Disclaimer: I still don't own Danny Phantom as it's the property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Viacom International.

Dani Fenton: School Daze

Chapter 7: Partners

Dani was staring blankly out of the window of the Assault Vehicle while her father was driving and her mother was in the passenger seat, making sure her father didn't end up getting another ticket for his "unique" driving skills.

Danny and Jazz weren't there since Jazz had a car of her own and Danny was flying to school to deal with their own drama….For Jazz, it was graduation coming up and preparing to go to Yale next semester and she didn't even had to explain what Danny was about to go through again once he got to school.

The life of a celebrity was very overrated in her opinion….including the life of a celebrity's sister.

It was Monday morning as she was on her way to Amity Elementary for another five days of being stalked by her fan club and being harassed by Lilly and her followers…so she wasn't in a good mood.

Also the fact that she spent the entire weekend grounded didn't help either. After her little hero stunt on Friday...and leaving the school without adult supervision, her mother scolded her and said she couldn't go out or use her powers for the entire weekend….leaving her dying of boredom those two days.

The going out part didn't bother Dani as much as it might have for other kids...It was because she didn't have any friends, so she didn't exactly have anyone to hang out with and she rather spend time home than risk the paparazzi hounding her for details on her life as "Danny Phantom's little sister".

But she was bummed that she couldn't go out for a flight or even practice her powers all weekended...even if she tried to sneak in some training in her room, her mother somehow caught her and would chastised her again. However, after the first time she didn't even bother anymore, leaving her with almost nothing to do but read, sleep and wait for the time to pass.

Not to mention she and Danny weren't on speaking terms. She tried to convince him that she was good enough to fight ghosts and she demanded that he give her the chance to prove herself but he was very stubborn and he wouldn't budge.

"Stupid stubborn brother...'Dani thought in annoyance as she replayed they're last fight in her mind….a fight which resulted in her getting grounded

FLASHBACK

Friday 4:30pm

"Danielle Fenton, you really had me worried...'Maddie said with her hands on her hips while her son stood next to her with his arms crossed while her father and sister just stood by.

"You can't just leave the school by yourself, especially since you promised me that you would stay put...'Maddie said in the worried mother tone.

"Not to mention you can't just jump into my ghost's fights the way you did, do you know how dangerous and reckless that was?..."Danny said frowning at his little sister who rolled her eyes.

They were getting TOO overprotected as far as she was concerned.

"Mom...look I'm sorry I left you hanging like that...I shouldn't have just left but there was a ghost and I had to do something...I'm not going to stand on the sidelines while there is trouble..."Dani said seriously and ignored Danny's glare.

Danny was about to argue but Dani beat him to it.

"I'm not a weak little girl Danny! You saw what happened, that ghost never stood a chance!...'Dani pointed out but he was still unconvinced.

"You could have gotten hurt!...'Danny said firmly to the angry little ghost girl.

"So could you!..."Dani argued back to the taller Fenton child.

"Look everyone, I understand you're worry about Danielle but you have to face facts, she did a pretty good job taking care of that robot ghost...uh..."Jack looked at his son who understood the unspoken question.

"Ghost X..."Jazz answered quickly and Danny rolled his eyes at her obsession with that name.

"His name is Skulker, he shouts his name almost as much as the Box Ghost does..."Danny said annoyed to his sister who muttered something of her choice being better.

Jack ignored that little outburst and tried to continue.

"Yeah...Skulker….She did a pretty good job handling him..."Jack said while Dani smiled proudly.

Jack had been home working on the Fenton Stun Gun when the news came on about another ghost fight involving Danny Phantom and Jack excitedly watched it. He always watched the news when it involved his amazing son following his footsteps and hunting ghosts...and he was pleasantly surprised to see Dani joining in the action and wasn't surprise to see it was a short fight ending with the ghost being sucked in by the Fenton Thermos.

Jack could almost shed tears of joy at seeing another child of his taking on the family business and he was going to congratulate Dani only for his wife and son to come home angri and tell him everything, with Jazz joining in soon after all the yelling and door slamming.

"Yeah, you really gave ghost X...I mean "Skulker"...a run for his money..."Jazz said to her adoptive little sister...while secretly trying to hide her depression.

It was her fight ghost fight and Dani not only managed to catch the ghost but she was totally in sync with Danny the whole time while Jazz recalled her first time on the field ending with her sucking her brother into the thermos….many, many times.

She was once again faced with the fact that she was the only sibling that didn't have powers...and soon she would be leaving for college and she wouldn't be able to help out with Team Phantom anymore since she was heading for Yale next semester.

"Don't encourage her!..."Danny growled to his older sister who looked shocked at his outburst.

"Daniel Fenton! You do not use that tone of voice with family..."Maddie scolded her only son who cringed a bit.

"Sorry mom..."Danny mumbled quietly while Dani smirked a bit.

"Face it Danny! You know I'm a good ghost hunter….You know I can take care of myself..."Dani said to her brother who wasn't going to budge anytime soon.

"I'm sorry Dani, but my decision is final...You're not ready for fights yet..."Danny said stubbornly leaving Dani agape at how he was acting.

"Also it doesn't matter how strong you are Danielle...you're still a twelve year old little girl and you can't just go places without adult supervision..." Maddie said to her youngest child who still looked confused.

"I'm sorry Danielle but you broke you're promise to me and the penalty for that is two days in a major time out..."Maddie said sternly to the shocked pre teen girl.

"What?..."Dani yelped in shock.

"You heard me young lady, for the next two days: No going out, No fighting and no powers at all..."Maddie ordered.

Maddie knew that maybe she was being a bit harsh...but ever since she learned the truth of Dani's past and how she's been on her own, going from place to place...Not only did she spend months at risk of melting due to her former friends horrible actions, she was well aware that there were a lot of bad people and all the dangerous situations that a young, lonely, impressionable young girl could wind up in.

It was a real miracle that the girl was still alive after being on her own for so long...Maddie felt she had to do something to make sure her new child was safe and protected...which was why she felt she had to do this.

Dani was staring at her feet, trying to keep herself for yelling at them.

"This sucks..."Dani muttered under her breath while the rest of her family left the living room and the little ghost girl who was thinking they were being unfair.

END OF FLASHBACK

Dani was still peeved on how her brother was ignoring her potential and trying to coddle her and her mother was basically was encouraging him! During the entire weekend she gave Danny the cold shoulder after he showed he wasn't going to listen to her...and it looked like he was going to stay that way.

Dani sighed, she knew they could be amazing partners together but why couldn't he see that?

Why did he treat her like she was made of glass or something?

Dani sighed and shook her head, she was at least happy that her sentence was over yesterday and she was allowed to use her powers once more...though she knew now that she had to be more careful with her mother from now on.

Soon Amity Elementary came up and Dani knew this was her stop.

"Have a nice day, sweetie..."Maddie said in a chipper voice, as if the fiasco this weekend never happened.

"We'll see you later Dani-girl..."Jack said before driving off, leaving Dani alone.

Soon the other students swarmed around her and was asking her questions like she was a celebrity at a world premiere...only it was more annoying and troublesome.

"Dani, I saw you're fight on TV and you were amazing..."A blonde third grader said in an awestruck voice.

"You and your big brother totally kicked that ghost's butt!..."Christy said while imitating some fighting poses.

Dani rolled her eyes but on the inside felt some pride….She didn't like the attention...but she was pleased to see that other people knew she and her brother would make a great team.

So why couldn't he?

Dani tried to forget it and get her school day over with, she entered the building while her mini-army followed her.

Soon a fancy town car pulled up to the school and Sebastian came out of it.

"Don't forget that you have you're piano lessons this afternoon and you're mother is expecting to have tea with you soon after..."Hilda said as she handed the boy his backpack and other supplies.

"Yes, Nanny Hilda..."Sebastian said as he double checked to make sure his things were in order.

Soon his nanny left and he sighed, but put a determined face as he was about to take his science quiz and he knew he was going to ace it.

"Another day, another straight A..."Sebastian said optimistically as he entered the school, on his way to Ms. Phillips homeroom….which was across the hall from Mr. Harrington's class.

Mr. Harrington's class

Dani got to her desk and pulled out her notebook, she was a few minutes early and the teacher had yet to arrive but a few other kids were already there...including Lilly and Carly who were approaching the half ghost girl.

"Terrific...This is the last thing I needed..."Dani thought in annoyance as the school princess and her lady-in-waiting were now in front of her.

"Hello Dani, had a nice weekend?..."Lilly asked with a polite smile and Dani tried hard not to roll her eyes. It was obvious she saw the news and wanted to try and recruit her again.

"We saw you on the news and the amazing team up you did with you're brother..."Lilly said with a smile.

"I'll say...You were totally awesome! You brother was like all "pow pow" and you were like all "bam bam bam" and that ghost was like all "ow ow ow"..."Carly said giddily.

"I wanted to ask you if you could reconsider joining the A-Listers, I really think you would fit right in with my group..."Lilly said to the dark haired girl.

"Bingo..."Dani thought as Lilly was doing exactly what she predicted.

"My answered hasn't changed during the weekend Lilly, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to decline again..."Dani said and smirked as she saw the frustrated look on the school's princess face.

It was obvious she wasn't used to rejection.

Whatever Lilly was going to say now was cut short as the bell rang and Mr. Harrington was entering the classroom, signaling all the students to get to there desks. Lilly and Carly both left to there desks and Dani went back to her business, unaware that someone had witness the entire exchange...since she was literally sitting right next to them,.

"No way!...She...She rejected Lilly?!..."Lucy thought in disbelief as she witness the exchange between the most popular girl in class and the school's new celebrity.

Lucy had assumed that once Lilly and Dani met, she would have joined the A-Listers and become one of Lilly's army of zombie followers..she never expected to see her outright reject her...and to her face.

Lucy was going to contemplate more but class was starting.

'Good morning students, I hope that everyone here had a nice weekend..."Mr. Harrington said to his students who only gave him moans or half hearted replies.

It was obvious they were experiencing the Monday blues. Mr. Harrington soon went on with the lesson,, unaware of the tension happening between three of his female students and that the newest edition was the center of it all.

The rest of the day passed by with Dani trying to ignore her fans, Lilly acting like she owned the place and Lucy spent her time either reading or trying to avoid any drama and just focus on her school work...which was easier said than done.

It was obvious Lilly was peeved that her best chance of meeting Danny Phantom was rejecting her and Lucy knew that an upset Lilly was not a pretty sight. After what felt like an eternity, it was final either period, the last class of the day.

Science.

"Now students, for next Friday, you will be presenting a demonstration on chemical reactions..."Mr. Harrington said to his already bored class.

The entire class was spent with him talking about physical and chemical reactions and a bunch of other things that was boring Dani and the other children to death.

"You all will be divided in groups of two and follow what we studied today on chemical reactions, each group will be presenting an experiment called "Calcium Chloride: A reaction in a bag", which involves a chemical reaction involving a color change, the formation of a gas and heat changes from hot to cold..."Mr. Harrington continued.

"You will need the following ingredients which are: calcium chloride, baking soda, an acid-base of indicator any kind, clean sandwich bags, spoons and graduated cylinder…."Mr. Harrington listed off as his students wrote down the instructions.

"Based on your experiment and the results obtained, you will also answer the following questions: Why does the bag inflate?, Does the reaction get hot or cold initially?, Does the reaction get hot or cold after 1 minute?,What observations did you make that tell you a chemical reaction is taking place?,and Was this experiment a physical or chemical reaction?..."Mr. Harrington explained

Lilly soon raised her hand and soon all eyes were on her...though the reason varied.

"Excuse me Mr. Harrington, you said this was a group project, so should we tell you who are partners will be?.."Lilly asked with a sweet smile and Dani rolled her eyes at her phoniness...it was obvious she was hoping to use this as a chance to latch onto her and for the chance to go to Fenton Works to meet her brother.

"Fat chance..."Dani thought as she already knew she didn't like the annoying brat.

"Actually Ms. Dubious, I will be assigning you're partners..."Mr. Harrington answered and didn't notice the smile on Lilly's face being replaced with a pout.

Soon Mr. Harrington listed off the partners and much to Dani's relief, he paired Lilly off with Carly and smirked as she saw both girls upset...though Dani figured that for Lilly it was her missed chance and for Carly she was obviously going to be stuck with all the work.

The teacher continued until it was Dani's turn.

"Ms. Fenton...You will be doing the assignment with Ms. Maslow..."Mr. Harrington said and Dani blinked.

Now where has she heard that name before?

"Loos like were partners..."Was what Dani heard and she turned around to see it was that girl, Lucy, the one she helped with her book last week.

"Oh...uh...yeah...Looks like it..."Dani answered to the bespectacled girl.

Soon the final bell rang, signaling the end of class.

"I cannot believe that bookworm got to be her partner...Why does that geek get the chance to hang out with my hero's little sister..."Lilly said as she tried to keep herself from throwing a tantrum.

She has always been a fan of Danny Phantom...though it was putting it mildly. She was in love with him! He was amazing, tall, strong, handsome, heroic...He was like a Prince Charming and Lilly wanted him. She didn't care if he was older than her…

Love was not aged after all.

She was hoping that by becoming friends with Dani, she would get the chance to meet her and watch nature take it's course. And Lilly always got what she wanted in the end.

"Like yeah, it's totally unfair..."Carly agreed.

Lilly's eyes were on the two girls who were leaving the classroom, she glanced at her only ticket to meet her hero and at the one who was getting the chance to meet him. It was Lucy Maslow, a total geek and little weirdo who always had her nose in a book and barely talked to anyone. She was a boring bookworm that wasn't cool enough to meet Danny Phantom.

Lilly didn't like it at all.

"This just won't do..."Lilly said in a low voice but Carly heard her loud and clear.

"So what do you plan to do?..."Carly asked.

Lilly soon exited the class and saw the bookworm geek in question closing her locker and taking a book out while she walked.

Who reads while they walk?

Lilly however noticed that Lucy had no trouble avoiding obstacles and moving out of the way, almost as if she had another pair of eyes or something. However Lilly noticed the trashcans nearby...and Lucy was two feet away from them. The perfect opportunity for an "accident".

Meanwhile across the hall, Lucy was engrossed with reading Mary Shelly's Frankenstine, a book she brought from home. She didn't really like science all that much but she was a sucker for science fiction novels.

Especially the classics.

Spending an hour listening to Mr. Harrington's science lesson made her hungry for the only real science she was interested….that of Dr. Victor Frankenstein.

"Poor misunderstood creature..."Lucy thought as she referred to the monster in the tale….while she knew his actions were inexcusable such as killing the Dr. Frakensteins brother, best friend and later his wife...she felt that if the doctor hadn't abandon the creature, perhaps he wouldn't have become so bitter.

Maybe if he had a real friend...He wouldn't have become the very monster it was accused of being

Lucy was an avid reader and sometimes she couldn't put a book down if she could help it, she also had a habit of reading while walking but she was careful enough to watch were she was going and look at what was in front of her.

"I enjoyed this scene; and yet my enjoyment was embittered both by the memory of the past, and the anticipation of the future. I was formed for peaceful happiness. During my youthful days discontent never visited my mind; and if I was ever overcome by ennui, the sight of what is beautiful in nature, or the study of what is excellent and sublime in the productions of man, could always interest my heart, and communicate elasticity to my spirits..." Lucy read quietly, truly enjoying the classic book.

However the enjoyment was cut short as she felt something shoved her...and directly in front of the trashcans.

Cling….Clack…

"Ah!...Lucy yelped as she found herself covered with garbage.

She looked up to see it was Lilly.

"Oh my...I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going..."Lilly said in a faux apologetic voice and Lucy knew she did it on purpose.

Soon all the other kids were pointing and laughing at her and Lucy's tried to fight the embarrassed blush forming on her face.

She didn't want to cry today.

"That wasn't funny..."Was suddenly shouted and Lucy turned around to see her project partner approaching the grade school queen bee.

"I saw what you did Lilly, you did that on purpose...'Dani accused to the spoiled brat who tried to look innocent.

"I didn't do it on purpose, it was an accident...ask anybody..."Lilly said trying hard to look like an innocent little girl but Dani wasn't fooled.

"You're about as innocent as a fat cat in a canary cage!..."Dani growled.

"Lucy, did she-...Lucy.?…:Dani blinked as the girl she was defending suddenly disappeared….and she noticed her book was still on the ground.

"What a crybaby...It was just a little accident, besides she actually looked better with the garbage in her hair..."Lilly said snidely while her little minions laughed, causing Dani's blood to boil. She might not know Lucy all that well...but she knew that what Lilly did was very mean.

"Even with garbage, she still looks better than you do..."Dani quipped and suddenly the hall was silent.

"Excuse me..What did you say?..."Lilly said slowly in the "I dare you to say that again" tone.

"You heard me..."Dani challenged to the uppity girl.

The entire hallway was silent as they witness the stare off between the school's most popular girl and the sister of the world hero….They could almost see fire in both eyes.

"What are you all doing? Class is over and the buses are waiting!..." Kevin, the hall monitor said, causing everyone to realize he was right and they promptly left.

Lilly however continue to glare at the dark haired ghost girl...Her earlier sentiments were gone now.

"You know what...I think you're right...You're not A-lister material..."Lilly said before turning around.

"I'm glad you finally see it my way..."Dani said, getting the last word. She soon picked up the dirty book and used intangibility to clean it...She had to find Lucy.

"Now where could she have gone?..."Dani muttered as she tried to find her project partner.

Dani hoped she hadn't gone home yet...she was about to check outside when she saw a banana peal outside the girls bathroom door and she quickly put two and two together. She entered and saw the girl cleaning herself up, trying to get the garbage out of her hair and clothes.

"There you are..."Dani said but Lucy didn't say anything, it was obvious she was still embarrassed.

Dani noticed her dirty clothes and it brought back some bad memories of her life on the streets, she had been tempted a few times to steal some clothes but she couldn't bring herself to do so. Food was one thing but she had inherited Danny's knowledge of right and wrong.,,,she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Here...Let me help..."Dani said as she approached the quiet girl.

Dani's hand glowed and Lucy jumped back a bit.

"Don't worry, it's alright, I'm just gonna clean you up..."Dani said gently to the nervous looking girl...who after a moment approached her.

"Hold still..."Dani said as she placed her hand on the girl, causing her to become intangible and all the garbage on her fell off.

"W-What th-…:Lucy said in a bewildered tone, feeling a strange sensation all over her body.

Soon it stopped and Lucy looked at the mirror and was amazed that all the garbage and junk was off her, like she never got dirty at all.

"Relax, It's called intangibility... it's to help reach in through solid objects.."Dani explained as she pulled something out of her backpack.

"I think this belongs to you..."Dani said as she presented the book.

"My book..."Lucy said in shock.

"You left it behind there..."Dani explained, while Lucy still looked like she was in shock

This was the second time the new girl helped her out and not only did she reject Lilly's invitation to join the A-Listers...she actually stood up to her.

Just to help a bookworm she didn't even known.

"Thank you…."Was all Lucy could think to say as she looked down.

"No problem..."Dani said kindly.

"We should head to the office and report this to the principal…."Dani told her.

"They won't listen..."Lucy said semi-bitterly.

"What do you mean?..."Dani asked.

"Lilly's parents are the biggest benefactors at this school, all the teachers jump through hoops for her since her daddy always donates half a million each semester…"Lucy explained and Dani's jaw nearly dropped.

"Are you serious?..."Dani asked in disbelief, while she suspected that Lilly was a spoiled little rich girl, she couldn't believe her parents were practically bribing the school into letting her act like the queen of mean.

"That's so unfair, she can't just treat people like that..."Dani said angrily.

She hated the idea of a person being able to treat others like garbage and getting away scot-free just because they had enough money to bride the people that should have done something to stop it. It reminded her too much of Vlad and how he managed to fool the entire world into thinking he was an upstanding citizen all the while he did so many horrible atrocities.

Dani turned to Lucy who was making her way to the door.

"I have to get home….Do you think tomorrow we could...we could work on our assignment?..."Lucy asked shyly to the blinking raven haired girl.

"Uh...Yeah sure...We could meet in the library and after school and work on it..."Dani answered and she noticed Lucy had a small smile on her face.

It was the first one she's seen on the relatively quiet girl's face.

"That works...and Dani...Thanks again..."Lucy said as she exited the restroom, leaving Dani by herself.

"I hate people like Lilly but...but she's not like her..."Both girls thought in sync as they both left the school and went back to there respective homes.

Both unaware of what the future truly had in store for them.

-To be continued-

Next time on Dani Fenton: School Daze

Meeting with Lucy

REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewers

DragoonSensei, SheWolfCass and mikaela2015: I wanted the fight to be one of those "neither are wrong or right" kinda fight, both mean well and care greatly about the other...like real siblings. Also both Phantom's are very headstrong and independent, which I believe would lead to some clashes here and there.

LooneyAces: Tada!

Kimera20 and PokeTennyson25: Thank you very much, I really enjoy writing this fic.

Rogue Deity Master: I know, but Maddie is a mother, no matter how strong her children are, it's only natural for her to get protected, especially since she knows her children are more involved with ghost fighting than she originally thought.

:) Till next time beautiful people and don't forget to review :)