Moments

Paulina was thrown into free-fall; darkness consumed, and the highway disappeared around them.

A sense of weightlessness reigned, and pressure pushed against her eardrums.

The strange sensations dissolved as quickly as it had come, barely giving her time to process anything.

The ground slammed against her back.

Gravity returned.

She peeled open her eyes to find herself staring at a white ceiling with a fan further to the right.

Though it was directly above her, she barely caught sight of a glowing symbol—the same one she had seen when she cast the Transportation Spell—as it disappeared, leaving behind no trace of its existence.

She blinked a few times before sitting up.

Sky blue couches sat around a wooden table. A television and several family photos hung on the wall.

She was in Danny's living room.

The first place she had visualized in her memory.

The Latina leapt to her feet and regretted the instant movement. She paused to shake off the dizziness.

Her heart nearly stopped.

She was the only one in the room: Danny and Sam were not there.

The fear was already gnawing at her heart when Sam stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room.

Paulina suddenly felt immensely relieved to see the Goth's face.

"You did it," Sam blinked.

"Sort of." Paulina sighed. "I had intended for all of us to end up in the same place, not scattered all over the house."

Concern immediately welled up in Sam's amethyst eyes. "Where's Danny?"

"Well, if I ended up here and you ended up in the kitchen, then that must mean Danny's somewhere upstairs." Paulina bit her lip. "I hope."

Maybe it hadn't been such a great idea to use her nascent teleportation ability on Danny and his friend.

Even if it was sort of an emergency situation.

"Let's go check then," Sam strode past Paulina.

The Latina fell into step beside Sam.

They paused at the foot of the stairs and looked up.

"Isn't that your backpack?" Sam queried.

The girls jogged up the steps.

Sure enough, it was Paulina's backpack. They found her Spellbook on the floor in the hallway upstairs, still open to the Teleportation Spell.

Paulina wanted to cry when she saw Danny in his room.

He was unconscious, lying on the carpet.

His breath was slow and even.

"Oh, thank god," Paulina exhaled, eyes momentarily fluttering closed.

The girls bent down beside him and looked him over.

Sam spoke. "Let's get him on the bed."

Paulina and Sam both struggled to lift Danny onto the bed.

He may've been lighter than the average teenage boy, but he was still pretty heavy.

Sam took off his shoes; Paulina tucked the blanket around him.

They worked in silence, striving to make sure that he was comfortable and fretting over him to make sure he was uninjured.

"Question," Sam began, rubbing her ears. "Do your ears pop when you teleport somewhere?"

"Yeah." Paulina rubbed her own ears. "You wouldn't happen to have any gum, would you?"

"Not on me."

Paulina nodded and sank back into the seat.

"You look tired." Sam pointed out.

"That spell wore me out." Paulina admitted. "Like I said, I don't have an affinity with air, which is the element the teleportation spell falls under. I'm more in sync with fire."

Sam scoffed. "Surprise, surprise."

Paulina rolled her eyes but let her head fall back, grateful to rest for a moment.

"So, if you would've used a fire spell instead, would it have been less exhausting?"

Paulina paused before responding. "It's complicated. We have the basic spells and then we have the really complicated ones. There are spells that require powerful magic, and there are spells that don't require a lot of power, so that even a human could cast it. It also depends on which spells best complement the individual."

Sam gave her a blank look.

Paulina sighed. "Certain spells fall under certain categories, some fall under more than one category or a combination of categories. One can either be fire, air, water, earth, or spirit or a combination of elements. It also depends on which energy point is your strongest. In some religions—like Buddhism, I think—energy points are identified in the body. My strongest energy point is the solar plexus, which is connected to self-worth and confidence." She placed a hand on her upper abdomen for emphasis. "And my second strongest is the sacral chakra, which is connected to passion.

People, whether human or ghost or something else, have strong affiliations with specific elements, but it doesn't always mean it's just one. One's ability to perform a spell depends wholly on the individual performing the spell."

"For me, telekinesis and psychokinesis are as easy if not easier than physically moving an object, and those abilities are directly connected to air. My strongest elements are fire and earth. I'm more connected to the earth, so earth spells are easy to perform. But my fire spells are incredibly strong, powerful."

"That's...complicated." Sam paused and mulled over the information. "I wonder what element I would be."

"Water's your strongest element. Air is your second strongest." Paulina blurted.

"Whoa," Sam blinked. "How do you know?"

"I See it." Paulina admitted. "Seeing a person's compatibility takes some time and concentration, but it can be done."

"I looked into yours a few months after I began Practicing." Paulina bit her lip. "It's part of why I've been sort of jealous of you."

"You're jealous of me?" Sam queried, incredulous.

"Yeah." Paulina sighed. "Danny's strongest element is air, and his next is water. Usually, people who are compatible to the same elements got along easily and work perfectly together. You and Danny are compatible. Danny and I are complete opposites." Paulina hugged her legs and glumly rested her chin on her knees. "On top of that, your strongest energy point is the third eye, intuition, which is pretty cool if you ask me."

Sam remained quiet.

The silence stretched out for a few moments, and Paulina wondered if confessing her feelings had been foolish.

"But you and Danny balance each other out."

Paulina's eyes snapped to Sam. The girl's amethyst eyes glittered with compassion and honesty.

"So you have nothing to worry about."

The goth gave her a smile that sent comfort, encouragement, empathy, and kindness.

Sam quickly dropped her gaze to the floor. When she met Paulina's gaze again, she brought more questions.

"So what do you mean by 'Seeing a person's compatibility?'"

"Every witch has a special Gift. An inborn ability. The stronger a witch is, the sooner their Gift develops. My mom and I have the Gift of Sight. I can see people's emotions, and that also helps me See when the person is lying or telling the truth. I've also just found out that I can see a person's true self. I saw Danny's ghost form, even though he never even transformed. That's how I found out he was Danny Phantom. I also saw a ghost as a human. A ghost that tried to kidnap me. I saw who he was before he died. I haven't really had a chance to explore this on't know much about it. The only one that could probably help me is my mom, and she..." Paulina's voice faltered as a rush of emotions swelled over her. She struggled to keep them at bay. "My mom can't help me anymore."

Curiosity waved out of Sam. "I don't mean to pry, but what exactly happened to your mom?"

Paulina's hardened eyes snapped to Sam. "None of your business," she bit back.

"Okay, geez. I'm sorry." Sam flashed her a look of annoyance but dropped the subject.

A knock downstairs prevented the continuation of their conversation.

"That must be Val and the others."

Paulina pushed herself off the chair and groaned in annoyance.

Her body felt heavy, and she suddenly felt fatigue wash over her.

She groaned, aggravated by her lethargy.

Sam flashed her a look of concern. "You okay?"

"Just tired," she replied.

"Okay. Well, we can rest after we bandage ourselves up."

Sam beckoned for her to follow.

The girls strode down the stairs and opened the front door.

The remainder of the group walked in: a limping Star supported by a banged up Valerie and a wincing Tucker.

Sam disappeared downstairs and returned with a medical kit, and the assurance that she had experience tending to wounds.

She treated Val's head first.

Valerie peered at the stairs and glanced at Sam.

"What about Danny?"

Sam hesitated. "Danny does this sort of...self-healing thing. He recovers more quickly the longer he sleeps. Last time he was near blood blossoms, he slept for almost two days straight."

"He slept for two days, and he didn't even make physical contact with the blossoms," Tucker added. "Just being around them nearly killed him."

Sam nodded in agreement, carefully bandaging Valerie's head wounds. "If he's recovering from it being in his system it might take a lot longer. Then again, Paulina did cast a purification spell."

Sam glanced over at Paulina as she moved to treat Star.

Paulina sighed.

She had something in her Spellbook that could help everyone, but she'd already expended an incredible amount of energy and, on top of that, it was a water element spell, which meant she wasn't as compatible.

And the spell required a lot of energy.

Still, her friends could definitely benefit.

"I can cast a spell to try and speed up Danny's healing process."

"Pretty cool." Star began, wincing as Sam placed a hand above her ankle.

"Think you can cast one for me, too?"

"First we clean the wounds," Paulina bit her lip. "This spell is strong. The less work I have to do, the less power it'll use up."

Paulina allowed Sam to clean and bandage the deep cut over her left brow before transferring everyone into Danny's room.

As he was ordered to do so, Tucker retrieved Paulina's white candles and her rose quartz and gave it to her.

"Why three?" He queried. "And why white? And what's with the pink rock?"

"White is the color of purity and protection," Paulina explained. She willed her fire to ignite and the candles lit up, much to her friends' surprise. "Three is a powerful number. It represents the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in Christianity; the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone in Neopaganism; the three jewels in Buddhism. This number connects us to spiritualism and mysticism, magic. As for the rose quartz," she pointed to the 'pink rock,' which lay in the center of the triangle, "it is believed to have healing properties. I'm gonna need all the help I can get."

She placed them in triangular format around the group.

She focused all her energy on one word and imagined a gold light enveloping the people around her.

"Sana, sana, sana," she muttered.

The effects were instantaneous.

She felt the energy crackle around her.

Several sharp intakes of breath made her realize that her friends also felt the effects of the healing.

A sort of calm filled the room.

Paulina felt the last bit of energy escape her body.

She stumbled back and fell back against the wall.

Her eyelids suddenly felt heavy, and maintaining them open was too difficult a task.

Her eyesight blurred.

"Paulina?" Star placed a gentle hand on the Latina's arm.

"She's drained," Sam's voice. "Help me get her on the bed."

She felt warm, gentle hands pull her forward.

Her arms were unwillingly draped around Valerie and Sam.

And then she was thrust into the incredibly lush blankets that carried Danny's scent.

Generally, she would've been more self-conscious about falling asleep in a boy's bed while there were other people around, but the fatigue was overwhelming.

Sleep fell immediately.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:

Danny woke up from a peaceful slumber.

He blinked and slowly became conscious of his surroundings.

The first thing he registered was that he was in his own bed. The second thing he noticed was that he was not alone.

A dark mass of curls was draped across his pillow. Danny lifted his head and blinked to focus.

The girl beside him turned around and scooted closer to him, her eyes never opening.

Danny realized with a start that they had been spooning. His arm was draped around her slim waist and her body was snuggled comfortably against his.

Her arm rested over his. Their fingers had somehow interlocked while they were sleeping.

He smiled and brushed a strand of chocolate brown locks away from her lovely face.

Her aqua eyes fluttered open. Her smile mirrored his.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hey." He responded.

She sighed, contentedly. "How do you feel?"

"After waking up to your beautiful face?" He grinned. "Fantastic."

She blushed and giggled. "Cute, but you know what I mean."

"Exhausted," he admitted. "But I'm tired of sleeping and would really love to get out of bed right about now."

"Ugh, me too." Paulina rose into a sitting position and stretched, delightfully.

She was still wearing the same thing she had worn the previous day. Her loose, red blouse lifted slightly to reveal a peek of her slim waist and flat belly. Her shorts were wrapped tightly around her plump bottom and provided him with an amazing view of her perfect, tan legs.

He wondered how he'd gotten so lucky as to end up with such a stunningly beautiful and voluptuous girl.

After a moment of allowing herself to fully wake up, Paulina glanced around the room. "Did everyone leave?"

"Don't ask me." Danny retorted. "I don't even know how I ended up in my room, but I'm guessing you had something to do with that."

"You guess correctly," Paulina's smile returned.

The Latina tossed her hair over her shoulders and gave him a dazzling smile before turning on her heels and strutting out, sashaying her hips as she exited his room.

Danny rolled out of bed and stretched.

Every muscle in his body seemed to throb with pain, but, today, it was bearable.

He quickly tidied up his bed and fished out a fresh pair of clothes from his closet.

He stalked to the bathroom.

The shower was invigorating.

Danny felt more alert the moment he walked out and, to top it off, was greeted by a mouthwatering scent that filled his house.

He tugged on his casual attire and dashed downstairs.

Paulina was in his kitchen.

The girl was pouring coffee into a mug.

Her dark curls were pulled up into a messy pony, a few loose strands curled around her cheeks, dangling below her chin.

Large, gold hoop earrings dangled from her small ears.

She wore a tee shirt one size too big and shorts that revealed her stunning legs.

Her bare feet padded against the floor as she danced across the kitchen to retrieve a spatula.

She was singing along to music that was wafting out of her phone. "...si te robo un besito haz ver que no vas conmigo.1"

What an amazing way to start the day, he thought to himself.

Waking up to the most beautiful girl in the world and seeing her waltz around the kitchen, preparing breakfast as if it were her own home.

For a moment, he imagined a future in which she cooked and danced but also wore a a gold band around her ring finger.

Danny quickly dismissed the thoughts.

He hadn't even been dating her a few months and already he was fantasizing a life together with her.

It was too much, too soon.

But, still...

Danny silently moved to stand behind her and tugged her petite body against him.

She started in surprise but smiled when he pressed his lips against her cheek.

She leaned back against him. "Hungry?"

"Starving," he replied then stepped back and looked her over. "Did you change? Is that my shirt?"

"Yes, I did change. I spilled orange juice on my other shirt." Paulina retorted. She spun around and placed her hands on her hips. "Looks cute on me, doesn't it?"

"Adorable."

She pecked Danny's cheek in response, a simple action that still made his heart flutter.

"I made us some quesadillas, enough for the rest of the family to eat." She paused, adding, "If they want some."

"Are you trying to fatten me up?" Danny teased. "With all this delicious food?"

"Oh, please. With all the calories you burn flying and fighting?" She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "It's a wonder why you're skinny as a stick!"

"True," Danny grinned and took a seat.

"Your sister texted me." Paulina settled a plate in front of Danny.

The quesadilla smelled amazing.

"She said she's bringing donuts."

Danny raised a brow. "Since when do you text my sister?"

Paulina scoffed. "Since you were practically killed by some assassin carrying around blood blossoms." She sighed, suddenly gloomy. "It helps when you have people to share your worries."

He frowned. "Paulina-"

Danny paused and tilted his head to the side.

"What is it?" She queried.

Danny focused his hearing.

The muffled noises came from below his feet and seemed to be growing louder.

He blinked, mildly surprised. "My parents are here, and they're coming upstairs."

A/N: That's all for today.

The rest will be posted up tomorrow and will include an interesting yet tense scene between Maddie and Paulina.

I apologize if this chapter seems rushed, I didn't really revise it as well as I probably should have.

Ah, well. No harm, no foul.