The sun shined down onto the ghostly tour bus. It was currently parked, having arrived at its destination a few hours ago, but none of the occupants had left the vehicle.
Inside, Ember was still in bed, but she wasn't alone. She was currently snuggled up against Danny, who had his arm around her and held her close.
'This is the life,' thought Ember with a smile.
As to how they got into this situation was as such. The night they left Paris, Ember had asked Danny to join her for the night, stating that her bed would have been more comfortable than the passenger's seat. He tried to decline, blushing all the while, but Ember was able to convince him by saying that neither of them should be alone anymore. Once they were in bed, Ember snuggled up to Danny and they promptly fell asleep.
'The only problem though is what are we now?' thought the fiery girl with a frown. 'We are clearly passed the "friends stage", but we're not really a couple yet.'
Thinking back to last night, Ember wanted nothing more than to confess feelings to her Baby-Pop, but after everything he told her about the alternate dark future, she had to hold back. She felt confessing to him would just put more weight onto his shoulders right now and she didn't want to make things more complicated for him.
No, she would confess to him when the time is right. Right now, she was just happy that he was here with her and didn't push her away.
She felt him stir, telling her that he was awake.
"Morning, Baby-Pop~"
"Morning, Ember," replied Danny, eyes still closed with a smile on his face. "Judging by how it feels like we're stopped, I'm guessing we're at the next city?"
She gave off a grin, even though he couldn't see it. "Yup!"
"You going to tell me where we are?"
"How about you guess? It'll be more fun that way."
"You at least going to give me a hint? There are thousands of cities in the world that we could be at," he said, opening his eyes to look at her.
"Sure, Baby-Pop. It's my favorite city in the world," stated Ember with a smirk.
"…That's not really a hint," said Danny, but thought about it anyway. He then gave off a grin. "We're in London."
Ember stared at him wide-eyed. "How the hell did you figure it out that quickly?!"
"Simple. You're the Rock n Roll Queen and I figured with as big of a fan of rock that you are, you would like the place where some of the best rock bands of all time came from. You've got Queen, The Clash, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Eric Clapton, Foreigner, and that's just from London. From England as a whole you've also got Def Leppard, Black Sabbath, and The Beatles as examples. So it shouldn't be a surprise that we would have ended up in London at some point."
If it weren't for the fact that they were already in the bed, Ember would have jumped him by now. The fact that he actually KNEW about those bands sent a tingling sensation through her body. Most other teens their age would have no idea who those groups were and would only care about the modern crap. Then there was the fact that he called her the "Rock n Roll Queen".
'Marry me, Baby-Pop. Be my king!'
She snuggled up to him once more as they closed their eyes, both enjoying each other's company. So relaxed, they didn't noticed someone entered the room until they felt something climb onto the bed and tiny hands forced Danny's eyes open. He was met with the pouty glare of the little one.
"Danny! When are you going to get up? We've been sitting here for hours and I'm hungry!"
He let out a groan. "Ember, can you handle this?"
"What time is it, Baby-Pop?" asked the rock diva, not opening her eyes.
Looking over at the clock, he replied. "Almost 9:00."
"Sorry, Baby-Pop, but before 10:00 Mini-Pop's your responsibility."
He rolled his eyes. "You'll still need to get up. I can't leave the bed with you're arms around me like this."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
"It's not, but we need to feed Dani."
"We really need to teach you how to cook, Mini-Pop," said Ember, looking over at the ghostling. "How did you even survive this long if you've been on your own?"
"Mostly from taking food from restaurants when no one was looking or taking the food they threw away," replied Danielle with a shrug.
It was silent for but a moment before the teens scrambled out of the bed. Danny carried his little clone out of the room under his arm like a sack of potatoes, while Ember quickly got started on making breakfast.
-:-
After breakfast, the three were walking through the streets of London.
"Let's see. We can go see Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, the London Eye, Leadenhall Market, Big Ben. There's a lot to see here in London," said Danny.
"So what's the plan, Baby-Pop? Which one are we going to first?" questioned the rock diva.
"I think the bigger question here is, what is the London Eye?" asked Danielle, looking curious.
"Actually, now that Mini-Pop brought it up, what's this eye thing?"
Danny grinned before pointing in a certain direction. The girls looked to where he was pointing, where Ember's eyes widened while Danielle looked confused.
"What is that?" asked Danielle.
"When did they set up a Ferris wheel?!" questioned Ember.
"It was about seven years ago that it opened to the public," explained Danny. He turned to the girls. "You want to go on it?"
"Yeah! It looks like it'll be fun!" declared Danielle, bouncing up and down in excitement.
"How about you, Ember?"
"Sure, what have I got to lose," replied the fiery girl with a smirk.
"Then let's head on over," replied Danny with a smile.
The three made their way to the giant Ferris wheel and was soon able to board one of the pods. As they started to move, Danielle looked out the window, while Ember snuggled up to Danny.
"This is nice," said Ember.
Danny wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her close. "Yes it is."
"Man, London actually looks pretty cool from up here," said Danielle, still looking out the window.
A slight grin appeared on Ember's face. "If you like the city, Mini-Pop, then you'll love the music. When we get back to the hotel tonight, I'm going to introduce you to some of the best bands rock n roll has to offer."
The teens watched as Danielle's eyes lit up in excitement
-:-
When the ride on the London Eye was over, the three headed towards Westminster Abbey as their next stop. Once inside, Ember performed the Sign of the Cross before they went in further.
"Why do they have a collection of heads on display?" asked Danielle, slightly scared as she stepped closer to her current guardians.
"Those are busts, Mini-Pop," replied Ember with a slight giggle. "They're usually made out of stone or metal."
"Why are they here?"
"They're funerary monuments, to honor the departed," explained Danny. He then pointed at a specific bust. "The most well known one here would be William Shakespeare, who was considered one of the greatest writers in history…although I was never a fan of Romeo and Juliet."
Ember turned to Danny with a raised eyebrow. "You don't like Romeo and Juliet?"
"I just find it to be one of his weaker works. I never really understood how Romeo and Juliet could be in love with each without getting to know each other," stated the halfa with a shrug. "It feels kind of shallow. And trust me, I know about shallow love."
Ember narrowed her eyes on the grimacing boy. "Are you talking about that "admirer" you told me about before?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Unfortunately, yes. She's one of the A-Listers at my school."
'All the more reason to punch out her teeth!' thought Ember, clenching her fists. "I'm guessing she keeps harassing you because you saved the world."
"She's been harassing me a lot longer than that," muttered out Danny.
Ember gained a blank look. "What?"
"Back before my identity was revealed I had saved her from a ghost attack and she's pretty much been stalking me ever since. She's even gone as far as to make a shrine of me in her locker."
"…So she's a freak."
"More like a pink parasite as Sam likes to call her," replied Danny with a grin, but it didn't stay for very long. "What did I ever see in her?"
Ember tensed up upon hearing that, anger and jealousy coursing through her. "Wait, you actually had a thing for this freak?"
"Unfortunately. As time went on it finally clicked in my brain how much of a shallow, terrible person she is and I wanted nothing to do with her. I still don't want anything to do with her."
"And yet she still tries to get into your pants."
"Huh?" questioned Danielle.
"Never mind, Mini-Pop. Anyway, what's this parasite's name?"
"Paulina…wait, what are you planning?" questioned Danny, giving her a suspicious look.
She just gave an innocent look in return. "What do you mean, Baby-Pop?"
"…We're in a church, Ember, and if memory serves right about the Catholic teachings, it's not a good idea to lie in a church."
The innocent look became a pout. "Fine, I planned on finding her when we got to Amity and telling her to back off!"
"I can pull a prank on her if you want," stated Danielle, giving a cute little smile.
"See, Mini-Pop knows what needs to be done."
The boy facepalmed at this. "Neither of you will be doing anything. I'll handle her when we get back home."
"Yeah, and how many times have you already tried to handle her only for her to keep coming back?" asked Ember, unimpressed. She got her answer when Danny looked away. "I thought so. I'll deal the freak when we get back."
"Let's just go."
Ember smirked in victory as she and Danielle followed Danny out of the church.
-:-
The rock diva gave out a low whistle when they arrived at Leadenhall Market.
"This place almost looks like a shopping mall."
"Well there are a few clothes shops here," stated Danny, catching Ember's attention.
"Well I know where I'll be going while we're here. If I'm lucky there might even be a music shop," said Ember with a grin. "Come on, Mini-Pop! You're with me!"
The little one let out a groan as she followed Ember, leaving Danny to shake his head in amusement. He then set off on his own errands. He was planning on getting some ingredients as he planned on making dinner for the three of them tonight.
"Let's see, what would be good for dinner?" he asked himself. He soon came across a butcher shop and got his idea. "Simple, but effective."
After purchasing everything he needed, he went to go find Ember and Danielle, but stopped when he spotted a florist. He saw a specific flower and quickly went over to the shop.
"Hello, young man. Is there anything I can help you with today?" asked the old woman that ran shop, giving him a friendly smile.
"Yes, I was wondering if it was possible to have some flowers delivered."
"I suppose that could be done. Which flowers would you like?"
"These ones," said Danny, pointing at the flowers he spotted. "I think my friend will really like them."
"Oh, so these are for your friend?" she asked as she gathered a bouquet of the flowers. "Would this happen to be a lady friend?
"Yeah," replied Danny with a soft smile. "She recently helped me out of a slight depression, so she's special to me."
'Ah, young love,' thought the old woman with a smile of her own. "Now where would you like these delivered, dearie?"
Danny wrote down the hotel, the room number he was staying at, and what time he'd like it delivered before he gave it to the florist. Once he paid for everything, he said his goodbyes and went back to searching for the girls. It didn't take long to find them and the bags they were carrying.
"You've got quite a haul there. What'd you do, buy out the shop?" asked Danny with a teasing grin.
"Just some necessities for later, Baby-Pop," replied Ember, returning the grin. "What did you get?"
Danny lifted up his own bags. "Dinner for tonight."
Ember raised an eyebrow while Danielle's eyes sparkled at the thought of food.
-:-
Back at the hotel room, Ember watched in awe as Danny worked in the kitchen. When he told her that they were going to have roast beef and mashed potatoes, she was skeptical, but was soon proven wrong when Danny knew his way around the kitchen.
"…Since when do you know how to cook, Baby-Pop?"
"I taught myself a long time ago," replied Danny as he kept preparing the meat. "There have been times when my parents would really get into their work, so Jazz and I would have to fend for ourselves. And before you say anything, this didn't happen all of the time. Mom still did most of the cooking."
For a moment, Ember was worried that Baby-Pop's parents were neglectful, which actually went against what she's seen of them. She was glad that Baby-Pop had parents that loved him no matter what. She found him to be lucky in that regard.
There was a sudden knock at the door, breaking Ember out of her thoughts.
"Hey, Ember, can you get that?" asked Danny, making the final preparations and placing the roast into the oven.
Standing up, Ember made her way to the door, opening it to find a bellhop holding a vase full of flowers.
"Special delivery for Ember McLain," said the bellhop, handing over the vase.
"Huh?" questioned the confused girl, accepting the vase. Tipping the bellhop, she closed the door and looked at her present with a raised eyebrow. "Who would send me a bouquet of Lily of the Valley?"
"Do you like them?" asked a whispered voice in her ear.
She felt shivers of pleasure go down her spine. She turned to find Baby-Pop standing behind her, causing her to blush slightly. "You got these for me? Wh-Why?"
"When I saw them, I thought you might like them. I got you Lily of the Valley for two reasons."
"And what would those reasons be, Baby-Pop?" asked Ember, feeling warmth spread through her body.
"Well, in the language of flowers Lily of the Valley signifies the return of happiness. As for the second reason, as a musician you can probably figure that out," explained Danny with a grin.
A grin appeared on Ember's face. "It's the title of a song on the Queen album Sheer Heart Attack. Oh, Baby-Pop~"
She reached up to place a kiss on his cheek before going to place the vase on the table. She then went back to her Baby-Pop to bring him into a hug.
"I knew you'd like them," he said, wrapping his arms around her.
"I love them. Thank you, Baby-Pop."
Over on the couch, watching TV with the new plushy she got at the market (a lion dressed as a British king), Danielle rolled her eyes. Ever since they left Paris, Danny and Ember have been acting weird.
Whatever was going on, she hoped they'd do something about it soon.
-:-
Meanwhile, elsewhere in an alley in another part of the city, a shadowy figure was shambling down the path, looking for his next victim. He looked up at the moon, his single red eye glowing malevolently.
TO BE CONTINUED
-:-
London is up next and Danny and Ember are getting even closer. But who is this shadowy villain and what will happen when our heroes cross his path?