Rumor has it
Silverwing013
Summary:
Star is doing her own form of research to figure out the truth behind a rumor ready to explode and have the entire student body hotly debating it. Is Phantom dating? Is it one of the two being whispered? She needs to keep this from getting out while she figures it out. For a friend.

For TheTinkerQueen.
Prompt:
There's a rumor in school that Danny Fenton is dating Phantom. That is not true- because Phantom's obviously dating Valerie Grey.

"There he is. Danny!"

Attention grabbed, Star headed over to the surprised boy with a smile. Shifted her pen and notebook in her grasp. Upright and close to write on.

"Uh, yeah?"

Ignoring his caution and confusion, she smiled directly at him, batting her eyes. More confusion. Point for. Hm. Not great.

"I'm helping Bonnie with a poll for the school newspaper. Do you like Phantom? Yes or no? With further explanation to possibly be quoted."

"Uuuh." Danny's eyes darted around, glancing about as if he thought it was a trick question, looking to his friends.

Exasperated, needing the information, Star pressed him.

"Well?"

"It's for the paper? Uh, well, no? He's a ghost, someone my parents would dissect. So I..."

"Can't publicly be a fan? Come on, off the record. I won't tell."

He didn't look as if he believed her and Star cursed her reputation of being one that knew things. It was backfiring here. Bonnie had been the one to suggest this, but it wasn't working.

"Well, Danny here runs from every ghost fight that happens. But Tucker Foley does not." Tucker grinned and swaggered, leaning toward her with an eyebrow waggle. "I think Phantom is one very cool dude."

"Ugh, come on Tucker. Danny." Shooting her a suspicious and warning glare, Sam Manson tugged both the boys away. Danny went along easier, quick to follow and exit conversation.

Exit a conversation with Star, a very pretty girl? Or exit the conversation pertaining to Phantom?

He hadn't reacted to the batting eyes, the toying of hair, or her smile. Not favorably. Or wished to prolong the conversation with her like most boys. Like he had some time back during the beauty pageant.

Bringing up his parents first thing didn't help.

"Well? How'd it go?" Bonnie asked her on their way to their next class.

"The Shakespeare point still remains likely. Danny brought up his parents. Was standoffish. He didn't respond to any attentions I gave him. So it's viable."

Bonnie hummed. Then grinned. "Can I tell her?"

"Do not. Might as well follow through with the Cheers point. Ask the other."

"Cheers? What is it with you and old sitcoms? Why not Logan and Veronica?"

Huffing, not wanting to repeat the same points all over again about this, Star looked to her notebook instead. Tapping her pen. Looking between both sides in points for and against.

She was good friends with one, but that didn't help in how stubborn that friend was.

Of those polled, 70 percent say they like Phantom.

"He's a hero! Always showing up to take care of ghosts causing trouble at school. He's the man!" - Dash Baxter

"Phantom might mess up, but he tries, never giving up no matter the odds or what horrible things people say and I can appreciate that." - Mikey Moore

"He's kind of like Casper's own personal friendly ghost." - Janet Cooper

"I think Phantom is one very cool dude." - Tucker Foley

"Like him? I can't stand him! He is a menace and causes destruction in our lives every time he shows up! I hate Phantom!" - Valerie Gray

"No? He's a ghost, someone my parents would dissect, so." - Danny Fenton

Star swore both Danny and Valerie must have devices to alert them. From what she has seen and others have seen. On her gathering a group of informants to pay attention to both whenever Phantom appeared for a fight at school.

It would be so much easier if it was just her. To have a first hand view. But class schedules did not work that way. And involving others meant glares and reminders and stressed clarification as to why. Along with the need to keep this on the very down low.

Both Danny Fenton and Valerie Gray were appearing more and more panicked and stressed out and freaking out and on edge the whole day long.

So, reluctantly, she had to ask everyone to stop. Star couldn't do that to a friend. As much as she wished and needed to get to the bottom of it. Kids talked and she could only do so much to quash it down until confirmation.

Unfortunately, Star had still drawn attention to them and the potential connection. She couldn't just erase that. It'd be out soon. Past any guards she could place up to block it.

Both with that reaction to being watched when a ghost fight was near with Phantom?

It could be possible this may not be an either or. But a both.

She slid up near, casually, at the lockers. Bonnie and Kwan just behind her to give the illusion of happenstance run in. And bumped shoulders.

"Oh. Hey. Sorry, Danny." She smiled, went to look back to Bonnie and Kwan, but pulled a sudden wide eye spin back. "Oh yeah. Danny. Since you're here, I've been wondering. Do you still like Valerie?"

The boy froze and she quickly eased the pressure of admission.

"I mean well enough still. Like friends. Good friends. Get along good and all that?"

He blinked at her, the high stiff shoulders dropping. "Oh, uh. Yeah. I still like her. As friends! We're very friendly!" He quickly put on in a burst of panic.

So he did still like Valerie that way. Guess she was the wrong girl to attempt flirting or giving him attention. Valerie was a strong personality. Maybe that was what attracted him. Strong and confident fighter type of person. Gender aside.

Right. Star could get that.

But it only added points for this. Which was not good.

"That's good. I'm glad. Because Valerie is a good friend of mine."

Hesitant, his eyebrows lifted and his eyes rose up at her. "Wait. Is that why you and the rest have been watching us? To see if we still have feelings for each other? Kinda a weird time to watch..."

"Oh, something like that, yes. Are you interested in anyone like that right now?"

He hesitated, casting his gaze behind her. Looking to Bonnie and Kwan. Looking along the hallway. Probably for his friends. For who was listening. For a way out.

Star pounced. "So there is someone! Tell me about them. Strong personality type? Confident? Loud about it?"

Shock and surprise colored his face. "Yeah. I mean, no! No!"

And didn't that put a point for option one. And both.

"I won't tell anyone. Or say who they are. I just had a feeling on your type. You don't have to say who either. But I love a good relationship story. Tell me how it started."

Putting him at ease considering she could get why the resistance and defensiveness and safety of them. Come on. Give some hints here to work with and get answers.

"Oh, um. Well. When we first met, it didn't go well. There was a fight. But they were so passionate. Had a lot of heart. And so, over time..." He trailed off, his cheeks red. And mumbled. "It wasn't anything amazing. I just realized one day that they kind of were, you know?"

Fight. Passionate. Lots of heart. Over time. They were amazing.

This was not earning the boy points against. Only more for.

Didn't go well when they first met. Obviously. With Valerie, true. And with his parents, it would obviously be true with Phantom too.

Why couldn't Danny be the average teenage boy loser he tried so desperately hard to be? This boy! Why couldn't he be the one normal Fenton of the bunch?!

Star couldn't even argue against the points made for this or the points she'd found! How was she going to handle this? She could only distract so long before the whispers among others blossomed into a full spread rumor.

"What do you mean you try to destroy him? You need weapons like the Fentons have for that."

"And I have them. You named me even. The Red Huntress? Ring a bell?"

Star stared at her friend, several things dawning on her, but she remained focused. "That gives you more in common and to collaborate with Phantom. Fighting all the ghosts causing-"

"No! I can't stand him! I keep saying I hate him!"

That didn't mean much. Star knew Valerie. Valerie stood fast to what she said and would never back down. It took someone impressive to have her to vocally change her mind. Adding more points for Danny in somehow working, as if he was coming into his own strong Fenton weird trait.

Friends with Sam Manson. Winning over Valerie Gray. Who's to say that boy didn't break the invisible barrier in being the son of the most infamous ghost hunting scientists romantically together with the most famous ghost superhero?

Shakespeare. Total Shakespeare.

But what about points for Cheers?

"Yes. You have said that from the start. But tell me you don't look at him and find him cute?"

"I." Valerie paused. Stuttered. Looked quickly away. "Kinda. But that doesn't mean I don't hate him! Phantom is a menace!"

Star sighed. "Look. I know you don't like changing your mind. Always looking forward and not regretting as much as humanly possible. But I need an honest answer of what you think of Phantom."

"I've told you! What is up with you, Star? You know what I have always said about him."

"Said, yes. And know you used to always call him an 'it'. Then 'ghost boy' in refusal of calling him by something like a name. And now you do use 'Phantom'. I've noticed. A few others have too."

"I-"

Star cut her off, getting to the point, eyes meeting Valerie square. "It's not going to be long before it's out and I can't hide it anymore. It's already a debate. And will be a school-wide controversy soon."

Valerie was listening, eyes on Star as she took it seriously rather than continuing to be defensive.

"The devastation to it coming out, true or not as there are too many points for it to be true...well. I've been trying to get to the bottom of it before she finds out. Which will only last so long. Because you know how much Bonnie loves to give Paulina believable rumor crap to fuck with her. After that shit Paulina pulled on her cousin back in middle school."

"Yeaaah. Did Bonnie come up with this? She usually just proves Paulina doesn't realize she can't stand her. Silly things to make her look foolish. Devastation?"

Star shook her head. "No. It was a couple of the loser girls talking about it. I overheard it in the bathroom. The ones who do all the questionable fanfiction on celebrities? Yeah. No one really listens to them, but they were arguing against you. With that one red headed girl on the basketball team. I told them to shut it, but then Bonnie caught wind of it the next day too."

Squinting her eyes suspiciously, Valerie asked.

"So what's this rumor that would devastate Paulina?"

Star sucked in her breath.

"Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet. Versus. Cheers. Diane and Sam. Both around Phantom."

"...I already hate this."

"The son of ghost hunting parents and the ghost with the most have fallen for each other. Phantom is dating Danny Fenton. But that's in contention. The biggest hater of Phantom is the one secretly dating him. You. But there is the idea that both are true."

Valerie's eyes flew open wide and her jaw dropped. Speechless and unable to utter a sound.

"Bonnie and Kwan were even there when I pressed Danny on who he likes. No names to get him at ease to answer me, but it was extremely fitting to either you or Phantom. And used 'they' instead of traditional pronouns, so it's well..."

Star winced. "Bonnie only promised to help keep the rumors down for three days."

"What the hell?!"

Oh, the boy did have a backbone. Probably helped stress the importance in the few times he used it considering his type. Star attempted a smile as he came up right at her.

"Hey Danny. Yeah. This? I kept these rumors from blowing up as I tried to get to the truth. You didn't help. Your type and answer on who you like fits both. So. Which one is it?"

Cackling like weezing hyenas behind him, both his friends were down. Past the shock and right into the gleefully wicked laughter on Danny's misfortune.

"What answer? Oh my god, dude, this is hilarious! You technically could be seen as dating Phantom someda-"

"Shut up!" Danny screeched, completely red in his face. "I wasn't talking about either of them! I was talking about-"

Hashing cutting himself off, he closed in on Star. She needed a good view. Through the school doors to see whom was coming up the path. Star shifted, but Danny stayed with her and screamed. Pointing.

"What is that?!"

Looking over at the huge sheet of construction paper on the wall directly inside the school entrance, she sighed. "It looks like Bonnie had Spike make it. The particulars of it? Well. It's simply an in your face blow up student poll with written points for each option. Not to be missed. I tried."

There were already several marks for all the columns too. At a quick glance, it looked like solo Danny Fenton was in the lead of it. But no. It was more like Dash wrote in huge letters against it in that column rather than voting correctly under one he thought likely. That figured.

Catching the shriek, Star turned. Crap! She looked away! Quickly she slipped away from the boy and began weaving through the crowd. Calling back with a message to stop him from following.

"And now I need to go console Paulina and keep her from murdering Valerie or you."

Paulina first. So much for trying to keep the rumors at bay. Or head Paulina off to break it gently.

Besides. Danny could probably handle himself in all this rumor mill's delayed explosion. If the strong type he went for was any sign. He did tend to persist in his own way through any troubles.

Maybe the old lovebird joke between him and Sam was the real rumor to be had. He hadn't wanted to say in front of her. And Sam Manson did fit his type.

Shame for him. Because being involved in a Shakespeare level rumor was far more appealing and long lasting. And connect him in being a potential middle person for the Cheers relationship? It was just far too good and befittingly believable out of a Fenton.

And, fine. Star probably only really believed in the great potential of that after Bonnie gleefully attempted to slip Paulina a handwritten story. Star had intercepted its path. Then read for herself.

Damn. Those two loser girls were good. She probably shouldn't say anything to either of her two friends about thinking this was good. Or that she hunted them down and got them to agree on passing on anymore written directly to her and nowhere else.

Years later, Star took pleasure in purchasing a copy of their debut book. It'd reached the bestseller list. An accomplishment garnering attention considering the type of relationship it focused upon. People took wins when they could and celebrated them.

She tucked in those old handwritten stories with the book, slipping it into a large manila envelope. She shared a grin with Kwan and Paulina. Letting them see the note before adding it inside, licking it shut to mail it.

'Sam. Don't you think your husband would just die knowing where their inspiration came from?'

A few days later, they, and the world has their answer (even if the world at large was clueless of rumors from way back when of Casper High).

A series of videos were released of Phantom being forced to listen to his cackling wife read it out loud to him. Made to react. Red and awkward and assuring his acceptance and sputtering and embarrassed over the details and everything.

One follow up video came quite some time after the book reaction series was complete. The poor guy unaware of why the fuss and need to record him. Until he was informed of the news of the book being made into a movie.

Valerie had much the same reaction when she found out. And neither happy on being specially invited to the premiere by the authors. Hard to state a decline when both were very well known supporters of the LGBT community and fellow Casper High alumni.

But dear lord, after all they grew up with, could the Casper High alumni ever rally together.

They went.