Opening A/N: Another day, another chapter! The plot is slowly progressing. I'm getting a more and more clear vision of what I want this fic to be with every chapter. I have had more fun writing this fic over the past four days than I've had in a while. This story seems to be taking on a life of its own. I may be the one putting words to paper, so to speak, but this fic keeps playing itself out in my head. I'm hoping that the longer I continue writing this fic, the more my writing skills will improve.
Chapter Synopsis - Danny and Ember sit down to discuss the plans regarding her concert. And where does Sam fit into all of this? Will she cause any problems for our beloved ghostly duo? Will it result in a fight? Read to find out!
"Two quotation marks means speech or emphasis on a word."
'One quotation mark means thought.'
Italics mean heavy emphasis on a word or written/digital text.
Chapter VI: A Thing Of The Past
As he stands in line, he can see the curious, but not entirely fearful, looks that Ember is attracting. He figures that the fact he isn't actively trying to fight with her is a contributing factor. Pulling his wallet from his pocket he orders, and pays for, their meal. He stands off to the side, awaiting the order.
"Danny?" A voice calls from behind him. His body tenses and for the second time that day, his blood runs cold. He turns and comes face to face with the last person he wanted to see.
"Sam?" He asks, his voice barely audible.
Since the last time he had seen her, Sam's once shoulder-length hair had grown down to the middle of her shoulder blades. She had ditched the cutoff short sleeved shirt for a regular t-shirt. Her skirt had been replaced as well, now in its place was a pair of black jeans with the knees torn. The only things she kept were her black boots, choker and ponytail.
"What- What brings you here?" Danny asks awkwardly.
"I'm meeting with some friends, we're going to a "clean Earth" rally later and they wanted to grab some food first." She explains. "What about you, what brings you to the Nasty Burger?"
'Evidently she hasn't noticed Ember yet, or I'm sure that's the first thing she would've mentioned.'
"I'm here with a friend as well. We're planning an event for a few weeks from now." He says.
"Oh? What kind of event?" She asks.
"Order 127!" The cashier announces.
'Thank you sweet greasy fast food gods!'
"I would love to stay and chat, but that's my order. I'll see you around." Danny says, taking the first chance he can to grab the meal and escape.
He can feel Sam's eyes on his back the entire time he's walking to a window booth where Ember is sat, her guitar propped against the seat next to her, a hand propping her head up as she gazes at the outside world. The sun illuminates her pale skin and shimmering blue hair with a gentle glow.
He stops dead in his tracks upon laying eyes on the ghost girl. He had never really thought about it before, but looking at Ember now, with a carefree expression on her face and the sun shining on her, Danny can't help but notice just how beautiful she is.
"One cheeseburger, fries, and a vanilla shake for you, and a double bacon burger, fries, and lemon lime soda for me." He announces as shakes himself out of his trance and places the tray on the table, taking a seat across from her.
She looks at him as he takes a seat. "Felt like you were gone forever." Ember says, grabbing her food from the tray.
"I was only gone for like, seven minutes." He deadpans.
"It doesn't matter. Seven minutes, twenty minutes, to-may-to, to-mah-to. I was still bored." She complains, waving her hand.
"Now I see why you used to come make things exciting here in Amity." Danny says with a chuckle.
"You're finally getting it!" Ember says sarcastically.
"I'm getting the impression that you have some serious ADHD." He jokes. "You know, one thing I've never asked, do you guys even get hungry? I know you can eat, but do you actually feel hunger?"
She pauses, a french fry halfway to her mouth. "It's kind of hard to explain, the feeling of hunger is there, but it just feels extremely dull I guess? Like, I can just ignore it and it'll fade away after a while."
Danny nods in response. "Yeah that makes sense, since your body doesn't need food to function, it must have gotten used to not feeling hunger. Still, that had to have been difficult to adjust to."
"Among other things." Ember mutters. "You don't have to deal with any of this stuff in your ghost form?"
"Not really? I guess because I'm still technically alive, I still feel hungry, tired, all of that. I mean, I don't have to sleep anywhere near as much as I used to, but I still feel like I have to." He explains.
"Huh, weird. I'm actually kind of jealous over that." She says, taking a drink from her shake. "So, what did your goth girl want? She jealous that you're spending time with little ole' me?"
Danny nearly chokes on his soda. Ember snorts in amusement as he struggles to regain his breath. "I didn't think you saw us talking. And no, I don't even think she knows I'm here with a girl, let alone you. I just told her that I was here with a friend."
Ember's eyes light up mischievously. "Oooh, scandalous~"
Danny's eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. "Wait, you think me and her are still toge- No, we broke up years ago, the day you attacked with your modified love spell. She and I are a thing of the past."
Her smile disappears and he can see her visibly flinch at that, the remorse clear on her face. "I'm sor-"
"Don't." He interrupts her apology. "Honestly? In a way, you did me a favor. Because of your spell, she admitted some things that just really didn't sit right with me. Even without your interference, the breakup could've happened years later or the same day like it did, but my relationship with her would've never worked long-term."
She only stares at him in response. Danny awkwardly takes another drink from his soda awkwardly. "Danny, you know you are probably the only person I've ever met that would ever thank me and consider their relationship splitting a good thing."
He shrugs in response. "What can I say? I'm not exactly normal."
"You can say that again. So, what exactly did she say? It had to be pretty bad for you two to break up over it." Ember presses.
Danny feels his jaw clench. Out of frustration or sadness, he doesn't know. He debates on whether or not he should answer the girl across from him. On one hand, he hopes by telling her that it will build more trust between the two. Yet the topic is still a sore one for him.
'I was always told that it was better to talk about things instead of bottling them up.'
She opens her mouth to speak again, likely to tell him that he doesn't have to answer. The same thing he told her yesterday. "Because of the effects of your attack, she was pretty much forced to tell me the truth, right? Well, Sam basically ended up admitting that she was only in love with Danny Phantom, not Danny Fenton. I believe her words were something along the lines of "your powers are the best part of you, and that's what I fell in love with"."
"That's… incredibly shallow." Ember says, a frown on her face. "Plus, it doesn't really make any sense."
"What do you mean?" Danny asks.
"Well," She starts, pausing to take a bite of her burger. "Danny Phantom, Danny Fenton, what's the difference? They're the same person, they're both you. So I don't see how she could fall for one and not the other, the only difference between the two is the wardrobe and cosmetic changes, right?"
He doesn't know how to react to that answer. Leaning back against the booth, Danny's gaze goes vacant.. 'Ironic that my enemy-turned-friend can see that fact, but my ex-best friend/ex-girlfriend couldn't.'
"Everything alright, babypop?" Ember asks, shaking him out of his thoughts. "Do I have something on my face?"
"What? Sorry no, just realizing how ironic it is that you could piece that together, but she couldn't. It's a lot like what I said to her, too, that if she couldn't love both sides of me then it would never work between us." Danny answers. "Anyway, let's forget about that and talk about what we came here for."
"Thank god, I'm not cut out to be a counselor." She says with a relieved sigh. "So, what were you thinking? Do you have any ideas on where you think we can hold the performance?"
Danny smiles. "As a matter of fact, I do. I think the most likely location will be the park. It's a pretty big place, so there's plenty of space for a stage, speakers, a pretty good sized area for a crowd, and whatever else we might need."
"Have you talked to the Geek about getting it approved yet?" She asks.
"Not yet, but I'm sure he'll agree. I texted him earlier and let him know that I needed to talk to him about planning the concert, but I didn't go into specifics." Danny explains.
"Texted him?" She asks, confused.
'Oh right, I never thought to ask when she died. I didn't consider that she might not know about text messaging. Then again is it rude to ask a ghost when they died? Probably.'
He pulls out the smartphone and presents it to Ember, showing her how it works and what it can be used for.
"What? So, you can listen to whatever kind of music you want to on this thing, it's a camera, and it fits in your pocket?! Where was this back when I was still kicking? I would've killed for one of these!" She pouts.
"Funny enough this one has been upgraded so it can still do all of that stuff, even in the Ghost Zone." Danny adds.
"It can do what now? How does that work? I thought you said it needs a signal for certain features to work." Ember says.
"I don't know how exactly, but yeah, it still gets a signal even in the GZ. If you want to know the specifics, you'll have to ask Tucker." He says.
Her face scrunches up. "Uh yeah, no thank you. I don't think I would understand all the geek mumbo-jumbo anyway. But that's awesome!"
"Do you want one?" Danny asks her.
"Want one, what?" Ember says, not quite understanding what he meant.
"A Fenton Smartphone, do you want one?" He repeats.
"Do you and your folks put the word "Fenton" in front of every gadget they make?" She asks "Why would you want to give me one, aren't they super expensive?"
"The whole "Fenton" label is their idea. Why wouldn't I want to give you one? Like I said earlier, I consider you a friend. Besides, it'll make things a lot easier whenever we need to meet up. Instead of me going all the way to your realm, or you coming and searching for me all across Amity Park, we could just use text messages to communicate and set up times and places to meet." Danny explains "And cost is no issue, I've made more money off of Danny Phantom merchandise than I know what to do with."
"Well in that case, yeah, I would love one. Thanks, babypop." She says, a dusting of pink across her cheeks.
"Anytime, Ember." Danny says, noticing the light blush on her face. He feels his heart skip a beat as his earlier thoughts of her beauty are reinforced by the slight color in her cheeks. "Next item on the list, were you thinking of any specific songs for the concert? I know you're most likely going to play some rock and roll, and maybe some pop."
"Other than "Remember"? Not yet, but the song list will probably have a few covers on it. As for the rest, I'll have to start thinking up some new material when I get back to my realm." She replies.
"So this is the friend you were talking about? What exactly have you been up to? You're planning a concert for Ember McLain? Danny, are you out of your mind?! You know she's just going to use it as an opportunity to use her old tricks again!" A new voice cuts into their conversation.
Danny and Ember look to see Sam standing at the end of their table, an angry look on her face, arms crossed and one of her feet rhythmically tapping the floor.
Danny lets out a sigh. "Sam, you have no idea what you're talking about and I'm really not in the mood to argue with you, and eavesdropping is rude, you know."
"You know nothing about me, or what I want! Besides, I haven't been able to beat Phantom here in a single fight the entire four years he's had his abilities. What makes you think I want to try again now?" Ember snarls.
"Oh shut it, ghost." Sam replies, acidly. "Everyone knows that ghosts like you are nothing but trouble. You specifically? The only thing you're good at is manipulating people. Especially when it comes to your so-called "music. All you care about is getting people to chant your name."
Ember's eyes narrow, flickering between red and her usual green. She reaches for the guitar next to her but a hand grasps her wrist before she can grab it. "Ember, don't." Danny warns, leaning over the table as his eyes stare into hers.
"Whatever." She growls, crossing her arms and glaring at the table.
"Sam, this is happening whether you like it or not. Things have changed between Ember and I, and she's right. You don't know anything about her, or why she's doing this. The way I see it? It's none of your business either." He says, releasing Ember's wrist and stares at Sam defiantly. "I know you don't trust ghosts, and I honestly don't care anymore. But like she said, Ember has never been able to beat me, so if you don't trust her, you should at least trust me."
"Since when do you know anything about Ember McLain?" Sam spits, her words venomous.
"Again, I don't see how it's any of your business, but yesterday we came to an agreement, if you must know." Danny says, an edge to his voice. "Either way, she and I fighting? It's a thing of the past."
'I'm trying to be nice, but I'm really starting to lose my patience here.'
She opens her mouth again to speak but he cuts her off. "Sam, that's enough! This is one of the reasons I broke up with you!" He snaps. "You never listened to me when it comes to stuff like this. I've tried again and again to convince you, but when you think you're right you just won't listen to reason!"
He notices that their argument is starting to gain the attention of everyone else in the restaurant. "Listen, I have more important things to be doing aside from arguing with you in front of a bunch of strangers, so I'm leaving." Danny says, giving Sam one last glare and walking past her before turning to look back at Ember. "You coming, rockstar?"
"Right behind you, babypop." She says, grabbing her guitar and placing it on her back. She bumps Sam's shoulder roughly as she walks past her. "He broke up with you? That has to hurt, but your loss is my gain, goth girl." Ember boasts quietly, a mocking smile on her face.
Sam's eyes go wide at this and her mouth drops open, but Ember would never see her reaction. She and Danny would be long gone before Sam Manson could regain her composure.
Ending A/N: Drama, how I love you so. I never come into these chapters with a structure or specific layout on how I want them to play out. All I have is a premise and an end goal. Whatever happens in between is pure magic that I pull straight from my brain.
Anyway, I hope you all have enjoyed another chapter of "I Just Want To Be Remembered". And YOU should remember that there's more to come! I don't see this fic ending anytime soon. If I had to estimate, I would say that it probably won't end before 75k words at the least. (Don't hold me to that, I'm just guessing here.)
Now, enough backing myself into a proverbial corner. I hope you all continue to enjoy my work, and I hope you have a wonderful day! -DraconicAnarkhy