Chapter 42

He felt absolutely ridiculous. It didn't help that the moment he entered the school with his friends, all eyes seemed to be drawn to him. He expected the snickering, being used to it after the incident in freshmen year. The wolfish whistles as he passed, on the other hand, made his face heat up with a blush that he tried futilely to fight back. Sighing, Danny grabbed some things out of his locker before classes started.

"Aren't you freezing in that?" Tucker asked with his PDA ever present in his hand. He glanced up over the top of his glasses as he frowned.

"Of course, I am," Danny grumbled, nudging his locker shut with an elbow as he slung his book bag over one shoulder. "It's only December with the prediction of snow on the way, and I'm standing here in a skirt that barely reaches my knees." He glared flatly at his friend. Luckily, he managed to find a pair of spandex bike shorts to wear underneath the skirt, which turned out to be a good thing when one of the jocks passed him earlier and tried to flip up the back of the skirt while the group of football players laughed. Danny thanked whoever was actually looking out for him that he didn't run into Calvin Williams yet.

Sam only made a brief stop at the lockers before disappearing off to Danny didn't know where. But he didn't mind the quick departure since it allowed him the chance to talk with Tucker privately. Danny grabbed hold of his friend's arm and dragged him to a more secluded part of the school where they would be perfectly alone and could avoid being overheard.

"So guess who was waiting for me when I got back from the Nasty Burger yesterday," Danny started as he dropped into one of the seats in the theater. None of the drama students were around yet, so it was safe for them to talk there.

"Since you're in one piece, I'm going to say not a vicious virus out for your blood." Tucker joined him, leaning back in his seat as he put his feet up on the seat in front of him. The PDA was still out and in his hand.

Danny rolled his eyes before landing his gaze back onto his friend. "Obviously not a virus." Sighing, he pulled off the wig while they were alone so that he could scratched at his head. "Vlad was there. You know, training and stuff. Oh, I learned this whole cool thing with manipulating my energy." He grinned as he remembered that new skill. "Being able to make a motorcycle out of nothing is pretty awesome."

"Dude, you have to show me that some time!" Tucker's green eyes were wide with amazement.

"I will." Danny chuckled. "Later. When we aren't at school." His smile faltered somewhat as he played with the ebony locks of his wig. "But before that whole training thing-" And what a training it was! Vlad really put him through the ringer yesterday as he taught Danny how to fight with a weapon. His attacks were rather clumsy at first, not used to wielding something like a scythe. He thought maybe something like the sword Vlad used would be easier, but the scythe popped into his head first. By the time he left to go home, at nearly midnight, he could form the scythe almost as quickly as Vlad could his sword.

"Vlad has this personal satellite," Danny continued, his nose wrinkling up as he felt that tickle of an oncoming sneeze.

"I'm so not surprised by that." A frown drew across Tucker's face. "I mean, the guy is a billionaire after all. I bet he has a huge castle somewhere. Maybe even two or three."

Danny opened his mouth to shoot back a snarky comment about how useless that would be for the man since Vlad was confined to the NetZone for the majority of his time. That kind of comment would probably bring up questions, and he really didn't want to tell Tucker about what was said during his first conversation with Vlad. Turning his head, he sneezed hard. He groaned as he dug through his book bag for a handkerchief and wiped his nose clean. He really hoped he was getting sick.

"Anyway," he said after blowing his nose. "He took me up there yesterday. Kind of making up for acting like a jerk to me when we met. Man, you should have been there because the view of Earth from way up there," he pointed upward toward the ceiling, "is amazing. Mind blowing and beautiful. There is no comparison to seeing that with your own eyes." He sighed out with a dopey smile on his face as he remembered that vision.

"I don't know, Danny." A sly grin crossed Tucker's face, and Danny frowned in uncertainty, not quite liking that tone in his friend's voice. "I wouldn't want to ruin your date." He burst into laughter as Danny did a fairly good imitation of a fish with his mouth opening and closing in stunned silence.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Danny gave his friend a shove as a new blush crept onto his face.

Tucker coughed as his laughter died down. "Uh, dude, that was totally a date." Still grinning, he patted his friend on the shoulder. "I know you may be out of touch with the whole dating thing since you've been running around like a nut doing the Phantom thing. But when a guy does something crazy like that, taking you to some place that they know you'll love, and I'm guessing he asked about your interests to pick the perfect place to take you, that's totally a date. And I'm willing to bet, based on the fact that he literally took you into space and gave you the stars, that he really, really likes you."

"You're so full of," Danny sneezed abruptly, "shit, Tucker." He wiped his nose clean again on his handkerchief, trying to ignore that sudden warm twisting feeling inside him.

"You better not give me whatever you have," Tucker said seriously as he frowned deeply at his friend in concern.

"It's probably just a cold bug. I mean, I am wearing a stupid skirt in cold weather." Danny checked the time on his watch to see how much longer they had until the start of class. "And by the way," he turned to his friend and made a face, "the guy is old enough to be my dad. And I'm not exaggerating on that. He's literally as old as my dad. They were best of buds in college. Why would you even suggest something like it was a date?" But the suggestion of it being a date brought up a nervous, jittery feeling inside him. Could Vlad really have thought of it like that? He swallowed thickly as his fingers tangled in the long strands of his wig. Vlad wouldn't like someone like him. Vlad was supposed to still have feelings for his mother, not him.

"Yeah," Tucker said, rolling his eyes, "I think I know who Vlad Masters is. He's only the biggest name in technology. I'm well aware of how old he is. I still think it was a date."

"You're crazy." Danny shook his head as he stood. With a sigh, he tugged on the wig, adjusting it so it didn't look completely stupid on him.

"Danny, I meant it when I said nothing would change between us if you're gay." Tucker grabbed his book bag as he followed Danny out of the theater.

"I'm not calling you crazy because of anything that has to do with my sexuality," Danny argued. "Which by the way," he stopped to poke a finger into Tucker's chest, "I'm not even sure about since I haven't exactly been getting the warm fuzzy feelings for anyone lately. So maybe I am, but maybe I'm not. The thing is that Vlad is old. And he's smart, way smarter than me. And he's refined, and I'm so not. We're in two very different leagues."

"Whatever you say, man." Tucker chuckled as he patted Danny on the shoulder.

Danny scowled. "I'll see you at lunch." They waved their goodbyes before parting ways to head to class.

His morning classes passed at a snail's pace. His teachers gave him strange looks when he entered the classroom, but they made no comments about his attire. Danny wasn't the only male to come to school dressed in drag. He knew there was one man that throughout freshmen year had people guessing as to whether he was actually a boy or if he really was a girl. Second period was the least fun of his classes before lunch. Clark, one of Calvin's buddies, sat behind him and kept tugging at the wig or jabbing at him in the back of the neck with the tip of his pencil to get a rise out of the loser. Danny gritted his teeth to the point that his jaw ached to avoid turning around and snapping at the obnoxious jock.

He sighed out in relief as he joined his friends at lunch. His sandwich was halfway to his mouth when Danny realized the oddity. His blue eyes glanced around, noting Paulina joining Sam and Valerie on the other side of the table. The women were getting along fairly well, which was very surprising for Danny. They were actually discussing fashion, and despite the complete clash between Paulina's love of pink and Sam's Goth style, they weren't getting into shouting matches. Paulina even showed Sam a dress that the Goth called "cute" despite it having some soft pink lace accenting the black dress.

Kwan sat on the other side of Tucker, and Danny was happy to see the two were discussing tech stuff. Paulina's break away from the A list norm apparently gave Kwan the courage to be more open about his true self by letting his techno geek side show. His gaze slid to his other side where Danny found Dash digging into his own lunch. It was still a strange thing to find himself sitting among the most popular students in the school after finally having given up the chase of getting in with the A list. He almost laughed at the irony. Half smiling, Danny bit into his sandwich, simply happy that their weird gathering was getting along.

"You want this?" Dash asked, holding out a chocolate pudding toward him.

Danny nearly choked on his mouthful when he glanced at Dash. The jock wasn't looking at him, but there was a slight coloring upon his cheeks. With a sinking feeling, Danny remembered Paulina's comments about the jock liking him. He glanced around at the table as he swallowed his food, but the other occupants were busily talking with each other and not paying any notice to them. Chewing on his lip, he turned back Dash.

"Can we go somewhere and talk?" Danny asked quietly, hoping not to draw the attention of any of their friends.

Dash blinked a few times then nodded. "Yeah, sure." He got up, grabbing his things.

Danny copied him, noting the eyes that landed on them before the two of them walked away from the table. After clearing of their trays and putting them on top of the trash can, they left the cafeteria. Their stroll through the school was tense, and Danny hugged his arms around his body, trying to discreetly wipe sweaty palms on his white turtleneck. They came to a section of the halls where no other students were milling about, and Danny decided that was a good enough spot to talk.

"Uh, so what did you want to say?" Dash couldn't seem to look at him for longer than a few seconds as he leaned against the lockers.

"Um," Danny started then paused to swallow. He rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck as he tried to decided how to even start this conversation. "Things have been pretty good between us this year." That sounded way stupider out loud than in his head, and Danny winced at his words. "And I've really liked that I've gotten to know a different side of you other than the bully that likes to kick my ass every week."

Frowning, Dash squinted at him. "Are you trying to give me the 'it's not you, it's me' deal or something?" He, at least, didn't look furious when he asked it.

"Um, maybe?" Danny cringed, shifting his weight. "Look. I've noticed, you know-" He sighed, trying to think of a way to say all of this without telling Dash that Paulina spilled the beans about his feelings. "The looks, the blushing, the nervousness. Well, I-"

"You're not gay," Dash said bluntly, looking more disappointed than surprised. "Kwan and Paulina have been encouraging me this whole year to just go for it with you." He sighed and shook his head. "Should have known I'd fall for the straight guy."

The hurt expression on the jock's face made Danny feel guilty about what he would have to say. "I'm not actually sure about that. Not really." His brow knitted. "I haven't exactly given it a whole lot of thought."

"Then why are you doing the whole rejection thing?" Dash's jaw clenched, like he was restraining his natural instinct to pound on something while mad. "You're not even going to give me a chance?"

"Because you are a great guy, Dash." Danny added in a smaller voice, "When you're not being a jerk." He sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "But you deserve someone better. You deserve someone that's not going to be half assed about the relationship." And someone that could be fully honest with him. Danny frowned, dropping his gaze as he thought about all the lies he would have to tell anyone that he got in a relationship with because of his powers.

Except Vlad.

And why did Vlad keep popping up into his head today?

When a hand suddenly touched his cheek, Danny nearly jerked away from it. He lifted his head, and Dash's face was way too close. "Uh, Dash, you shouldn't-" His eyes darted left and right, suddenly very worried about other students coming down the hall to see them like this.

Dash held the back of Danny's head as he leaned in close. Danny gasped as their lips touched, his heart practically jumping into his throat. His brain went into shut down mode, grinding to a halt in his shock at the fact that Dash was actually kissing him. He stumbled forward a step as Dash snaked an arm around his waist, drawing their bodies against each other. This wasn't in any way how Danny expected this talk to go with the jock. And crap, maybe he was gay because he was starting to feel a bit weak in the knees. When Dash finally broke it, Danny stared at him in a daze, not fully realizing that the kiss had ended.

"You kissed back." A smirk spread onto the jock's smug face.

Heat spread across his cheeks as Danny swallowed and tried to regain some sort of thought process going in his head again. "It's the skirt, isn't it?" he demanded dryly as he glared at Dash. "You only kissed me because I'm wearing a skirt."

Dash rolled his eyes. "You're sexier in your regular clothes." He grinned, still holding the other man flush against his body.

Danny sighed tiredly. "Dash, I really don't think it would work out between us."

"At least give it a chance before you shoot it down." Dash frowned, his thumb rubbing over the smooth flesh just behind Danny's ear. "You seemed to enjoy the kiss."

"Maybe you're just that good at kissing." Danny managed to untangle himself from Dash's arms because being held like that was distracting him thinking. "And if we're just basing it on something physical, then that's no good. We both deserve something more than that."

"And we can have that," Dash insisted, his brow pinching and his mouth pulling downward. "Why are you so resistant to even trying?"

"Because I can't-" Danny snapped his mouth shut quickly as he looked away. He realized with a jolt that a small part him rejected it because of Vlad's words. Rubbing at his eyes, he realized Vlad had circled through his mind all day, and he wasn't sure if that was all because of Tucker's comment or not. Maybe a little. The whole "date" thing wouldn't leave him alone. When he looked back at Dash, Danny sighed and placed his hands on the jock's broad shoulders. "I know there's an amazing guy for you if you just open your eyes to someone other than me. I'm not-" That tickling feeling returned, and Danny drew away quickly so that he wouldn't sneeze right into Dash's face.

"Are you sick?"

"I'm hoping I'm not." Danny dug out his handkerchief again to blow his nose. All day long, he kept sneezing, and he noticed some tiredness. But he was attributing that to another late night finishing up homework. It wasn't as late as other nights, but he still didn't get to bed until around two in the morning. "It's probably just because of wearing a skirt."

"You know, you could have worn pants under it." Dash smirked when Danny stared at him, partially in shock that the jock even suggested that. "The bet was to wear a skirt or dress. Paulina never said you couldn't wear pants too."

"Next time, tell me that sooner!" Danny groaned, wishing he had thought of it before leaving the house that morning.

swagdanny: 8) *pats Vlad* It's okay. Danny's a cutie. Those thoughts are perfectly normal. 8) Haha, well, I only have the next chapter written. orz Apparently, I've slowed down on writing or something.

DARKLOVEFORFANFICTION123: Oh no! D: I'm sorry about your computer!

midnight: Haha, yeah. XD;; Well, at least he knows how to heal himself now. Thanks! =) It's all a lie~ D8 I actually know nothing! orz No, really, I'm just making stuff up as I go along. XD;;; But if it's coming off like I know techy stuff, them I'm glad. 8D Sometimes, I've been worried that I'm writing the tech stuff all wrong. orz

Sammi: Me too! 8) It's so nice having them get along.

DB-KT: Seems to be the norm? XD;; Yes~ A scythe~ 8) It certainly won't be my only time giving him a scythe. *evil laugh*

maltese: Yes, progress~ Progress is good~ 8) And yes, Danny is cute. Run with that thought, Vlad. Run with it~ Haha, I might have a thing for wickedly awesome scythes. XD;;

Just Will: Well, I hope the different perspectives aren't being a drag. D: Because I've done it before? XD;; Danny is forever getting a motorcycle because they're just awesome. Well, you know, there was Control Freaks, where Danny had the whole Grim Reaper thing going on. XD;;