Chapter 6: part 5

~~~THIRD PERSON POV~~~

Sam was pacing back and forth in the Fenton's ghost lab. They were back there, waiting for Danny and Saralyn. Only an hour had passed by, but to Sam, it felt like an eternity.

"Sam, calm down!" Tucker said, spinning back and forth in a swivel chair. "You're going to engrave a line into the ground if you keep doing that!"

"This is not the time for joking around, Tucker!" Sam said, glaring daggers at him. "I'm worried about Danny..."

There was a long pause. Tucker and Carmen looked at Sam.

"...Sorry. And Saralyn." she said quickly.

"Don't worry." Carmen said, sitting in one of the swivel chairs. "Sara and Danny can beat Rudy. They both make a great team."

"And a cute couple." Tucker mumbled, giggling.

"TUCKER!" Carmen and Sam cried.

"What?! SOMEONE had to say it..." Tucker said. He mumbled to himself and slowly turned away.

"What if Danny and Sara don't come back? What if they lost? Or... what if-?!"

"SAM!" Carmen cried, walking over and shaking her shoulders. "Just calm down. Don't think of the worst case scenario. Danny and Sara will come back..."

Sam nodded and walked off. Carmen turned around, a worried expression on her face as she slightly shook her head.

"I hope..."

~~~SARALYN'S POV~~~

As we were flying back to the ghost portal, I found myself gazing up at Danny.

What am I doing? I thought. I tried to shake it off. Come on, focus!

"Sara?" Danny said. "Are you okay?" Oops. Busted.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine... It's, um, just that..." I said, my voice trailing off.

"Just what?" Danny asked. I thought about it for a minute, shook my head again and looked at Danny.

"Nothing... it's nothing..." I said. We floated side-by-side with silence filling the gap between us. Finally, we saw a big, spiraling circle, surrounded by a metal and steel octagon. It was the Fenton portal.

"Danny...?" I said, then I immediately regretted it and closed my mouth.

"Yeah?" Danny asked. I took a deep breath.

"Is this how our lives will be now?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean..." I said. "Your life used to be so simple, hanging out with Sam, Tucker, and your family. Then Carmen and I came, and I assumed your once "loser" life completely did a 180."

"Wait, what do you mean, loser life?" Danny said. I let out a soft laugh, but then my face saddened again.

"That's not my point. You know how far Vlad is willing to go to get what he wants. You know how strong Rudy is. He almost killed you because of me. I... don't think we should... be friends."

"What?!" Danny said. "Why would you say that?"

"You saw what happened back there! Had I not gotten control of myself, I would have killed someone. These... these powers that I have are powers that should never be used. What if someone like Vlad tries to take advantage of my powers?" Tears wet my cheeks. "I'm a monster, Danny. I'm nothing but a... a threat to your life."

I looked away, wiping my cheeks. I felt arms around me that pulled me into a hug. I recoiled in surprise, but then I eased into it and wrapped my arms around Danny's waist. I silently cried into Danny's shoulder. He said nothing. When my sobs subsided, Danny pulled away and used his hand to hold my chin and looked into my eyes.

"Now, I don't know what it is about you and the female species." Danny said. "In fact, there are so many things that I will never figure out. But there is one thing that I know about you, Sara. You are strong and powerful. More powerful than me or Rudy or possibly Vlad. But most of all, you're my friend. Nothing you say or do will ever make me think that you are a monster."

"How can you sound so sure when you say that?" I said. "How do you know that one day I won't all of a sudden turn on you all?"

"Because that doesn't sound like the Saralyn that you are. The Saralyn that I know and love."

I stared at him in shock. But also... something else.

We flew through the portal. I stared into Danny's neon green ghost eyes as they turned baby blue and he changed into his human half. I flew out of the lab, looking back at him one more time, and made my way home.

It all makes sense now. I thought.

I flew up to my window and climbed through it. I changed into my human self and leaned against the windowsill. As my eyes traveled around the room, I looked at the pictures that hung on my wall. I walked over. I took one down and held it in my hands. The picture was of me and my friends sitting on the hill. It was around sunset, so the sky was casting pink, yellow, and orange colors across its canvas and bathing us in its light. Sam and Tucker were frozen in laughing positions. I was looking at the horizon, my face crinkled up into a laughing smile.

But then I noticed Danny. His face was caught in an expression of wonder. His mouth was curled up into a little smile, his eyes twinkled...

And he was looking at me. Something fluttered inside my stomach and my heart pounded.

I can't believe it. I thought, finally coming to the conclusion that I was so afraid of admitting before. I am hopelessly in love... with Danny Fenton.