought she hated. White. Black. Blue. Green. Danny Phantom. Danny Fenton.

Phantom.

Fenton.

Phantom.

Fenton.

Valerie took her hand away from her mouth and took another step back.

"Danny?"