I don't own the ghost with the most.
This is all too weird Valerie Grey thought as she listened to the chatter around her. Still slightly awestruck she moved through the halls hearing strangers talk of Danny's amazing exploits yesterday afternoon. She actually didn't hear that one of her only friends had risked his life to save a bunch of kids he didn't even know until late last night when she got back from her patrol. Daddy had been up and waiting for her as always but instead of yelling at her for her hunting, he invited her over the couch to watch the news where Valerie's whole world had flipped upside down. Only her father physically restraining her had stopped her from speeding over to FentonWorks to make sure that the sweetest boy she knew was really okay. She settled for a text and Danny had responded right away, despite the fact that she'd sent the text at 2:15 in the morning and how was he still awake, to tell her that he was alright and would be at school the next day. Valerie still didn't sleep much that night just thinking about how close it could have been.
She supposed it made a weird sort of sense. His parents were pretty much in charge of handling the local ghost problems, sort of. Valerie had a serious respect for Mrs. Fenton who was the only human in the town Val thought could give her a run for her money in terms of hand to hand combat. Even Jazz Fenton, the brilliant bookworm, could be out seen riding on patrol with her folks every now and again with an ectogun strapped to her hip. So Danny had picked up some techniques from his mom, a bit of gusto from his dad and of course that impossibly kind heart was all his own.
Getting ready for school that morning had been incredibly awkward. She could feel her dad's gaze on her as she prepared her breakfast, probably trying to guess what she was thinking. Since her mother had died a few years before, she'd taken to confiding in her dad about everything, including her not so subtle crush on the ghost hunters' son. Daddy hadn't liked it at first, thinking it was some extension of her own after school activities but he'd liked it even less when she'd proclaimed that they'd broken up because it would put Danny in too much danger. She'd done it at the time because she didn't think Danny could handle the stresses of her life but now it appeared that Danny could take care of himself.
And maybe that's why she was shuffling quietly through the hallways of Casper hoping that she could run into Danny and assure herself once again that he was alright, but also hoping to avoid such a confrontation. Because the entire reason Valerie had turned him down had ended up to be nothing but a fantasy. But come on? How was she supposed to know that weak Danny Fenton, who barely passed the Presidential Fitness Test and pulled a Houdini any time ghosts were so much as mentioned, could move like that?
She heard the snickerings of a couple of cheerleaders as she passed; she knew they were giggling over Valerie's supposed poor judgment. Had things been different, she could have proudly walked into school, arm in arm with the town hero. But it wasn't like that; it had never been like that. She'd liked Danny even when he was a wimp and she still liked him even though he was apparently part spider or something. But of course now it was much too late.
She and Danny were still friends; they still talked, though not as often as she would like, and hung out whenever her crazy schedule would allow. But she knew that her one and only chance of getting him in that way had passed her by. Val had noticed the subtle glances he would give Manson and the whole school knew that they were about three minutes from becoming an item. And knowing the goth girl's blatant crush on Danny, Val knew that she wouldn't let him go once she got him. Not that he deserved any less and he certainly didn't deserve a girl who broke up with him for seemingly no reason at all.
For just a moment, Valerie allowed herself to imagine what could have been. She thought about telling Danny all about her side job, of her hatred of ghosts and of her goals to protect the town from them, especially that creep Danny Phantom. She envisioned Danny smiling at her, accepting her odd life for what it was. She imagined them discussing ghost hunting strategies together in-between periods. The two of them hanging out at his house, cuddling on the couch as they went through the Fenton arsenal. Late at night on patrol, her up in the skies while Danny scanned from the streets on his moped all the while whispering sweet nothings into her earpiece. The two of them finally bringing down that obnoxious ghost boy, their twin ectoguns aimed at that annoying phantom's head.
Valerie sighed to herself, a day ago that fantasy would have never have been possible and now that Danny was some sort of hero type it really wouldn't come true. She should be used to having her life change for the worse at breakneck speed, from her mom to Daddy's job and of course the ghosts and yet it caught her by surprise every time. But all those hardships only made her stronger in the end. Her moment of self-pity done, Valerie put her chin out and her gloomy thoughts out of her head.
She can't say she really regretted her decision, she had done what she thought was best for herself and Danny at the time and who's to say he would even be interested in hunting ghosts anyway? What's done was done and Valerie would move forward like she always did. Because be it boys or ghost boys, Valerie wasn't one to stay down for too long.
"Valerie!" The familiar voice that had been haunting her thoughts had Valerie gaping as she noticed Danny, sweet, good-hearted Danny, waving to her from the center of a circle of peers. It appeared that people were finally noticing what an amazing guy Danny was but that boy was far too perceptive to let himself be caught up in their false praise. "Sorry I can't make it over to you but there's a bit of road blockage at the moment." Val smiled and was pleased to see Danny return in that adorable lopsided way she adored.
"It's good to see you're still in one piece golden boy." She said with warm eyes jerking a bit in surprise as he seemed to pale in fear.
"Ghost boy?" He said wide-eyed and Valerie rolled her eyes. Some things would never change. She chuckled at his behavior, raising an arm to him in goodbye while also wishing him luck with the fickle pedestrians. With only a little bit of regret, Valerie Grey turned and headed down the hallway to where she'd soon have seventh period World History. Nothing had changed, not really, she still cared for Danny but she also knew that she had a job to do that no one else could do. Life moved on, but that's not to say that Phantom wasn't going to get his butt handed to him the next time she saw him. It was his whole fault she was in this mess to begin with and she'd make sure he felt the full wrath of her broken heart.
I've been pleasantly surprised at the reception this story has received. Thank you guys so much, your motivation have made me want to go back and look over everything to make sure it's the best it can be. I still haven't decided how long this will end up being. It'll be four chapters for sure but I'm thinking of adding an extra fifth. We'll see how that goes. I feel like Valerie would have an interesting time in this scenario just because the reason she broke up with Danny was to /protect/ him from , where would we be without you? Happy Easter everyone and of course Happy Danniversary. To another 11 years of our favorite ghost boy!