Disclaimer: I do not nor have I ever owned Danny Phantom. Enjoy!

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Wednesday. December 21st, 2004. Dani's Room. 11:15p.m.

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"Honestly Dani I don't know why you're so unkind to him. Dash has always been the perfect gentleman to you ever since he was a child."

'Gentleman!?' Dani seethed, while switching to her pajama pants. 'HE'S A FUCKING EVIL STALKER!'

Dani was currently in her bedroom getting ready for a good night's sleep before they had to hit the road tomorrow. Which would be so much easier if she didn't have her mother breathing down her back. She had spent an hour finishing the chores her mother insisted on leaving for her and was currently sitting on her bed, with her mother at her side, listening to her blab about Dash nonstop. She quickly glanced at her Gone With The Wind clock that was hanging on her wall.

11:15 p.m. Damn it! Forty-five more minutes until her mother got the hell out!

Damn Dash Baxter! Damn him to the fiery pits of hell! If it wasn't for him, his wicked witch of a mother would have never suggested 'Mother, daughter' time to her mother! Now Dani was stuck for an hour with her mother while she discussed why being Dash Baxter's girlfriend is great news for everyone involved.

Everyone except her, that is.

"I mean honestly Dani," Her mother told her, while listing off all the things with her hand. "You go to all the school functions with him, all the city celebrations with him, you attend all his football games, he takes you on every vacation he goes on, you're practically his girlfriend already! You're even wearing his necklace, for goodness sakes!"

Dani glared at her mother. Rage filled every part of her being at the mere mention of the dog collar she's been forced to wear for almost a year.

"Dash Baxter," She responded slowly and deliberately, "is not my boyfriend. We are not even friends. I only tolerate him because of you."

Her mother's face turned red with rage. Dani signed. Here it comes...

"WELL YOUNG LADY," Her mother exploded, rising from the bed she was sitting on. "LET'S SEE IF YOU 'TOLERATE' STAYING GROUNDED UNTIL NEXT YEAR!"

"Great!" She fired back, standing chest to chest with her mother. "Now I don't have to go to your stupid reunion party on Christmas Eve!"

"OH YOU'RE GOING IF I HAVE TO DRAG YOU BY THE HAIR-"

"ENOUGH!"

Her father's voice, so loud and forceful, and so unlike him, shocked Dani and her mother into silence. Dani looked to see her father standing in the doorway absolutely fuming. She hadn't seen him that angry since he nearly beat Jake's kindergarden teacher to death over twelve years ago.

It was too bad the police came before her father could finish the job.

"Apologize to your mother Dani." He ordered.

"Sorry." She quickly said. Best not tempt fate. The last thing she needed was a fight with her father. He was the only understanding one. Without him, she would be stuck with her mother. And Jake.

She'd would rather be trapped in a vortex.

"Maddie," Her father said while massaging his temple. "Say goodnight to Dani. It's past her bedtime."

Her mother started to protest but her father held up his hand in warning. Her mother signed, gave Dani a kiss on the cheek, and quickly left the room. Her father walked right over to her bedside. He ushered her to join him.

"Dani," He said as soon as she sat down next to him. "What I can't understand is why you continue to lead Dash on? Your mother is right, you do go to all his football games, all his vacations, every city celebration we have here in Amity Park. Why continue to go out with him? Why not just tell him you're just not that interested and give back the necklace?"

"I just-" Dani started but found she couldn't finish. There was no explanation she could give about Dash that her father would believe. The irony of the situation overwhelmed her.

"Do you feel pressured by him?" Her father asked, his eyebrows narrowing in suspicion. "Because if he's pressuring you tell me right now! I'll go down there and set him straight!"

For a split second, she almost told him the truth. Almost told him that Dash had been pressuring her ever since she was fourteen years old. Almost told him that yes, she would love to go right now to kick Dash Baxter's ass but she just had to grab her metal baseball bat first.

"No Dad of course Dash isn't pressuring me." She lied through her teeth, shaking out those thoughts out from her head. "It's just that I've known him since freshman year and I'm not really ready to date but mom keeps insisting-" Her father cut her off.

"I completely understand princess."

Dani really doubted that.

"You're just not interested in dating at your age that's all." He continued. "I kept trying to tell your mother that but she kept insisting you were interested in Dash. But I told her that you only went out with him because you've known him so long and he's the only boy you can really trust."

Dani nodded vigorously. That would work.

"But Dani," Her father said while shaking his head. "Dash really likes you. He talks about you all the time. I know it breaks his heart when he sees you treat him so callously. Men have feelings too, though they don't show them as often as women would like."

Dani looked away. She couldn't tell her father that Dash didn't have a heart.

"Just something to think about darling." Her father told her while giving her a kiss on the cheek. He got up and headed for the door. He suddenly stopped at the doorway and then turned to face her.

"Dani." He said, scratching his head in a testament to his discomfort. "I was thinking and it is Christmas Eve and maybe-"

"Dad it's fine." She reassured, knowing where he was going with this and placing a fake, but convincing, smile on her face. "It's great actually. I've always wanted to visit Wisconsin anyway and I'd love to see your old college friends."

'Yep perfect Christmas Eve.' She sarcastically thought. 'Nothing better than spending it with a bunch of cheeseheads I don't know and watching my father try to dance the Hammer in spandex again.'

Oh God, like last year's embarrassment wasn't bad enough! Well at least she wouldn't know these people this time and got to leave a state away afterwords.

A wide grin appeared on her father's face at her words and he appeared be to back to his old self again.

"Well sleep tight princess! Tomorrow morning we hit the road!" He happily shouted, his hand switching off the light in her room.

When her father shut her door and she could hear his footsteps fade out, she got up and went to her walk in closet. For a moment she stood and stared at her reflection in mirror hanging in her door. With the full moon in the sky and her curtains wide open, she could make out every inch of her body. She could see why people tend to lose all of their senses when they first saw her.

Her beauty was...unnatural. Something about it just wasn't human.

And it seemed no matter how hard she tried to make herself look more normal looking, it just wouldn't work. Her hair was long and lustrous, free of tangles and split ends no matter how long she went without brushing it. Her skin was flawless and radiant even though she ate junk food every single day. Her lips were red and her eyelashes thick and long even though she didn't use any make-up.

It was so frustrating! It's been that way ever since she hit fourteen three years ago. It was just like she woke up...changed, for the lack of a better word. She was reasonably pretty before but that day she woke up stunning. She could hardly believe her eyes when she looked into the mirror at the beautiful stranger who was staring back at her. And the changes continued for a year until she finally was 'goddess' Dash always called her out to be. Even her voice had changed. What once was sweet was now siren-like. Her mother had laughed at her when she brought it up to her and told her it was just puberty setting in, that she went through the very same thing when she was a teenager. Minus the voice, of course, her mother's singing made dogs bark and glasses shatter.

And that was the very last time Dani ever went to her mother for any kind of advice that wasn't ghost related.

She quickly snapped out of her thoughts and grabbed the knob to her closet door. When she opened it, rough hands grabbed her and threw her on the floor. She fell on something soft (Probably her clothes) and her hair flew into her face. But even with no light in the room and her hair blocking her view, she knew who it was.

He came every single night.

"Hello Dash." She drawled out as his hands moved her hair and his lips descended on hers.

Author's Note: Review! Review! Come on! The box is right there!