Danny got out and knocked on the door. A broad-shouldered man answered it.
"Hello." They both said simultaneously, Danny stumbling over the word.
"If you do anything to upset her, we'll be having a serious talk." Said Paulina's father.
Danny didn't respond.
"Papa! You're scaring him!" Paulina appeared on the doorstep. She was radiant, in a pink dress. He couldn't help but think of the pink dragon she had turned into. She was still wearing the amulet. "Come on, Danny. These are your parents? And...your car?"
"Yep," he said, "I know the car kind of looks weird, but..."
"Oh, it's no problem." She reassured. "I've always heard about it."
Like everyone else. He grinned anyhow.
"I-I see you really like that necklace."
She beamed, "I do!"
The ride to the school was actually pleasant. Paulina chatted a little with his mom who was in the driver passenger seat. They seemed to get along well.
Geez, Fenton, it's like you do plan to marry her, he scolded himself.
Once at Casper High, the four of them unloaded. Jasmine was going to the party, too, but she was driving her own car there. He wondered if he'd see her. The gymnasium wasn't that huge.
His mom was wearing a red dress. She looked good in it. His dad was in a tux. For his extra weight, he didn't look bad, either.
They gave their tickets to the people out front, going inside. He could hear music and raised voices. Wow. People were going the nth mile, weren't they?
He couldn't stop staring at Paulina, but not for the obvious reason. They reached the punch bowl, he was pretty much just following her around like a lost puppy dog.
"Hey, Paulina, about that amulet..."
"Isn't it magnificent? I haven't taken it off since you gave it to me."
"Yeah...the thing this, I shouldn't have given to you in the first place, 'cause...it's...my mom's."
Nothing could describe the look on her face. Surprise, disappointment...offense?
"Oh, I see." She said, calmly.
"I'm really sorry."
"I have to go use the restroom, wait for me?" She asked, without really looking at him.
Unsure of what else to say, he said, "Sure."
She went.
Unexpectedly, Sam entered his line of sight, going to the girl's bathroom as well. Was she going to apologize to Paulina now? Oh boy. After what Danny did to the poor girl? She would be lucky if...
Danny clenched his fists.
He'd devastated the whole night.
"Paulina?" Sam said politely.
"Hmm?" The other girl turned from where she was examining the amulet in the mirror.
"Hi, um," Sam tried to smile, nearly failing, "I just...wanted, to apologize for the way I acted yesterday. It was incredibly rude of me, and I wish for your forgiveness." She was trying, darn it.
"Forget it, sister," Paulina snapped, "I'm not accepting your apology, and I'm not giving up your little boyfriend, either."
"M-my..." Sam couldn't believe her ears. The audacity. The bitchiness. This was why Sam didn't work well with other girls. "He is not my boyfriend! Ha, ha. And they say pretty girls can't be funny."
Paulina quirked a finely plucked eyebrow, "He's not?"
"No. Danny is my best friend. That was why I was so hard on you. I didn't mean to call you shallow."
"What a bummer..." Paulina glanced away. Then, she looked up, right into Sam's eyes, "I only agreed to go out with him because I thought I was stealing him from you!"
Sam was shocked.
"Here, take this stupid necklace, I don't want it." Paulina shoved it in to Sam's hands. She bumped the Goth's shoulder as she passed and exited the restroom.
Sam stood there, stunned.
Then, the anger overtook her.
How dare Paulina do this? It didn't even matter she shunned Sam herself—but Danny! She was hurting Danny!
"Shallow LITTLE WITCH!"
First, Paulina walked by him without even acknowledging him—that stung, big time—and then, an unearthly shriek sounded from the girl's restroom. His senses went on high alert, along with a strange sixth one. Everybody stopped, looking in the direction of the unpleasant sound. The wall burst in a great crash, revealing the form of a massive purple dragon. Another one! Danny's heart pounded, the whumming thundered throughout his body.
Its violet, violent eyes scoured the terrified students until they locked on Paulina.
It reached one long arm out for her, Paulina fainted.
With an echoing roar it exploded through the ceiling, people screamed as debris fell on their heads. Diving underneath a table, Danny transformed into his ghost form without thinking. He just did it. He didn't know who the dragon was, it wasn't Paulina, but it didn't matter. A person was in danger. It was his fault.
He phased through the table and flew through the opening in the ceiling the dragon had left, trailing it. It was hard to miss. It was transparent enough that Danny thought he could see the moon through its head.
Danny snarled as he rushed into the dragon's side, causing it to fall headlong onto the football field. It held an unconscious Paulina between its claws.
"Shallow little girl!"
That...sounded...like Sam. A warped version of her voice, but still hers.
No way.
How?
It spat fire at him, he turned intangible to avoid it. He swooped up to snatch Paulina from Sam's clutches, she was limp in his arms. Sam roared, smacked Danny with her tail, he and Paulina went flying for the bleachers. They landed unceremoniously on the dirty ground behind them; Danny had turned himself non-physical to avoid hitting them.
A gasp and a curse word made him flinch and look in their direction. Dash Baxter in a gray suit and an Asian girl in a dress stood slack-jawed staring at them. Danny boggled back at them.
Sam tore apart the bleachers to get at them.
Dash and the girl he was with screamed loudly.
Danny didn't want to hurt Sam, if that really was her, but...
He charged, for the last time that night, leaving Paulina behind, at her and yanked at her tail, using all his strength—far, far more than he knew was possible for a human—to throw her across the football field. It was too fast to recover for Danny's liking. Spitting fire and flying right at him, Danny made a beeline towards it in answer. Every blast of virescent flame he avoided.
The taunt came out his mouth before he knew what he was saying, "You throw fire like a girl!"
Consumed by rage, the Sam-Dragon roared its longest and most horrible roar yet. He saw his opportunity. Zipping up to it, he grabbed at the amulet around her neck and pulled. Its clasp broke with a clink.
The dragon started to shrink, until Sam Manson was left, unmoving, on the grass.
"Sam!" Danny cried, although he knew she couldn't hear him. He lifted her up by an arm. His goggles bumped in to her face as he tried to do so. That frustrated him unreasonably. "Please, wake up!"
She didn't move. He set her down on the ground again, carefully.
He couldn't just leave her there.
He stared helplessly down at her for several long moments, debating what to do, indecisive and panicked. She finally stirred.
"Ugh..."
"Hey, hey," he cautioned, she looked at him, "Do you remember anything?"
"I...don't know," she then said, "I was...so angry."
"Yeah, I know. Trust me."
Scared parents, scared kids and school staff, it was a catastrophe.
Every adult available was herding children out of the school, some were at the point they just didn't care anymore, they simply took their kids home.
"Where is your brother, Jasmine?!" Maddie demanded once she found her daughter.
"I-I don't know!"
"We have to find him."
Jack kept calling out his son's name, searching for his face in the crowds of students. He wasn't the only parent doing this.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Yes, Danny, I just want to go home." Sam insisted.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." He was sincere. They walked back inside together. A teacher found them and ushered them to where the rest were gathered. Sam opened her cell phone and dialed. That was when Danny heard his name being called.
"Dad!" He answered, though he couldn't see the man, "I'm over here!"
Such a commotion. It was his mistake. All of it.
"Danny, thank god." Jack huffed, placing a hand on Danny's shoulder as if that would make everything all right.
Danny glanced over his shoulder at Sam, who was turned away and talking into her phone. He and his father joined his mother and sister.
His mother hugged him. "We are going home this instant."