BVQA: First off, if the end of the last chapter came off as rushed, I apologize. I was trying to make it vague so I could fill in the details in this chapter. And if I may draw your attention to the picture I used for this story, it's a drawing I did of Dani, Youngblood, and Sid. You probably can't tell because of the size of the image, though.
Dani: *Has been tied up and gagged to prevent further escapes* Mumph!
BVQA: Also. . . updates after this might be a little jumpy because summer vacation is starting up, school is winding down, and tests are being taken! Thus, I'm probably not going to have much time to write. Just a warning. Now. . . on to the next chapter! In which Dani gets ice cream!
"I'm sorry, what?"
Dani tapped her foot and glanced around the ice cream parlor. It was painted lime green, sunshine yellow, bubblegum pink and orange-y orange. Candy colors. That, paired up with the 60's theme (complete with jukebox, waitresses on roller skates, neon lights, and oldie music blaring through hidden speakers) was making Sid smile like a three-year old and bounce lightly on his toes when he thought no one was looking. If someone did happen to look his way, his cheeks would instantly coat themselves in a dusty gray blush and he would stare at the ground awkwardly. Everyone else was happy with the 60s ice cream parlor because. . . well, it was an ice cream parlor.
Dani returned her attention to the bewildered waitress standing in front of the Fenton and friend's cushiony, green-and-white-sparkly booth. She had her bright orange hair piled up in a 60s hairdo, held back with a green bandana, and was wearing a vintage-looking waitress uniform. She rocked lightly back on her retro roller skates, then rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand as if to check that the orders she'd been writing down on her notepad were correct. She seemed like a bright enough lady, and she had accepted the fact that she was serving ice cream to ghosts with no questions. However, the massive size of what they had ordered was enough to make her think that maybe she'd missed something along the way.
"You want every flavor we have. . . in the biggest bowl we've got. . . each." She asked cautiously.
"It's a special occasion." Dani said with a brilliant smile.
"Well. . . alright." The waitress- who, Dani noticed, was wearing a name tag reading 'Vicki'- said in a tentative voice. "Coming right up." Dani's beaming grin in her direction seemed to have cheered Vicki up, and she managed an equally sincere smile back before skating of through the double doors to the kitchen.
"So." Danny (ghost form) said with a smile. "Quick thinking, in the courtroom."
"You're pretty sharp, sis." Danny (Fenton) added.
Was it just Dani's imagination, or were their proud smiles a few molars smaller than usual?
Just keep your cool, Dani. Dani thought, and returned the smile with only slightly less vigor than the one she'd given Vicki. "I just had to remember what Clockwork said. Remind me to bake him cookies at some point as a thank you."
"You can bake?" The utterly bewildered tone in Sid and Youngblood's voices as they asked the question was nearly as offensive as the reply they received.
"No." Sam, Tucker, Danny and Danny said in exact unison. "She nearly burned down the house last time."
Dani pouted. "It's not my fault that sugar can catch fire!"
"It is when you add a whole bag of it. . ." Danny (Fenton) began.
". . .and when it lights the cookies up, you drop them on the floor!" Phantom finished, then everyone, Dani included, burst into laughter as both Dannies slapped each other high fives. Dani's giggles lasted far longer than anyone else's, long enough that her good humor almost distracted her from the question that weighed heavy on her mind like a brick on top of a marshmallow. A tan, thirteen-year-old marshmallow with a short bob of hair and a big smile, but a marshmallow nonetheless. And she'd thought all those months on the streets had made her tough! She realized now that all she'd been doing was running from her problems. Facing them took far more strength.
Dani took a deep breath, prepared to face this problem with all that she was. She opened her mouth to ask that question, that one, big question, second to only one other. . .
. . .and was interrupted by a plate heaped high with ice cream being placed square in front of her nose. Dani's eyes widened, her gaze traveling up the multicolored mountain, until she was sure it was never-ending and blocked out the sun.
"Whoa. . ." She gasped. Vicki, who Dani couldn't even see past the huge dessert, chuckled. "Enjoy, everyone." She said, and Dani then noticed that everyone at the table was staring at their ice cream with equal reverence.
"Thank you, Vicki!" Dani called, and the orange-haired waitress smiled over her shoulder as she skated off.
There was a moment of silence as everyone sized each other up. Then. . .
"Ice cream eating race!" They all shouted at once, and dug in. Dani ignored the spoon that was thoughtfully placed next to the confectionary behemoth, and instead scooped large mouthfuls off of it with her tongue like a giant ice cream cone. She could see others following suit in her peripheral vision, and quickly realized that more drastic measures had to be taken if she was going to win. Danny (Phantom) already had a leg up on everyone else since he had duplicated himself another two times and was eating three time the amount anyone else could manage, However, after about two minutes of that, all three of them groaned and slipped to the floor, melting back into one ghost. Dani took careful note. It was important to remember that the ice cream the duplicates consumed all went to the same person, so Danny was just giving himself a stomachache and a brain freeze like no other. Danny (Fenton) was still in the race, obviously trying to keep up the pretense that he wasn't the human half of Phantom and thus connected to the ghost's ice cream agony, but Dani could see that he was barely making a dent in the mound on his plate.
Well, he's out of the running. Dani thought with a grin, noting with satisfaction that she seemed to be the faster (and smarter) of the two.
That is, until she took stock of where everyone else was at. Youngblood, without the need to breathe, was gulping down mouthfuls in a constant blur of motion and was a threat in his own right. Sidney was the only one using a spoon, but he was so quick at shoveling down heaping spoonfuls of ice cream that he was keeping pace with everyone else. Sam's ice cream was of the ultra-recyclo-vegetarian variety and thus less thick than everyone else's, allowing her to fit more in her mouth at one time. Tucker was keeping them all in check by sheer speed, and as for Dani's parents. . . well, Jack had been halfway through before Maddy, unable to keep up because of her thin frame, had 'accidentally' knocked his chair over.
Dani almost choked on her latest mouthful as she giggled. She'd seen that same competitive nature the time she'd caught them playing checkers when they thought they were alone in the house.
The racing and giggling continued for nearly a half an hour, during which time Sam tried to stab Tucker with her fork, Youngblood had stolen Sid's spoon right out of his mouth, Dani had kicked her mother under the table, and they had all come out in an eventual, brain-freezy, gut-clenching tie.
"I think I'm going to hurl." Dani said, leaning back in her seat while she licked the plate clean. She finished, and placed it back on the table with a thoughtful expression on her face. ". . .it was worth it."
There were agreeing noises from around the table, from everyone except Youngblood. . . he was throwing up in a nearby trash can. For some reason, Dani found that funny.
You should ask them now. A voice in the back of Dani's head murmured, and before she could think it through she asked the question. The one that she'd been worrying about ever since the court case. The one that scared her more than the thought of being locked up.
"So. . . now what?"
BVQA: Aand there's a sorta-cliffie for ya. I'm sorry the chapter was a little shorter than I usually make 'em, but I felt some lighthearted fluff was needed and I couldn't really make it run on much longer. Don't worry. . . the next chapter will have plenty of conflict!
Dani: Mumph!
BVQA: Reviews will help me get through the last few weeks of the school year! Why don't you tell me what you think is going on with Danny? (I know I asked already, but I want to see if you have a better idea now)
Dani: *spits out gag* Only you could manage to have parentheses in your speech.
BVQA: Why, thank you!
Dani: That wasn't a compliment.
