A/N: Goodness gracious! I've got three papers, and six study guides due next week.
Sorry about the delay, readers. College is not easy.
I don't own Danny Phantom.
After the drop off, Paulina came home to find her father standing in the front of the door, arms folded over his chest and a disapproving frown on her face.
Paulina recollected the past few hours, debating on what she should offer as an explanation for staying out late.
Stephanie had fallen asleep on that Fenton boy during the little joy ride back to FentonWorks. The chubby-faced girl had easily convinced him to sit in the back with her. Steph, as Danny had nicknamed her, chatted happily for all of five minutes before she slumped against his shoulder, instantly submerging into peaceful sleep. Fortunately, Danny didn't seem to mind. Not even when Paulina had to pry the slumbering girl off of him, which was a difficult task. Especially considering the girl was practically glued to the teenager, her small arms refusing to release Fenton's neck.
And now here Stephanie was with her little arms wrapped around Paulina and her face nuzzled against the teenager's dark hair as the aqua-eyed girl glared up at her parent.
Paulina's decision not to tell her father about Daniel was only rational.
Her father instantly took the youngest sister from Paulina's arms and frowned at her as she quietly shut the door. "Where have you been, Paulina? You do realize it's ten. You're curfew was an hour ago."
Paulina frowned and walked around him to place her hoodie into the nearest coat closet. "Papi, calm down."
She whirled around to face her furious father. "I will not calm down." He hissed angrily. "You didn't let me know where you were going!"
Paulina huffed and folded her arms across her chest. "Well, in case you hadn't noticed, you left your phone at home," she snapped. "Besides, it's not like you even answer me when you're working."
"Well, you can't be hanging around that Dash kid anymore. You know I forbade you from seeing him after nine."
Paulina's grandmother hobbled out from the kitchen, her icy glare focused on Paulina's father. For once, Paulina was grateful to see the bitter old woman. "Ay, Carlos. Cálmate hombre. There you go again making assumptions like you always do. Did you ask her where she's been? What she was doing? You don't even know where this girl was." The grandmother turned to Paulina and her gaze softened. "Where were you?"
"A friend called and I gave them a ride home. Stephanie fell asleep on the way back, you should go put her up before we all start yelling and end up waking her up."
The father instantly relaxed but remained solemn and irritated. "Good night." He glared at the two females before turning and stomping up the stairs.
"Thanks for the save," Paulina replied in a clipped tone.
"Anytime," her grandmother winked and the Latina's eyes lit up with hope that all their former disagreements towards each other had evaporated.
"So," the grandmother began, falling into step with Paulina as she made her way towards the stairs. "Your cousin Nirmita is having her Quinceañera this coming Friday. And I know you broke up with that oaf of a Dash, so...I set you up with José. I heard he's been practicing his spells and-"
"No," Paulina stopped and turned to face her grandmother abruptly, placing a hand on the rails. "I'm not going with José."
"Amor, give him a chance! You may get to know him better, he can be nice-"
"Grandma, I gave him three chances. Three. He's rude, he's a jerk, and he's not even that good-looking." She tossed her hair over her shoulder and, with a finality that made her grandmother growl, stated, "I'm not going with him."
"Well, I already told him you broke up with that imbecile jock of yours and we all know you're going alone. So, listen to me when I say-"
"I already have a date!" Paulina hissed, her eyes flaring. She struggled to keep her voice low; her grandma didn't.
"You're lying," she angrily shouted, "I know all your boy friends have dates and without Dash you're all alone!"
"It's not someone you know." Paulina cried out.
"Who is it then?" Her grandmother shouted as she thrust her arms up into the air.
"Danny Fenton!" Paulina hurled the words at her grandmother, her voice shrill with anger. The older woman went rigid with shock and Paulina took the opportunity to flee. She raced up the stairs and tossed herself onto the bed.
Anger was boiling up inside her, the kind of anger that was so intense she was completely at a loss of how to release it. She squeezed her hands in an attempt to relieve herself with the techniques her former therapist had shown her. Energy crackled around her and a small lamplight shattered spontaneously. She yelped and scrambled into a sitting position, grasping her pillow and squeezing it against her chest.
The anger drained and she was instantly left with a resigned feeling as she blankly stared at the wall in front of her. She was suddenly swallowed by the darkness, the only visible light provided by a nearby streetlamp that peered in through her open window. A cool breeze drifted into her room, tousling up her pink curtains and her dark hair.
"What have I done?"
She sighed and stretched herself across the bed, lying in a facedown position as she rested her chin on the soft pillow. She couldn't shake the feel of Danny's eyes out of her thoughts.
A wise man had once said "the eyes are the windows of the soul." Something she whole-heartedly believed in. The head cheerleader had always had an affinity with getting an idea of someone's character by looking directly into their eyes, which is why she usually avoided looking at this specific feature in others. It was the reason she broke up with Dash. The boy had looked her in the eyes and said, "I'm not cheating on you." She had immediately broken their relationship the same way he broke her heart. It was also how she came to genuinely love Valerie and Star. She could see the honesty in their eyes when they talked to her. There were no lies between them. Paulina knew Valerie had been practicing karate and self-defense and that Star was really a genius street-wise, just as they knew her secret passion for books. Of course, that didn't mean she knew everything about them. Everyone was entitled to their own privacy. And, so far, they rarely lied to her.
Of course, everyone was entitled to their own secrets and Paulina was completely certain they each hid things from her just as she did them. But (hopefully) she would soon be able to reveal to them her greatest secret. Feeling a tug at her heart, Paulina bent over the edge of her bed and pulled out a leather book from beneath the mattress. The title was inscribed in a fanciful, cursive font that was encompassed by designs. "Vade Mecum of Spells and Crafts."
To anyone else, it would've resembled a regular, ordinary book—lucky for Paulina because it blended easily with her collection of novels that were placed on her shelf. Paulina exhaled and opened the book, flipping through the pages until her eyes fell on the ancient Latin scripture.
She stopped suddenly and her finger curled around a single page. She squinted and leaned her head forward, eyes lighting up curiously as she caught sight of the title of the page.
Spiritual Entities.
Author's Note:
As of right now, I'm going to be integrating more of the Hispanic culture into this story, for obvious reasons. (Hispanic Heritage Month).
I'm also gonna be including some links to YouTube for Latin dancing or some Spanish songs, if you care to check it out.
And—heck!—I might even include a recipe for real homemade tacos or something else.
And I'm not talking Taco Bell stuff. That ain't real Spanish food, although those tacos are admittedly delicious.
So, what do you think? Leave your answer in the reviews. ;)
Promise—Prince Royce feat Usher: (:/) w w .com (/) watch?v=Y3XyWhrZnqE
Paulina sings this song in the first chapter. It's half in Spanish, half in English, so don't worry about not being able to understand the song.
