New chapter, woot woot! And this time it didn't take me two months!

I wanted to work on capturing Character Essence with this one. Sometimes I feel like I'm writing characters to be too bland or too mature, so I wanted to get better at portraying them in ways that felt more on-brand.

Danny was hiding something.

Valerie still couldn't say what, exactly, but she was certain now that there was something off about him. Something that should have been obvious from the beginning, and yet she still couldn't quite pin it down.

But, she had what she thought was a good starting point. Valerie never thought she would be saying this, but in hindsight, Wes had made many good points in his "theories" involving Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom. Even though he'd said he made the whole thing up, Valerie wasn't convinced. Not quite. Did she think Danny and Phantom were the same person? Not really. But right then, it was the only thing she had to go off of.

Whatever Danny's deal was, Valerie was going to get to the bottom of it.

Which was why she found herself slinking around corners after first period, hoping to locate her mysterious ex. She knew he was wont to play hooky for hours at a time, but if he'd made it to the first class of the day, then in all likelihood she would spot him on his way to second period. And if he tried to disappear to wherever he went when he skipped class, then Valerie would be sure to follow him and, hopefully, learn his secret once and for all.

And luckily for her, she found him. Danny was approaching his locker, Sam and Tucker practically glued to either hip. They were discussing something Valerie couldn't hear, but whatever it was must have been funny, because they all started snickering at Sam's reply. Valerie dared to stretch her neck out further, straining to hear the conversation. She caught snippets about a lunch lady, she thought, but if only she could get closer–

"What are you doing?"

Valerie squealed, whirling around with her dukes up. Her armor almost rose from her skin when she saw a head sticking out of the wall, but she relaxed when she realized it was only Wes. But not by much; she didn't think she would ever get used to the idea of him being a ghost.

She fought back a shiver as her old friend finished his emergence to stand in the hallway before her. "...What are you doing?" she challenged.

"I asked you first."

"None of your business what I'm doing," Valerie said hotly.

"You were watching Danny." It wasn't a question.

Valerie flushed. "I was not!"

Wes quirked a brow. "Oh, so you were just hiding for no particular reason, and figured you'd stare at Danny while you were at it."

"W-Well you still didn't answer my question," Valerie deflected. "Why were you in the wall? I thought you stopped stalking Danny months ago."

"I never stalked him," Wes huffed, "and I'm not doing that now."

"Then tell me what you were doing," Valerie demanded. "Explain, now."

"Hey, I don't have to explain anything," said Wes. "I'm not the one sneaking around following people."

"Nope, nuh-uh, you don't get to pull that." Valerie shook her head. "You're gonna tell me why you were in the wall. Because it looks to me like you were following him too."

"Ha, you said too!" Wes barked.

"I'm serious!"

Wes turned his nose up. "I'm not saying a word until you tell me why you were following him."

Valerie crossed her arms. "Like I said, that is none of your business. Besides, why should I tell you? What are you, his bodyguard?"

Wes sniffed. "Maybe."

"Does he know that?"

"...Maybe."

Valerie snorted derisively. It wasn't surprising that Danny wouldn't know Wes hadn't actually given up on his snooping. "Old habits die hard, huh?"

"It's not a habit," Wes huffed, fists balling at his sides. "It's not my fault he finds trouble wherever he goes, so someone's gotta look out for him."

Valerie latched onto his words in an instant. "What kinds of trouble?"

Wes clammed up, which wasn't what Valerie had expected, but such a reaction had to be hinting at something deeper, surely. Wes recovered quickly, however, rolling his eyes. "Oh, you know, just about every jock in the school having a personal vendetta against him. He never fights back, so that leaves me to scare them off."

"...Uh-huh. And how come I've never caught you squaring up to any bullies, huh? My tech would have caught you in the act a mile away if you were using your powers."

And then Wes was in her face, eyes practically shining. "Your tech? You mean you basically have a ghost sense? Except, you know, mechanical instead of supernatural? How does that work?"

Valerie put up a hand to push his face back so she could breathe. She was unimpressed by his conduct. "I don't know how it works, just that it does. Any ghost that so much as breathes wrong shows up on my radar."

Wes pouted, looking almost disappointed. "...But I was able to sneak up on you."

"Well no tech is perfect!" Valerie scoffed defensively. "I don't know, maybe it doesn't work when you look human!"

Wes hummed inquisitively. "...Huh, that's a sound idea. Wanna test that?"

"Not really the time," Valerie hissed, ignoring him to resume peeking around the corner.

Danny and his friends were gone. Figures.

"Too busy spying?" Wes hummed.

"No!" Valerie scoffed, even though that was exactly what she was doing. "Doesn't matter anyway, 'cause it looks like your charge wandered off!"

"Huh, and so he did," Wes mused, not making even the slightest attempt to see for himself. And right after that, the bell rang. "Sounds like my cue. I'm guessing I'll see you after class."

"You better not see me," Valerie muttered. But when she spun around, he was gone. She hadn't even heard him leave.

Her fists shook at her sides. "Ugh, I forgot how obnoxiously nosy he was!"

({O})

The two of them did in fact see each other after class, both of them peeping on their schoolmate. However, they proved to both be just as stubborn as the hour before, refusing to make either of their true intentions known.

And it was clear to Valerie that so long as Wes was breathing down her neck and distracting her between classes, she was never going to get the answers she was looking for. Which was why she approached Danny at lunch as he was still serving himself up. She ignored the suspicious stares Sam and Tucker gave her.

"Danny, can we talk?"

Danny blinked at her, not even noticing as whatever slop the lunch lady dumped on his tray splattered his wrist. "Valerie? Uh, yeah, sure."

"Alone?"

Sam and Tucker both spared their friend a worried glance. What would they have to worry about? It wasn't like she was plotting to assassinate him.

Who knew, maybe they really did think so. At least, if her theory was correct.

Danny's surprise dulled. He was solemn, his expression almost but not quite a grimace. He'd expected her, and he wasn't looking forward to their talk, from the looks of it. "...Yeah, alright. Don't wait up for me, guys."

"We'll be at our table if you need us," said Tucker, unusually neutral. He took Sam by the elbow and led her away, but that didn't stop her from jabbing her fingers in Valerie's direction, a clear statement that she was watching her.

Yeesh, you date and break up with a guy one time after having spent a good portion of freshman year picking on him, and suddenly his friends act like you're gonna bite his head off. Talk about holding a grudge.

Still, she didn't wait for Danny to ask her what she wanted. She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the exit, hardly caring for the fact that he spilled half his lunch in the process. But even so, he didn't protest save for a whine of complaint at his lost food, stumbling as Valerie tugged him along. In no time at all, they were through the doors, and Valerie finally let Danny go so she could face him.

"Did you know Wes was following you?" she opened.

This, Danny did seem surprised by. Which was interesting, considering Wes's track record. "Following me? What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean?" Valerie huffed. "I've caught him spying on you twice today."

"Oh! Oh that," Danny chuckled. "I mean, yeah, I knew. He's been doing that a while."

"I thought he finally stopped with all that ridiculous Phantom nonsense," Valerie said. If she wanted Danny to slip up, she needed him not to think she was digging for intel. For now, she was the concerned ex.

"He did," Danny confirmed. He rubbed the back of his head. "He's, uh, sort of been keeping lookout for me."

"Lookout for what?" Valerie asked.

"Well, Dash hasn't been on my case as much," Danny replied. "So I guess Wes has been keeping him off my back."

"Really?" Valerie gasped, feigning surprise. "How's he managed that? Isn't Dash super buff? And Wes, uh, not that?"

Danny shrugged. "Hey, I'm not asking questions. Dash has been leaving me alone, so I'm happy."

"...So you have no idea how he's doing it," Valerie pressed.

"Nope, and honestly, I don't really care. I don't have to worry about getting jumped every other day after school, so how he's pulling it off doesn't matter to me." Danny hummed. "Was that what you wanted to talk about? Wes spying on me? Because if that was all I wanna try to eat before my lunch wilts."

"No! That's...!" Valerie caught herself. She was hoping that Danny would reveal that he knew about Wes's powers; that would allow her to open a new line of questioning, like how he could possibly know such a thing.

But he hadn't, and that left Valerie no room to press. So she plastered a smile on her face that more resembled a grimace. "...That's all, yep."

Danny gave her a strange look, gauging her. Was he suspicious of her? Did he know what she was trying to get at? Or did he just think it was weird for her to approach him out of the blue after not talking to him for several months?

Valerie would never know, because just like that, the look was gone. "Great, so I'll see you around, Val."

Only a few people called Valerie "Val." Not all of them were human.

She didn't say so, though. "Yeah, I'll see you, Danny."

Danny went on his merry way, evidently satisfied with their brief conversation. But Valerie stayed where she was.

She hated this. She hated the mystery, the deceit, the simply not knowing if she was even going to find what she was looking for. But more than that, she hated that she couldn't just ask. She broke ties with Danny a long time ago; they weren't as close as they used to be. If they were, she probably could just ask and he would have been honest with her. But they weren't, so a direct line of questioning would only be met with suspicion. And if what she feared was true, then maybe even hostility.

Valerie couldn't take a direct approach, and she hated it.

So, it seemed, it was time to take a page out of Wes's book.

({O})

Valerie waited until the last class of the day. It was one of the only classes she and Danny shared. Luckily for her, Danny was notorious for having a weak bladder (or, as some were jokingly beginning to suspect, a prophetic one). Valerie had her own suspicions.

She'd caught a few blob ghosts in the library that morning, well before anyone arrived on campus. They weren't causing any harm, as far as she'd observed, but a ghost was still a ghost. People would panic if they saw even a drop of sentient ectoplasm, so Valerie had caught them on principle. All to keep the peace.

But shortly before class, she'd released them in an empty classroom a couple rooms down. They would be out of the way and not do any damage, but if her theory was correct, Danny would need the restroom any second. Either he would run away from them, or towards them.

A simple plan, yet likely an effective one.

Sure enough, Danny looked antsy from the moment he entered the classroom. One could easily think what he was doing was a potty dance at his desk, if they weren't particularly observant. But if one looked closer, one might notice that he frequently glanced towards the door. A real ticking tinkling time bomb would be watching the clock, judging the appropriate time to excuse himself.

Then why not just leave? If Danny was that on-edge, then surely he would ask to go right away. Did he know there was no real threat? Was he going to try a sneakier approach? Or did he really have to use the restroom after all?

Valerie groaned, nails bunching up her curls as her face landed firmly on her desk. It looked like her plan was going to be a total bust. Again.

But then, ten minutes later, Danny seemed to make up his mind. His hand shot up in the air, and he didn't even have to pose his question before Mr. Falluca sighed.

"You may go, Mr. Fenton. But please do try to finish before class ends."

"Don't worry, I'll be quick," Danny blurted, already scrambling out of his seat.

Valerie waited until his heel disappeared from the doorway before she raised her own hand. "May I please be excused, teach?"

Mr. Falluca wordlessly jerked his head towards the door, seeing no reason to offer her a similar reprimand to his more bothersome student. Valerie stood, leaving her stuff by her chair as she left, faking an urgent scurry.

Once the door had latched behind her, she took long strides towards the presumably empty classroom. Although, if her hunch was correct, and she was certain it was, then it wasn't going to be empty when she got there.

She was right. Inside the classroom was none other than Danny Phantom, although he wasn't violently throttling the ghosts like Valerie had expected him to. Instead, he was sitting cross-legged, floating a good three feet up. The blob ghosts bobbed around him, treating him like some sort of ghostly play structure. One bumped up against his cheek, while another seemed content in his lap. The third was entertaining itself by drifting towards his hand, taking apparent delight as it was gently nudged away.

Huh, would you look at that? Phantom wasn't purely a killing machine, it seemed. Although, if that really was Danny, then Valerie figured he must not be.

If that was Danny. She still couldn't be sure.

Abruptly, Phantom stood, the blob ghosts being gently jostled as he rose. "Alright, I better round you guys up before someone stumbles in and sees you. I'll return you guys to the Zone after school, okay?"

Naturally, the little ghosts didn't seem to understand him, but they didn't appear to mind as they were sucked into the thermos, swirling aimlessly before disappearing beneath the cap.

And then, he did something Valerie had only seen happen twice before. Or, maybe once; she wasn't sure Wes counted. A glowing ring flickered into existence just above his hips, which then split into two, one passing up his torso and the other down his legs. Before her eyes, black and white spandex became cotton and denim, and in the blink of an eye, there stood Danny Fenton.

Valerie couldn't move. She could barely think. It was one thing to suspect something, and another to believe it. But to have it blatantly spelled out in front of her, with no room for denial, was something else entirely.

The door swung out before her as Danny opened it, preparing his exit. But when he ran into Valerie's blank stare, he faltered, his foot frozen mid-step.

"...Oh, uh. Hey Valerie," he chuckled weakly. "You, uh, been standing there a while?"

"...IT WAS YOU!" Valerie shrieked, shoving him back into the classroom. The door swung shut behind both of them.

"Wait, hold on," Danny stammered, "I can explain–"

"This whole time it was you! You were Danny Phantom!" Valerie could still hardly believe it. She advanced, not paying attention as Danny stumbled backwards over a desk to avoid her. "You were hiding that from me, this entire time! And after everything you did, everything you owe to me, ooh, you are SO gonna–!"

She didn't finish her thought. Wraith rose up from the floor in front of her, barring her advance. She didn't stop to consider what he was doing there in the middle of class time. She was much too fixated on his stony red gaze, having to tilt her head up slightly to meet it.

"Back away," Wes growled.

"But he–"

"Back. Away."

And she did. It didn't matter that she knew Wes was just exerting his ghostly presence. It didn't matter that, technically, they were still friends. She still found herself shaken, startled out of her growing frenzy by his menacing demeanor. Ghost hunter or not, she didn't want to tangle with... all that.

"...I was going to tell you," Danny said. "Probably not soon, but someday. I just didn't know how."

"Well why not?" Valerie demanded. She ignored Wes's glare as she paced left so that he wasn't directly between them. "You ruined my life, and you didn't think that maybe you should own up to it? No, instead you hid behind your stupid human disguise and played nice like nothing was wrong! How is that fair?!"

"It... It isn't," Danny admitted. "I know I should have told you. But what would you want me to say? That I was secretly your most hated enemy? That I was the ghost you wanted to rip limb from limb? I didn't wanna get shot at!"

"I was already shooting at you!" Valerie cried. "And you... you...! Ugh, you let me date you! After everything you did, you strung me along and you STILL didn't say a word! Of all the conniving–!"

"Don't even think about it," Wes barked. Valerie hadn't realized she had charged until he was shoving her back.

"Wes, leave her alone," Danny griped. "I'll be fine, let her vent." Wes didn't seem happy about it, but he relented, taking a step back.

"Vent?" Valerie scoffed. "Oh I think we're well past venting!"

"Then can I at least explain?" Danny asked. "...Please?"

Valerie crossed her arms. "Depends on if you think words'll do you any good."

He didn't think they would. But he at least had to try. Danny sighed.

"...First of all, I'm sorry. About everything that happened. Even if it wasn't my fault, I should have been able to prevent it, but I wasn't. I take full responsibility for that."

"Uh, you better!" Valerie hissed. "After you sicced your stupid ghost dog on us and made it wreck all our stuff!"

"That wasn't what happened!" Danny huffed. "And I already told you, Cujo isn't my dog!"

"See, you even named it!" Valerie shouted, throwing her hands up.

"Well I had to call him something!" Danny rebuked.

"Okay, this is like the second time the ghost dog has come up," Wes cut in. "This is the big green dog from the gym, right? If it wasn't your dog, then whose was it?"

"Nobody's!" Danny scowled. "At least, not anymore. His collar had the Axion logo on it."

Valerie blinked. "Axion? But that doesn't even make sense. What would a ghost mutt be doing with a...?" But she didn't have to finish her thought. She trailed off, mouth hanging open in her moment of realization.

Danny smiled, but it was a little too tight. "He was one of the old guard dogs. Or, at least, his parents were. He was just a puppy."

"...Oh." Well, Valerie felt a little stupid now. She even remembered seeing the atomic emblem on the dog's collar, but she had been so caught up in her life falling apart, she hadn't thought anything of it. "...Well. That still doesn't explain why you made it destroy my life!"

"I was trying to stop him," Danny groaned in exasperation. "He was upending everything because he was looking for his toy, and since your dad worked there before, maybe he thought you might have it. He stopped once I gave it to him, remember?"

Valerie hummed, displeased. "...I guess so..."

Still, she wasn't entirely content. Just because she now knew the reason the ghost dog had been after her, and why it had ruined everything her family had, that didn't undo the damage it had done. That would take her dad getting his old job back, and that wasn't likely to happen any time soon.

It also didn't explain why Danny, in his ghost form, had been so antagonistic towards her. "...But you still tried to kill me!"

"I what?!" Danny cried.

"You what?!" shouted Wes.

"I saw you! You tore my suit's limbs off and then blew it up! That could have been me!"

"But it wasn't, and I knew it wasn't!" Danny countered. "I knew Technus had hijacked your suit without you in it, but I couldn't let him control it, so I had to destroy it. I would have never done that if I had any reason to think you were in there. Besides, last I checked, human limbs don't spit sparks."

Valerie crossed her arms, still fuming. She wasn't sure she believed it. How could Danny have known she wasn't wearing the suit? He hadn't even been around to see her when she'd been talking to his friends.

Unless he'd seen her going after the suit herself. Duh.

"Oh," was all she said.

"Anything else you wanted to check off on your list of grievances?" Danny asked. And funny enough, that familiar snark was what got Valerie to finally relax a little.

Who was she kidding? This was Danny Fenton they were talking about. Maybe she still had a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that he was the ghost that she'd been hunting down for the past year, but, well, she was going to have to get used to it. He'd still been her friend once, and she didn't think he'd entirely faked it, even if they were also arch-nemeses.

Besides, the knowledge that they were the same person painted many past interactions in a different light. Times where Valerie shot first and asked questions never. The longer she thought about it, the more she realized just how many times she must have misinterpreted his intentions. So many misunderstandings, and not nearly enough time in the day to pore over them all.

It seemed her reflection period had longer still to go.

"...That's it. For now," she settled with, leveling him with a cool glare.

"So is my secret safe?" Danny dared, his expression way more hopeful than it had any right to be.

Valerie rolled her eyes. "I won't tell anyone. You've kept my secret this long, doing the same for you is the least I can do."

"Does that mean you won't be hunting me anymore?" Danny asked. And Elsewhere above, did his smile have to be so cute? Who gave him the right to look like that?

Valerie raised a brow. "Haven't decided yet." She didn't think so; even though she was technically still on hiatus, it wouldn't do to drop appearances until Vlad had been properly dealt with.

And maybe she would feel better after landing a clean shot or two, after all the grief he'd put her through. Sue her.

"Uh, great, so can I go now?" asked Wes. Valerie had honestly forgotten he was there. "Because I'm sort of skipping class making sure you guys don't try to kill each other. Are we good on that front?"

Danny snorted. "We're gonna be fine, Wes. Go to class."

Wes didn't need to be told twice. Before anyone could blink, he faded out of view.

"...Maybe he shouldn't have left so soon," commented Valerie. "I've still got half a mind to shoot you down."

"Oh come on," Danny whined. "How long is it gonna be like this?"

"Until I decide I wanna forgive you," said Valerie. She couldn't resist needling him, just a little. Even if it was sort of true.

Danny huffed. Maybe he saw the humor in her words, slim as it was, because he didn't argue further. "So do we have a truce?"

Did he even listen? Valerie just told him she still wanted to shoot him. She said it more than once!

But, even so, she knew what he was getting at. Grudge or not, maybe Valerie didn't want to reduce him to atoms anymore. She hadn't made up her mind yet. Still, even if she did want to, the day for that wasn't today.

Valerie offered her hand, lip curling in the faintest of smirks when Danny enthusiastically accepted it.

"Truce."

And thus concludes the first chapter where Wes ISN'T the focal point lmao

Look. Valerie is great y'all. I know she's been in a grand total of two chapters so far, but she got shafted in canon and even though this is squarely a Wes fic, I want her to have SOME sort of closure. And maybe a proper supporting role if I can manage it.

Next chapter should be a break from these heavier and more serious chapters. I think it's about time we all had some rest. :3