After racking his brain for the remainder of the school day, Danny had found the words, he had built up the courage to come clean, and his parents, well, they weren't ready for it. That isn't to say Danny wasn't expecting their reaction, he was just hoping he was wrong. The look they gave him, the feeling that it displayed, sent a wave of regret down Danny's spine. Their words didn't sink in, just those faces, the eyes that bored holes through his heart. He was unable to argue back, to fight the losing battle he had taken part in. Tail between his legs, he had retreated to his room. The usually comforting space felt confining, like the walls would collapse in at any given second and suffocate him, adding to the crushing feeling his emotions put on his heart. It was too much for him, and, with the help of his ghost powers, he was out, phasing through the wall to the fresh air and open space that beckoned him. He landed in an alley with a soft thud, reverting to his human form. He had no real idea as to where he was going, but he knew anywhere would be better than his house right now. Mind running through a list of options, he managed to eliminate all of them, Dash was at football practice, as was Kwan, Tucker most likely wouldn't want to be bothered, Jazz was at back at school and Sam's advice to just tell them had gotten him into this mess. His mind mused on Valerie for a minute, but adding another variable into this equation would just make it harder to solve in the long run.

Sam was perched on the fire escape outside her room, book in hand. The sun was beginning to set, making it a bit cooler outside, the perfect place to get away from her overbearing parents and just relax for a bit. Of course, when a certain ebony haired friend of hers happened to walk by, she figured that she had done enough reading for the time being.

"Danny." She called to him. He didn't respond, however, which left her confused

"Hey, I'm talkin' to you, Danny."

Sam had to admit that Danny could be a little dense sometimes, but right now it felt like he was out of it, completely unaware. She climbed down the fire escape and managed to catch up to him.

"Yoo-hoo, Danny, you in there?"

"Oh, it's you."

"What? What did I do?"

"I took your advice."

"You told them?"

"No, I sang them a riveting number about it."

"Rude. So how'd it go?"

Sam knew that was the wrong question to ask as soon as Danny tensed up, clenching his fists together. Immediately she wished she could take it back.

"How does it look like it went?"

"I don't-know?"

"I'm out here wandering aimlessly in a helpless stupor, completely rejected by the only parents I will ever have, no one to turn to, all thanks to YOUR advice, and you're going to ask me how it went?"

"I didn't-"

"That's just it, you didn't, you never do, Sam. Do you know how hard it was for me to tell you and Tucker? Because if you multiply that by about a thousand, that is how hard it was to tell my parents, and look where it got me."

"Maybe they just need"

"I'm tired of hearing 'maybe they just need time to get used to it', Sam, that's everyone's go to when it comes to things like this. Why should I have to wait for people to accept things like this? In fact, why should I even care whether they do or not?"

"I-I don't"

"Exactly, I don't, that's exactly how I feel at this point."

"What?"

"I don't care what people think about me anymore, Sam, it isn't good. I was so nervous today, worried that someone would find out about my relationship with Dash, and you know what he said?"

"No?"

"He said he didn't care if people found out, he didn't care what they'd think of him, and I didn't agree with that. I was so worried that the smallest thing would ruin it, but you know what, who else do I have to worry about? My family already knows, my best friends already know, I don't have any reason to hide anymore."

Sam really had nothing to say at this point, she knew it would be better for Danny if he got all of this out of his system.

"That's it," Danny had cooled down a bit, more enthusiasm in his voice now, "Sam, that's it!"

"What's it?"

"I don't have to hide anymore. I can have a healthy relationship that I don't have to keep in the shadows, and I don't care who finds out."

"Wow, and they say they're worried about my mood swings."

"Thanks, Sam."

"What did I do?"

"Help me get over all this anxiety."

"Don't-don't mention it, Danny."

Danny gave her a quick hug before running off in the other direction, leaving the goth confused. She tried to make sense of the conversation she just had, but figured it didn't quite matter as long as Danny didn't have another mental breakdown.

The night's practice had just ended and Dash was getting his things from the locker room when a familiar voice called out to him.

"Danny?" was his response.

The voice in question did, in fact, belong to none other than Danny Fenton, the last person Dash expected to see here.

"Tell me about it, stud." Danny said, kissing the blonde on the cheek.

"Did you-did you just quote 'Grease'?"

"Only a little."

"I don't have to sing with you now, do I?"

"Only if you want to." Danny chuckled.

"Wait a minute, why are you all open and not paranoid now?"

"I told my parents about us."

"Oh?"

"Let's not talk about that."

"Oh."

"But it helped me realize something?"

"What's that?"

"I don't have any reason to hide our relationship anymore."

"What about everyone at school?"

"I can HONESTLY say I don't give two shits about their opinions at this point. My family knows, my friends know, I don't have anyone else to keep up appearances for."

"So does this mean?"

"Yes, it means that we can be an official couple now."

Dash's face lit up as he pulled Danny closer to him. The two kissed, and while a boy's locker room might not be the most romantic, or sanitary, place, it didn't matter at this point, all that mattered was that they had nothing to fear anymore, no one to hide from. They could finally be a couple, regardless of the views of the rest of the school.

Maybe they school year wouldn't be so bad after all.

Maybe…