Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of the characters. Danny Phantom is the sole property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Paramount global.


Growing Pains

Chapter 7: More Little Detours

Danny was still trying to figure out what to do next.

It was already 11:30 and he still had a few hours before he could meet up with his friends and sister.

"Let's see...I saw an R-rated flick, which was a total bust. Had some coffee and found out that it tastes way better with cream and sugar, which is pretty good to know for the future..."He said, listing off what has happened so far.

"I'm out of ideas. What else can an adult do?..."He wondered as he looked around.

He felt his stomach rumbling and he remembered that the only thing that he ate today besides breakfast was some popcorn and that wasn't nearly enough. Especially since he was much bigger now and his new metabolism was still a discovery to him.

His stomach growled, demanding something to eat.

"I guess that I'm hungry. I guess I can get an early lunch..."He thought, as he decided to grab a quick bite to fill his stomach.

He walked by the Nasty Burger and went inside for a quick meal. Since it was the middle of a school and work day, there weren't a lot of people here.

Most of the people here were some older, middle aged men on their lunch break, elderly people and a few college students looking for a quick lunch and the employees, along with Irving "Third Degree" Burns.

Danny went to the counter, where some pimply 20 year old guy with a goatee was working the register and waiting for a customer.

"Welcome to the Nasty Burger. Home of the Mighty Meaty Cheesy Melt. May I take your order?..."The guy asked with a look that seemed like he'd want to be anywhere but here right now.

"Yeah, I'll take a number 3 combo..."Danny said, since that was his favorite order from here.

One that included a cheese burger, fries and a soda.

The cashier typed on the register and and was mildly surprised that this man was even here voluntarily, but didn't care enough to question it.

"That'll be $10.50..."The guy said.

Danny paid for his meal and soon was at his usual booth where he and his friends eat.

He sat there alone and as he felt a bit out of place eating here by himself. Especially in the middle of what was technically a school day.

"It's kinda weird to eat here without Sam and Tucker around. I almost can't remember the last time this has ever happened. At least, this way I can't get in trouble..."He thought as he began eating his burger and fries.

"I should find Helena soon...after I figure out where to go..."He thought as he took a big bite out of his burger and washed it down with his soda.

After a few minutes, Danny finished and wiped his lips with a napkin.

"Well...thankfully my taste buds hasn't changed too much due to my growth spurt. At least, I can look forward to the fact that I can still enjoy this place when I grow up for real..."He thought, trying to make light of it.

He was about to leave but then heard a commotion as it quickly caught his attention.

He heard a child crying and throwing a tantrum, making a fuss as she waved something in her hand.

"PLEASE MOMMY! PLEASE MOMMY! I WANT THE PRETTY PRINCESS SAYONARA PUSSYCAT TOY! PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!..."A little girl shouted in a cry-baby way, as she waved around her prize from the kid's meal.

"Lizzie, enough! You're not getting another Nasty Kiddie Meal!..."He heard a maternal voice say, seeing that the lady whom he presumed was the kid's mother gently scold her.

"You're just gonna have to settle for the cow girl Sayonara Pussycat and wait until the next time we eat here..."The mother said, while her daughter got even more upset.

"I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT!..."The little girl, Lizzie, kept whining.

Her mother wouldn't budge and told her to behave.

Danny saw this and felt some slight sympathy for the young looking mother, as well as a strange sense of Deja vu for some reason.

"Weird...why does this seem familiar?..."He thought, pretty sure that he's never met them before.

He shrugged and decided it wasn't worth it. He would have ignored it and kept walking but soon noticed something.

The young mother had gotten up to get some more napkins, but there was a spill of lemonade left by some careless guy who didn't bother to clean up after himself and let it stay.

The mother went to the napkin dispenser that was placed next to the soda fountain machine, but unknowingly stepped on the puddle and began to slip.

"Oh dear!..."The woman saidm as she started to lose her balance.

She would have fallen down, but someone was there to help just at the nick of time. Someone who used his new inhuman speed to his advantage.

"Whoa, careful!..."Danny said, as he caught her before she tripped.

The young mother blinked and realized that she was saved from having quite the nasty fall. She hasn't seen him yet.

"Thank You. That would been reall-..."The mother said, but the words soon died in her mouth once she saw who caught her.

"Are you okay?..."Danny asked.

The young mother seemed stunned and flabbergasted as she got a good look at him.

"Oh my goodness!..."She thought, still very stunned and in awe as she stared at the man, whose arms she was in right now.

"Y-yes…" She said.

Just then, Irving came by and gasped for air due to fear someone was in harm's way, as well as to check for any potential lawsuits he should avoid.

"What's going on here?..."He asked, sounding annoyed.

Danny frowned as he let the lady go once she was steady on her feet.

"Someone left a puddle here and she was about to slip. You guys were this close to having a lawsuit..."He said, as he let the mother go to scold him.

Irving groaned in anger and immediately placed the blame on the closest person that he could find.

"Melvin! I told you to mop up by the soda fountain machine. I told you five times!..."The manager shouted, making his target flinch.

"Dude, you're manager and I see you just sitting down. He's at the register and you're just loafing. If anything, you should have done something then and there…" Danny called him out.

"Sorry about that..."Irving said apologetically, sweating in terror.

"I-it's fine..."The young mother said.

However, her eyes were still glancing at Danny, who didn't notice yet.

"Looks like you dodged a bullet..." Danny said seriously, oblivious to her stares.

The talk between the grown Fenton and the man nicknamed after a serious burn injury was ignored as the mother stared at Danny for a long period of time.

As Irving apologized and left to go get the sign, Danny turned to the lady, wanting to be sure that she was okay.

"Seriously, you okay?..."He asked, but only now noticed how she was silent.

The lady was looking at him strangely, and even her daughter was confused by her mother's behavior.

"Uh...hello? Do you need any help?..."Danny asked.

The lady didn't respond yet. This is what was going through her mind though.

"What a man...and how he caught me and thoughtfully helped me like that...such a gentleman...and such with such big, strong arms..."She thought in infatuation, almost feeling her heart was about to trip over it's own heartbeat.

"Mommy?..."Lizzie said as she tried to get her mother's attention.

The mother snapped out of her state and she realizing that she was quiet and unresponsive for a long while. Embarrassed, she blushed and cleared her throat, trying to seem like nothing was wrong.

"Oh...uh...I am fine..."The mother said, blushing a bit.

"T-thank you very much for helping me...Mister...um..."She paused, as she forgot to ask for his name.

"Just call me Dante..."Danny answered.

The woman smiled brightly hearing his name.

"Thank you, Dante. My name is Rita and this is my 4 year old daughter, Lizzie..."The mother Rita said, as she gestures to the little girl that was clinging to her leg right now.

"Lizzie, say hello to the nice man..."Rita said in an encouraging way.

"Hi..."Lizzie waved at him.

"Hi..."Danny waved back before turning to the young mother again.

"Anyway, don't mention it. I just did what anyone else would have done..."He said.

Rita smiled.

"So modest...and no wedding ring in sight...what luck..."Rita thought as she quietly giggled at fair game.

Danny, unaware of what she was thinking, just smiled at her.

"I'm glad you're alright, and not hurt, especially with your kid around. Anyway, I'll be on my way..."Dante said as he was about to leave.

"W-Wait..."Rita said suddenly, not wanting him to go just yet.

"Uh, what's wrong?..."He asked.

Rita sent him a funny look.

"Let me get you a...a drink...you know..as thanks..."She offered.

"Oh, that's not necessary. Besides, I already ate earlier and wouldn't want to impose..."Danny waved it off, thinking that she was just being grateful.

"So well mannered...and cute too. He's pretty young looking...probably a fresh college graduate or something..."She thought as she eyed him appreciatively.

"Uh...Dante...how old are you...if you don't mind me asking?..."Rita asked, making the young man raise a brow at that question.

"24..."Danny answered, not seeing her intentions.

"24, huh? Just 2 years younger but not a big deal breaker. Plus, it's been over 2 years since Simon left, maybe I should go for it..."She thought, deciding to do just that.

She let down her hair a bit and smiled.

"Well, Dante, that's nice to hear. I'm 26 and currently divorced. Let me grab a pen real quick for something..."Rita said as she reached into her light blue purse.

Danny raised a brow at that information. Meanwhile, Lizzie began playing with her kiddie toy, apparently no longer whining about it.

"Uh...okay, where is she going with this?..."He thought.

The young mother kept smiling strangely and looked to turn pink at the cheeks.

Danny was confused by this behavior as Rita soon handed him a piece of paper.

He took it and saw a phone number on it.

"Here, Dante. Maybe we can get some coffee together one of these days..."Rita said.

She didn't see his jaw dropped.

The mother gave a sneaky wink that only the ghost man saw, as she took her daughter's hand.

"Come on, Lizzie. Time to go..."She said, as she lead her daughter out the restaurant.

"Okay. Bye bye, Handsome man..."Lizzie waved, while her mother dragged her away as they left the fast food joint, still playing with her Cow Girl Sayonara Pussycat doll.

Danny was stunned and was still processing what had just happened.

Rita had handed him her phone number and suggested getting coffee together. Even someone as clueless of him can see that this is one of the ways that adults ask each other out on dates.

And it suddenly just hit him that a woman who was a mother...albeit a fairly young one...had just wanted to go on a date with him.

"A MOM actually hit on me?! This is getting really freaky!..."He thought, weirded out and not completely sure how to feel about this.

Danny left the Nasty Burger, stuffing the phone number in his back pocket since it seemed mean to just throw it away after just getting it. He left the place, hoping that he could clear his head and figure out what to do next.

Irving Third Degree Burns saw the entire thing and frowned. He crossed his arms in jealousy over how some guys got all the luck with the ladies.

"Hmpt! A big pretty boy waltzed and all the ladies just drop to their knees and become putty in his hands. Typical..."He complained, envious and feeling threatened for some reason.

He noticed a woman walk inside the restaurant and decided to try his luck.

"Welcome to the Nasty Burger, we've got the tastiest burgers in town.. I'm Irving "Third Degree" Burns, the manager of this fine establishment. Would you like to order our special today, along with my phone number?..."He tried, trying to act smooth and suave.

The lady sent him a disgusted look, she did not look flattered in the slightest by his attention.

"Ew! I came in here to pickup my lunch, not throw up! I'm going to Crusty's if you do that again..."She said, shooting him down.

Irving deflated as the lady then asked to make her order to go and immediately left, still looking annoyed and creeped out by his advances.

Some of the Nasty Burger staff saw this and shook their heads, not at all impressed.

"You'd think he'd stop after that internet lady wouldn't return his calls?..."One of the workers, Melvin, snarked.

Irving heard this, and lost his temper.

"Stop lollygagging, and get back to work! Or you can kiss employee of the month good bye!..."He snapped.

Melvin just rolled his eyes.

"Like I want people to think I take pride in this..."He muttered as he went back to the register while his boss just sulked and watched television.


With Danny

He was still processing a lot of things. Namely that this is the second time a woman had given him their number and made a wink at him.

"Being an adult is way more crazy than I thought it was. Not to mention I'm somehow a bigger chick magnet..."He thought as he kept walking.

He noticed more people were looking at him and he felt uneasy.

Especially when he noticed women who were way older than his true age looking at him like he was some kind of piece of meat.

He shook his head and pushed the thought of his mind.

"This is really freaky. It's almost like everybody's watching my every move, but that can't be true. I'm sure that it's just a weird day for them too..."He thought, as he kept walking.

He did overhear some of their whispers and realized who it was they were talking about.

"Oh my gosh! Who's that?..."He heard one of them whisper.

"Must be new to town. I know I'd remember a face like that..."Another said, sounding interested

It disturbed the ghost man that women near their thirties were checking him out and smiling.

"Just keep walking... just keep walking..."He thought as he kept walking faster and tried to get out of sight.

He didn't want to think much about it and continued to mind his business for now. He just wanted to change back as soon as possible. He wanted to find something to get his mind off them for now.

He soon passed by a tattoo parlor that had a sign saying "Half price Henna tattoo on sale. Today Only".

Danny saw this and got curious.

"Henna tattoo?..."He thought, having heard that before.

He recalled that Sam once brought up something about tattoos and how she couldn't get one, saying she got into an argument with her parents over the whole thing.

She once even tried to sneak out to get one, but her folks caught her and she got in big trouble for it. It was a huge mess that ended with her being grounded for a month, even though those tattoos were temporary and technically are legal for minors to get too.

Still, her parents refused to budge about it and Sam was sore about it for weeks.

Even so, Danny was intrigued as he was reminded that he always wanted to get a tattoo for himself too. He really did consider getting a tattoo for himself right here and right now, but he had to consider his options here.

"I can't get a real tattoo, since I will be back to normal soon and Mom would kill me if I had any ink done while I'm still technically a minor..."He thought, deciding to go for it.

"In that case, there's only one option. Get a temporary one instead that she'll never know about..."He thought, as he ran inside and soon met with the slightly intimidating looking tattoo artist.

"Hey, welcome to Guy's. What do you want?..."He asked, speaking in a light raspy voice.

"I'll take a Henna tattoo. Right here..."Danny said as he gestured to his right arm.

"Okay, which one?..."Guy asked, as he showed a list with examples.

Danny spotted one that was space theme, which involved a beautiful image of the moon, sun, starts, as well as Saturn and Venus too.

The ghost man grinned and knew that this had to be the one him.

"That one!..."He said, pointing at one that he wanted.

"Alright. Hold still and don't squirm. Gotta stay perfectly still for this..."Guy said, as he started to get to work.

The ghost man looked forward for the final results of the tattoo that he picked out, hoping it'd go well.


30 minutes later

"So, you said that these last how long again?..."Danny asked, as he glanced at his new tattoo.

"About 2 weeks to a month, and then it will start to fade. If you wanna fully remove it by then, just gotta wash it away with soap and warm water. If you want another one, just come back and I'll get ya set up again..."Guy said, as Danny paid and left.

"Two weeks to a month, huh? Which means I'm gonna have to wear long sleeves and keep this hidden from Mom and Dad until then. Why is this less awesome now?..."He thought, now starting to regret his impulsive decision.

However, what's done is done. Now, he has to figure out how to hide it from everyone before he changes back.

He groaned as he left the tattoo parlor and started walking again, accepting the choice he made.

"Oh well, may as well enjoy a little more perks of being an adult while I still can..."He thought, as it was already 12:30.

He decided that he should probably get back to getting some adult stuff out of his system while he still can.

The newly transformed man kept walking around town, trying to find what else to do.

He saw a nearby bar, but knew that he cannot go in there. One, because older or not, he doesn't have an I.D. and even if he did, he knew that he couldn't do such a thing.

"I may look older, but I'm still a teenager inside. Plus, Mom and Dad always say that underage drinking is dangerous and easily leads to accidents..."Danny thought, recalling the talks they had about that sort of thing.

He knew that it would NOT be wise to even entertain such an idea.

"No way I wanna risk anything that I'll regret later. Not to mention, they might turn me full ghost if I even THINK of touching the stuff!..."Danny thought, walking past it and ignoring all sounds from it.

He soon turned the corner and decided to see what else he can do as he blend in with the crowd.


A few moments later

Danny decided to check out another location for the time being. He decided a walk through the park would be a nice way to clear his mind.

He soon arrived and saw that it was mostly elderly people, or parents with young kids at this time.

"Never noticed how vacant this place can be. Then again, never been here in the middle of a school day..."He thought as he looked around.

As he walked, he tried to take in the fresh air to relax, but he still felt that there were eyes that were glued on him.

"Why do I feel like I'm still being watched?..."He thought, feeling uneasy and paranoid right now.

He noticed that there are some more women here who were either jogging or out here with their friends and/or pets. Even a few women who were here to hang out or on a coffee break.

He also noticed that they were looking at him the same way that Rita lady and all those other women from earlier did. With looks and stares that go from admiring to hungry...which made him feel even more nervous and creeped out right now.

"Why do I feel like I'm a mouse stuck in a Cat cafe right now?..."He thought as he felt that everyone had their eyes watching his every move.

He noticed a lady jogger running by, one who saw him and grinned.

"Hey there, Stranger. You come here often?..."She asked, in a playful way.

Danny felt uneasy by that remark.

"Uh...not really..."He half-lied as the lady kept eye-balling him like food.

"I am so not mentally ready for this..."He thought, getting really weirded out right now.

He kept walking but soon over heard more whispers and gossip about him.

Unlike the mean gossip from Casper High that made fun about how unpopular he is...this kind of gossip is...a different kind of uncomfortable.

"Wow! Who's that hot piece of meat? And is he without a Mrs. hot piece of meat?..."He heard one of the stroller moms say as she sent goo-goo eyes his way.

"Not sure, but I think I want a word with him..."Her friend said, unaware she was making Danny more embarrassed to hear that.

"This is so not the level of chick magnet I wanted to be at..."He thought as he tried walking faster but heard some ladies on a coffee break.

Right now, they were looking at him like he was some piece of meat and looking pretty hungry right now.

"Ooh...Hot stuff. Don't go so fast..."Was heard as another jogger lady waved flirtatious at him.

Danny cringed as he kept walking and not say anything to avoid encouraging this. However, it didn't make him any less interesting to any of these ladies who liked what they saw.

"Mmmm...lovely...That rugged pair of arms can wrap themselves here any time..."Another woman said, looking lustful.

Danny was taken back and even more uncomfortable by what he just heard them describe him as.

"Rugged? Me?!..."He thought, confused.

He looked down and just saw himself as himself somewhere in his mid-20s. He didn't think he'd be that attractive at this age.

"I know that I have way more chest hair at this age...but rugged?..."He thought, feeling awkward and uncomfortable here.

He just kept walking and tried to relax himself. However, more women saw him and couldn't stop themselves from trying to get his attention.

"Hey there, Cutie. Wanna get together later?..."One lady asked, sending him flirty looks.

Danny gulped and chose to avoid eye contact, getting pretty sweaty right now.

"Uh, no thank you..."He said, politely turning her down and walking faster.

However, she wasn't the only one as more women kept coming onto him. Many women now surrounded him, all wanting his attention.

"Hey there, good-looking. Nice tattoo. Do they cover more than your bicep?..."One woman said as she reached out to feel his recently tattooed arm.

Danny flinched and even stepped back a bit. He didn't want to be touched by a woman too old for him without permission, not that she'd know the truth.

"Uh...no. Just my arm, that's all..."He said, rubbing the back of his neck in an embarrassed manner.

Another woman giggled at this reaction, finding it cute.

"Aw, shy. That's cute. How about we get together? Maybe over dinner and a cup of coffee?..."She said in a flirty manner, clearly not realizing how uncomfortable she was making him.

Danny gulped and stepped back.

"Just yesterday both Paulina and Star dissed me, and today I'm suddenly a stud. Ironic..."He thought, trying to find a way out of this.

"Uh, sorry. I...can't. I promised my sister I'd help her with something..."Danny said, turning her down.

The lady seemed surprised but Danny just made sure there was as much distance as possible between them.

However, more ladies kept checking him out and called out to him.

"Is this what cat-calling is? I thought it Jazz was just exaggerating when she complained about it..."He thought, feeling very flustered right now.

"I bet you're ripped under that shirt..."Another lady said, sending him bedroom eyes and a smirk that implied something naughty.

"Just keep walking... just keep walking..."He thought as he kept on walking, saying nothing and not looking.

He left the park, before something else happened that was out of his control and awareness.

He just hoped where he was going, there'd be fewer women who were attracted to him, and fewer ones who were this pushy.


Later

After that incident in the park, Danny was still pretty surprised by what he just discovered.

That quite a few women...from college age to early thirties were willing to hit on him or cat-call him. It was very freaky and also rather uncomfortable too.

"Okay, I'm starting to think this isn't a fluke or women trying to be nice...some of them might actually like the new me...weird..."He thought, still caught off guard by this realization.

He knew he was taller and buffer at this age, but he didn't expect to get so much attention.

"I wonder if this is really what I'm gonna look like in 10 years or if Helena's weird clock just made me a hunk as a default thing?..."He thought, since he was still hazy on how any of this worked.

He shook his head, knowing that he needed to reverse the process before he meets women who desired something more than his attention.

"Gotta hurry, Fenton..."He thought.

Danny was trying to refocus his attention into more important stuff but he ended up bumping into another woman.

One who looked be the in her early mid-20's and is a brunette with brown eyes and obviously dressed up as a casual appearance with a light blue T-shirt, dark gray shorts, and blue high heels.

She also had a rather coquette expression on her face, the second that she saw him.

"Oh. Hey there, big guy..."She said, and Danny gasped, startled by how she seemed to have sneak up on him.

"Uh...hey..."He said shyly, as the lady kept smiling at him strangely.

"Nice tattoo..."She mentioned in a coy way, pointing to the henna tattoo on his arm.

"Oh, thanks..."Danny said, as the woman kept smiling at him in a coquette way.

"My names Muffy, and you are?..."She asked, sending him flirty eyes.

"D-Dan...Dante..."Danny said, almost slipping.

The woman he just met giggled flirtatiously at him.

"That's a nice name. Are you Italian?..."She asked as her eyes wondered about his body.

"Uh...my great grandmother was. At least I think she was..."He said, too caught up in the moment to lie now.

"You're funny. Are you famous?..."She asked in a flirty manner.

"Uh...not exactly..."He said as she kept locking eye contact with him.

"Nice muscles...that shirt really compliments them well..."She said in a seductive tone.

"Uh...thanks..."He said.

The flirtatious brunette twirled some of her hair and looked at him like he was some new designer handbag that she wanted.

"Why do I feel like she's plotting to take me home?..."Danny thought.

Muffy kept smiling coquette-like and leaned forward in a provocative sort of way.

"So, Dante...wanna get a frozen yogurt together? And maybe something sweeter later?..."She offered, eyes half lidded as she said this.

"Uh...well...actually..."Danny stammered, feeling put on the spot here by her bold request for a date.

However, some big guy marched over and grabbed on to Danny and invaded his personal space, making sure to add some distance between him and the pretty woman. His eyes had a very angry and territorial look in them.

"Hey! Muffy! Is that guy bothering you?..."The burly guy shouted while staring menacingly at the ghost man.

"Who is that?..."Danny asked, not liking where this is going.

"Oh my boyfriend, Bruno..."She said, like it's no big deal.

"Boyfriend?..."Danny said, as the guy glared at him in a territorial manner.

"You? You making time with my girl?..."He demanded, while Muffy rolled her eyes.

"No, I wasn't!..."Danny insisted.

"Don't lie. I saw that look you were giving her with my own eyes! You're trying to steal my woman, you jerk!..."The guy shouted.

"Bruno, relax. We were just talking..."Muffy said, sounding annoyed.

"You stay out of this, Muffy. I saw the way he was looking at you..."Bruno said in an accusing manner.

"Look guy, you got it all wrong. I was just passing by and bumped into her by accident. Honest!..."Danny said, as he wanted nothing to do with either of these two.

"Liar! Now hold still! So I can pulverize ya, ya little dork!..."Bruno shouted, as he raised a first.

"Bruno! No! At least not his face!..."Muffy tried but the big oaf didn't listen.

"You have got to be kidding me?!..."Danny muttered, feeling more annoyed than threatened or scared.

He dodged the first punch, much faster than even he expected to.

This surprised both the menacing Bruno and the flirtatious Muffy. It surprised Danny too, having forgotten just how different he was right now.

"Huh?..."He thought, at a loss at how sharp that response was.

"Wow!..."Muffy said, looking impressed.

Her boyfriend became more jealous and snapped.

"TAKE THIS, YOU THIEF!..."The big man shouted, enraged and wanting to hurt him.

Bruno tried to throw another punch, but Danny, using fast reflexes, manages to grab his arm and twist it.

"What are you-AH?!..."Bruno yelled as he felt his arm and fist nearly being crushed by the other man.

Danny was surprised too. He usually didn't try to hurt humans, but his reflexes were so fast that he did it without even realizing it.

"Wow...even my reflexes are sharper than ever now in this new body. I wonder what else about my powers has changed along with my body?..."He thought, surprised and relieved to know he can defend himself.

"Hey, let him go!..."Muffy demanded, pointing out that he was still holding onto Bruno in a painful way.

Bruno kept whining and begging to be released as she suddenly came to his aid.

Danny did just that, releasing the thug. Bruno held onto his arm in pain.

"That hurt..."He complained, while the ghost man rolled his eyes.

"And you tried to punch me. So, I'd say that makes us even..."Danny said, not sympathetic at all.

Muffy also wasn't sympathetic and even gave the cold shoulder to the big guy. She clearly did not seem to care about what happened with her so-called boyfriend.

"Geez Bruno, you're always like this. It's embarrassing, I have no idea why I even put up with you..."She said, making things clear to him that she didn't think this relationship was going to work out.

This even shocked the Ghost Man as the burly guy had gone from threatening to begging in a manner of seconds. Both did a 180 compared to how they were a moment before.

"But Muffy!..."Bruno said, looking upset and pathetic as she sent him a disinterested glare.

"Get lost, I'm busy!..."She said before turning to Dante and sent him flirty eyes again.

"So, Dante. Since you won...wanna go get that yogurt now?..."She asked in a lustful way, as she pressed herself against him in an attempt to get him to say yes.

Danny frowned and pushed her off, much to her shock by this reaction.

"No thanks. I don't wanna hang with a girl who flirt with other guys when having a boyfriend and just dump him like that..."Danny said, shocking her.

"Wait...you...you're turning me down?!..."She asked, having not expected this.

"No duh..."The ghost man said, wanting nothing to do with her.

Bruno also seemed shocked but Danny didn't bother to remain to hear what he had to say. He left, not wanting to deal with those nut cases.

As he left, Bruno became smug for one reason. He turned to Muffy and couldn't resist making fun of her.

"HA! Way to get burned, ya floozy! I guess that even that pretty boy has more standards than you!..."He said, mocking her.

Muffy scowled angrily at him.

"This is your fault! I told you that we should see other people and you just had to go and chase away the catch of a lifetime! You're gonna pay for that, you dunce!..."She yelled at him.

The two began to bicker and yell at each other until a nearby cop came and broke them up.


With Danny

The ghost man had gotten away from those two and was in a bad mood right now.

"Geez...what a pair of train wrecks. And I thought Johnny and Kitty were dysfunctional..."He thought, shaking his head in an unpleasant manner.

Now away from that crazy couple, Danny went on his merry way. He wanted to relax and NOT deal with stupid drama like that.

"Let's hope that'll be the last time I have to deal with a couple of crazies..."He said, hoping not to run into more trouble and doesn't have to deal with anymore hot messes like that again.

Fortunately, the further he walked away, the less he saw of where the two were.

He felt relief, hoping that he wouldn't have to deal with anymore craziness.


A few moments later

Unbeknownst to the Ghost Man, Channel 5 news was by a nearby animal shelter, making a news piece there.

However, only someone was a bit dissatisfied with the lack luster news report this week

It was Tiffany Snow, who, along with her co-worker Lance Thunder, were here for a news report about the construction of a new dog/puppy sanctuary. But Tiffany wasn't feeling all that excited to be here, even if she knew and thought that this was all for a good cause.

If anything, she was low on energy.

The female news anchor was in a bad mood, mostly due to having been ordered to be a part of this. It didn't help that this was an otherwise slow new day.

"So boring. Why is it that when ghosts don't appear, they make me do these silly little fluff pieces?..."She muttered, as she was task to her piece on the puppy sanctuary.

She was bored out of her mind after she did the news coverage. Now all that was left is to interview a few people and today's "headline" would be done with.

The red haired news reporter was still bored and frustrated. This felt just like the old fluff pieces that Tiffany was assigned to cover back when she first started out as a female news anchor.

It sometimes felt demeaning, because she was always the one to do these cutie news pieces, since she's the "cute and perky" female news anchor, or at least that's how the public sees her as.

"Shelley Makamoto is in the middle of interviewing the teams of scientists at Axiom Labs for their latest ground-breaking project right now, and I'm stuck here just covering a cutesy puppy story. This is so a waste of my talents..."She thought, sighing as she wished to be tasked with something more serious.

She was about to leave and head inside the shelter for a quick interview with the owner and be done with it. However, at that moment, she saw something up ahead that caught her attention.

She gasped, feeling her breath get taken away as she saw something...or rather someone that immediately made her go speechless for the first since high school.

It was a man, a very handsome man who looked to be in his early to mid-twenties. And he was GORGEOUS!

He was muscular with thick black hair, baby blue eyes, a perfect complexion, a strong jawline, boyish good looks that complimented a very buff and muscular body.

Tiffany felt her face flush and her heart pound, as she laid her eyes on him for the first time.

"Oh my gosh!..."She said, feeling her heart beat like a drum.

With inhuman speeds, she cut him off before she even realized it.

The man, Danny, had been walking, trying to get away from that crazy couple when he suddenly found himself face to face with Tiffany Snow, of all people.

"Whoa!..." Danny went.

"Oops, didn't see you..." She lied, giggling in a cutesy way.

The man blinked, wondering what was happening here.

"Uh...Hi..."Danny said nervously, as the female reporter eyed him funnily.

"Hi there. I'm Tiffany Snow from channel 5 news. I'm doing a news piece today..."She greeted, trying to sound professional right now.

"Uh yeah, I've seen you on the news before..."Danny said, as the woman smiled widely.

"Oh, goody..."She said, looking too friendly right now.

Danny felt his face went on fire as she grinned in a way he's never seen a woman her age do before.

"Why are you looking at me like that?..." Danny asked nervously.

"Oh...just...trying to break the ice and get interviews from a local citizen about the new sanctuary. So, I hoped you don't mind if I break in..."Tiffany said, as she made a pun that the half ghost man wasn't expecting her to say.

Danny blinked at that while Lance Thunder appeared.

"Tiffany, come on. We have to interview people about the puppy sanctuary..."He said.

"That's what I am doing right now..."Tiffany said, as she signals her camera crew to go live right now.

"And I didn't even wanna do this piece. HA!..."She thought, as she began the "interview".

"Would you care to share your thoughts in an interview about the new puppy sanctuary being built in Amity Park?..."Tiffany said, as she ordered the camera man to come and focus on her and the gorgeous man.

"I...uh..."Danny said, but soon a microphone was in his face and the news camera was on him.

"Now...sir...your name is what again?..."Tiffany asked, wanting to know more about this gorgeous man in front of her

"Dante..."Danny answered, not knowing what was happening right now

"Dante what?..."Tiffany asked, wanting to know his full name.

"Fen..."He stopped, as he realized what he almost slipped out his real last name due to nervousness.

Danny thought fast and said the first thing that came to his mind.

"F-Fenander!..."He said, hoping they wouldn't ask him any more personal questions.

He didn't want to risk being recognized on live television, and hoped that nothing more exposing will be asked of him.

Tiffany just smiled dreamily, while Lance got to the interview.

"Well, Mr. Fenander. What is your opinion on the puppy sanctuaries latest plans of development here in town instead of a nearby location with less ghosts?..."Lance asked, wanting to an answer that was relevant to the news report.

At the same time, Tiffany kept looking at the ghost man with bedrooms eyes.

Danny gulped, and tried to think fast.

"Uh...I think that it's an outstanding addition to this great town of our. Showing tourists that we're not just a the world's most haunted place on earth..."The dark haired man, smiling nervously.

"It's also a good way to show that we're like any other town, trying our hardest to bring out the best parts of ourselves and what we have to offer. I think that I speak for most people, when I say that we could always use more places like this to help Amity Park become more acceptable than it already is..."He said, hopefully sounding as adult as he thought he did.

"Thank you..."Lance said, wanting to move on.

He and the camera crew soon left to interview more citizens and the people in charge of the sanctuary. However, he noticed that Tiffany didn't come with him.

"What the? Tiffany?..."Lance asked, but soon saw that his co-worker was still with Dante.

"So...Dante...are you married or seeing anyone?..."Tiffany asked, getting straight to the point

Uh...no and no to both..."Danny said, looking nervous while Tiffany's grin grew wider.

"Jackpot!..."She thought, decided to snatch herself this big scoop before anyone else does.

"Well, then...I guess that means that we have a lot to talk about...but next time let's make it a private one on one interview..."She said, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

Danny was taken back.

"Is she...coming onto me?..."He thought, feeling a bit uncomfortable that another lady is hitting on him and being so forward with her approach.

"Uh...I don't think that is very...proper...Ms. Snow..."Danny tried.

She gently placed her finger on his chin to politely stop him from saying another word.

"Oh...call me Tiffany..."She said, already wanting to be on a first name basis with the very handsome man.

"Oh nuts!..."Danny thought, his weak knee reaction acting up again as the female reporter kept flirting with him.

"So, Dante? As I said...If you're not busy, make it a private one on one interview... maybe over some dinner and maybe catch a movie afterwards?..."She asked, as she presses herself against him and kept sending him bedroom eyes.

Danny gulped and felt the thoughts in his head spinning in circles at what was happening to him.

Tiffany Snow was interested in him?!

For real?!

"Tiffany Snow, the town's youngest female reporter is asking me out?! This is like something out of a crazy fanfic that Tucker told me about!..."He thought, sweating profusely and at a lost for words.

She kept sending him bedroom eyes that didn't make him any less nervous. The dark haired man gulped, trying to regain control of this bizarre situation.

"Uh...well...uh...I...I'll...uh...well...you see..."Danny stammered, hoping that a miracle can get him out of this peculiar situation.

"Tiffany! We have work to do!..."Lance said, annoyed.

Tiffany frowned at him.

"In a moment, Lance..."She said in an annoyed way, before she turned back to Danny with bedroom eyes.

"Come on, Dante. I know a good bistro nearby that we can...have a bite and...talk a bit..."She tried again as she fluttered her eyes at him, clearly not wanting to be denied.

"Tiffany!..."Lance called again.

His pretty colleague was getting ticked now.

"I said in a moment!..."She said, having little patience for him now.

Danny was weirded out by this and chose to make his escape, now that Tiffany Snow had her attention elsewhere.

"Tiffany...well...I gotta go...I have to uh...pick up my dry cleaning and...uh...renew my I.D...So...I can't. Sorry, gotta go!. Bye!..."He said, wanting to get as far away from the news crew as quickly as possible.

"Huh? Wait I-..."Tiffany said, but he was already gone.

Even if the tall, muscular man was gone, Tiffany was still staring longingly in the direction where Dante left.

Lance saw this and rolled his eyes.

"Predictable..."He complained, really annoyed right now.

He is a weatherman and shouldn't even be out here to begin with, but the news station always seemed to find a way to get him dragged into these positions.

Even worse, his co-worker was getting distracted by some pretty face and they were burning daylight as it is.

"Tiffany, put your eyeballs back in your head. We still got work to do..."He said, annoyed.

Tiffany snapped out of her trance. She huffed at her coworker.

"I was just trying to get a thorough interview with the average citizen, that's all..."She said, trying to act normal but her co-worker saw right through her.

"I know what you were doing and I won't lie that it does lighten my afternoon to watch you make a fool of yourself because of some man-candy. It makes me glad that I'm not the only one getting the short end of the stick for once..."Lance said, knowing how she looked at him.

Tiffany sent him an irritated look.

"Lets just get this fluff piece over with and go back to reporting some real news!..."She said, not in the mood to argue any further.

"Stupid Lance, I didn't even get that guy's phone number. Darn it!..."Tiffany thought, frustrated but hid it in order to do her job and interview more people.

Lance rolled his eyes and almost wished he called in sick. Or at least get to do his actual job.

"Chicago is looking better and better by the day..."He grumbled, before returning to his usual routine.

He was unaware that they had just encountered Danny Phantom...or how this isn't gonna be the last time the man is gonna have some affect on some lady in Amity Park.

Oh boy.

-To be continued-

Next time on Growing Pains

Phantom Behind The Wheel


A/N: Special thanks to NeoMark and Jay The Average Fanboy for helping with this chapter. You guys rock :)


REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:

Boris Yeltsin, Jebest4781, NiteOwl18 and CZS4: Thank you :)

Invader Johnny: I see your point.

Fiction Realm: Well said.

RonaldM40196867:

1) Kind of.

2) I'll think about it.

3) I'll think about it.

4) Thanks for the suggestion. I'll consider it.

Menatron the Angel of Ideas: I will let you know.

2readgoodfanfic: Thank you :)

Luiz4200: Yeah.

JDF Legacier Morphicon: Thank you :)

Here are my responses to your questions:

1) I think so.

2) I think he was a product of the Ghost Zone, that he was never human to start with.

3) No comment.

4) Paradox.

5) I haven't decided.

Guest: Sorry, no spoilers. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.

Pzombie: How's this?


:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)