A/N Happy holidays to everyone, so glad to be posting the next chapter of this story that I am having SO MUCH FUN WRITING! I was so thrilled with all the reviews I got on the last chapter, nine total. Just one shy of my hope of ten but it was still the most reviewed new chapter yet, so thank you so much for that. Let's see if we can add just one more to this one and get that magic number of ten reviews.
So a little update, since it is the holiday season and I have my regular job, my family, plus a laundry list of real life tasks I need to take care of, for the time being I will be posting one chapter per week, with Friday morning being the target time. A little down the line I might be able to go back to two a week, but for the time being this will be the norm. I hope everyone understands and still loves the story just as much, I don't want my busy schedule to force me to rush writing and have the story lose quality. Once again happy holidays, and without further ado please enjoy this newest chapter.
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November 14, 2004
Danny was currently sitting on the bench in the park reading during his Sunday afternoon. He'd been doing this for the last couple days in addition to listening to Ember's music nonstop. He actually wasn't even sure the last time he'd eaten during lunch period when at school. It was probably close to two weeks ago. Definitely not healthy, but with the food he would normally get at the Nasty Burger, missing a cheap school lunch actually might not be the worst thing.
Checking to make sure nobody was around to see him, Danny stood up to walk over to the large tree that sat a bit away from the park walking path. With one more look around he quickly made his whole right arm go intangible before reaching into the trunk. Grabbing what he was looking for, he pulled out what appeared to be a plain wooden board. Just a simple 2x4 that you could buy at any hardware store, but Danny had done something special to this one. Since he couldn't get a real guitar right now to try out, he got himself this board and drew on it with a sharpie to simulate the neck of a guitar. While reading his book he would use the board as a reference to simulate the notes and chords he was reading about. Over the last couple weeks, due to his complete infatuation with Ember and her music, he'd been reading this beginners guide book to guitar playing, and the more he read it the more he wanted to try actually playing a guitar.
"Okay, so according to the book the three most common chords used are G, C, and D," said Danny to himself as he sat down by the tree and looked at his board.
He'd read online that some of the most popular songs were actually played with just three simple chords, and the list of songs it provided were pretty shocking. Looking back and forth from his book to the board Danny positioned his fingers in the way the graph described. He tried moving them from one to the other in a slow rhythm to simulate playing a guitar. Since he was still just learning he had no idea if he was doing it right or not, but it felt nice anyway to be trying to learn this.
"G, C, D, G, C, D," Danny slowly repeated over and over while moving his fingers. As he practiced he kept trying to increase his speed little by little.
Danny was so focused on his practice that he didn't even notice that someone was walking towards him, and she had a worried look on her face once she saw what he was doing.
"Um, Danny, what are you doing?" asked Sam, confused why Danny was playing with a board. She couldn't see the drawing of a guitar neck on it since that part was facing Danny.
Danny was suddenly snapped out of his focus as he realized Sam was there, but it was too late to try to hide the board back in the tree.
"Oh, um, nothing much," said Danny trying to quickly think of an excuse. But he was caught off guard and didn't have anything. Also the book was right there and open on the ground in front of them.
"Are you...trying to learn how to play the guitar?" asked Sam glancing down at the book and peeking around to see the other side of the board, seeing the drawing on it.
"Well, a little," said Danny shrugging his shoulders and smiling, trying to look innocent. "I guess I thought it'd be a neat new hobby to try out, you know me."
Sam wasn't a fool, she knew Danny didn't just magically out of nowhere become interested in playing the guitar. Ever since their last fight with Ember, Danny had been completely different than usual. He was less attentive, he wasn't hanging out with her and Tucker as much, and whenever he did he didn't really say much, unless they were talking about music. He was also always off somewhere during lunch listening to music, and Sam was pretty sure she knew which artist it was. She was still concerned that Danny could be under some kind of spell placed by Ember in the cemetery. Danny may have claimed it wore off after he was sucked into the thermos, but the evidence did not support that. It just felt like there were way too many coincidences going on. Danny suddenly being interested in learning the guitar was not the most calming thing for Sam. What if Ember wanted him to learn so he could help her with her music based powers without even realizing it?
"Danny, I'm a little worried about you," said Sam trying to look serious. "Lately you've felt very absent from everything. I feel like Tucker and I have barely really hung out together with you. Whenever we do, you seem completely distracted."
Sam really did miss her usual hang outs with Danny, though their usual ghost catching tasks were still pretty much the same. But lately that just didn't seem like enough. The more time went by where Danny wasn't hanging out with her and Tucker, the more sad she was feeling that he wasn't around. It's not like she didn't know that she had always had feelings for him that could be more than just friendship, but over the last month she felt those feelings growing due to the lack of time together. Also, privately, she never really let go of the part of her that enjoyed the attention and affection Danny had showed her when he was under the love spell.
"What, that's crazy Sam, we still see each other every day," said Danny obviously.
"Well, yeah, we're at school together every day and we still catch ghosts together, but what about all the times where we just hang out together as friends?" said Sam crossing her arms with a bit of a sad face.
Danny looked at her eyes and was a little surprised to see that they looked upset. He tried to think of the last time they had actually done anything fun together, but everything that came to mind was something where his mind was elsewhere, namely on Ember. Had he really been neglecting his best friends lately? He was about to say yesterday at the water park before he remembered that he'd kind of just taken off after the fight with Johnny and his shadow.
"Wow, um, I'm sorry Sam, I didn't really realize that I'd been so scatterbrained lately," said Danny standing up and putting the board down. Maybe he should try to take one night off from his thoughts about Ember.
After all he was still processing what he learned yesterday after talking to Kitty. The possibility that Ember could have feelings for him too had kept him awake most of the night with a big smile on his face. When he finally did fall asleep his dreams were filled with happy images of him and Ember. But if all these thoughts were making his friends feel neglected, he should probably try to fix that.
"Ok, how about this, let's you, me, and Tucker go see a movie tonight. Haven't you been wanting to see that movie Saw that came out a couple weeks ago?" asked Danny. "We'll get the biggest popcorn and soda and watch whatever it is that has everyone raving about that move."
Sam still looked concerned for Danny, her suspicions on Ember not exactly eased, but she was happy to know that he wanted to hang out for real tonight.
"Okay, that sounds great, I'll let Tucker know to meet us at the theater around 6," said Sam putting her hand on Danny's shoulder before walking away with a smile. Whether or not her suspicions were right she still didn't know, but she did feel excited to spend a fun night at the movies with Danny. Even better, it'll be a movie full of blood.
As she walked away she actually felt a little spring in her step that she didn't often have, so unlike her. But after about a month of barely seeing her best friend she felt different about this time. It's almost as if she wanted this to be more than just the three of them hanging out together. Actually, was she even so sure that she wanted Tucker to be there? Spending a little time alone with Danny actually did sound...nice. Pulling her cell phone out, she stopped short of hitting dial after bringing up Tucker's number. She stared at the phone for about a full minute, trying to decide what to do, her thumb just hovering over the send button. With her teeth clenched together, Sam ended up flipping the phone shut without calling him, putting it back in her pocket and continuing to walk out of the park.
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Ember was floating through the ghost zone in a complete daze. She wasn't even looking at anything in particular as she moved, she just floated in a straight line towards nothing. She even bumped into a few realm doors in her path but didn't even stop moving. She was in a complete state of bliss right now and it didn't seem like anything could snap her out of it. She'd just spent all of last night talking with Kitty about how she really felt about Danny. Somehow Kitty had deduced that she had the hots for the dipstick, and wanted to know all about it. So Ember had caved and ended up telling her all about what had happened in Skery City a month ago. In addition to that, Kitty had plenty of information to tell Ember about her recent trip to Amity Park where she saw and talked to Danny herself. Finding out that Kitty had done this stunned Ember like crazy. She felt so jealous at first that Kitty had talked to Danny, nervous when she found out it was about her, and ecstatic when she found out that Danny had turned down a really beautiful girl's advances because he wanted to be with her.
After spending the previous night barely able to sleep she was now floating aimlessly, still letting the feelings of bliss wash all over her. Her new hair accessory was also making her smile. She'd taken the purple rose that Danny had left for her and put it behind her ear. It was the sweetest gift she'd ever gotten and she wanted it with her at all times. She'd actually spent several minutes looking at herself in the mirror with the rose before leaving. She wasn't even going anywhere specific, she was just floating and absorbed in her thoughts of Danny.
It was actually a huge relief that she had been able to open up to Kitty about her feelings for Danny. She had been so eager to get them off her chest for a month now, but was worried what anyone would think. But now that she had she felt so much better, and even more so because Kitty was so supportive and had actually been able to help. It had been one of the best conversations she'd ever had with anyone before.
"Danny wants to be with me, this is the most incredible feeling I've ever had in my entire existence," Ember whispered to herself while gently running her fingers along the rose behind her ear.
She knew that unfortunately this rose would not last forever, but she wanted to treasure it for every second until it started to wither. Her possible relationship with Danny however, she wanted that to start as soon as possible, and last infinitely.
"No more floating around trying to figure things out, I need to see him, tonight," Ember declared to herself. She'd spent the last month trying to see him and not being able to go through with it. No more, that ended tonight. She didn't know how it would go, but one way or another, she was going to see him tonight.
There was however one thing still holding her back just slightly, and it was quite annoying. The fear of not knowing how it would go.
"How do I approach him and what do I say?" Ember rambled to herself. "Is this something that can become serious or is it just a passing crush? I've never had a boyfriend before and for all I know, if we went on a date it could be a complete disaster. Could it even work with who he is and who I am?"
Ember had been randomly floating around the ghost zone for a while and as a result hadn't even realized who's realm she had ended up right in front of. Right at that moment the door a bit ahead of her opened and a female ghost emerged from it. Ember looked up as she heard the door open and was surprised to see her, realizing now how far she had allowed herself to drift away.
But right then and there, Ember had an idea that could ease all of her concerns. Speeding forward she called out to the ghost, hoping she could help her.
"Desiree, hey Desiree," called Ember waving her hand wildly as she sped towards the ghost genie. Hearing her name being called Desiree looked over and smiled.
"Ahhhhh, young miss Ember, to what do I owe this pleasure?" said Desiree in her usual dreamy voice. "Do you possibly have a wish you would like to make?" Assuming someone wanted to make a wish was often her first thought, being who she was.
Ember carefully thought about how she should word this without giving away anything she didn't want to get out.
"Um, yes, I would actually, but I'm not sure how to phrase this particular wish," said Ember scratching her head, rubbing her fingers along the rose again. Desiree noticed and smiled excitedly.
"Oh now, I see you have a pretty flower with you, is it possibly related to love?" asked Desiree, knowing a thing or two about love, seeing as she had been in love very deeply before she became a ghost.
"Oh, well yes actually, it is related to that," said Ember not realizing she had been touching the rose. "I want to go talk to the one that I've been developing strong feelings for, but I'm worried about it not working out."
"My child, the possibility of love can always seem very intimidating at first, but it is never something that you should avoid," said Desiree waving her arms dramatically.
Ember again thought very carefully about how she should phrase this. She'd have to be very careful not to actually mention Danny's name.
"I wish...I wish...to know if I could have a real future with the one I want to be with," said Ember looking into Desiree's eyes, being very vague but still specific enough that she should be able to get her answers.
"So you have wished it, so shall it be granted," said Desiree spreading her arms wide.
Suddenly a big mist started to appear from Desiree's hands and move itself towards Ember. It enveloped her whole body and made her close her eyes. Once they were closed Ember started seeing images. And they were...AMAZING.
"Hey Ember, I can't wait to see you, what time should I pick you up?"
"I can't believe it's already our one year anniversary, this has been the best year of my life."
"You've never looked more beautiful than you do right now."
"Ember, I never thought I could love someone as much as I love you."
Danny was wrapping his arms around Ember's waist, leaning in for a deep kiss.
The cloud faded into thin air as Ember's eyes shot back open, unable to keep her face from smiling at what she had just seen. She looked back at Desiree and spoke.
"Were those images of the future?" asked Ember hopefully.
"Not necessarily my child," said Desiree shaking her head. "I don't know what you saw as I'm not Clockwork, but the future always has infinite possibilities. What you saw were merely some of those possibilities. The actions you choose to take will be what decides what actually happens."
So Ember didn't get the straight answer she had hoped for, but what she had seen was enough. Knowing that the possibility of a true future with Danny could happen had put her over the top. Without another word Ember secured her guitar and shot off as fast as she could in the direction of the ghost portal that led to the human world.
"You're welcome," called Desiree looking offended.
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Danny was walking along the sidewalk with a grin on his face. He really was happy that he'd be spending a night trying to distract himself from obsessing over Ember and get back to just hanging out with his two best friends. After all he really shouldn't be so neglectful of the two people he cared so much about and were always there for him. Seeing Sam outside the theater he waved and walked up to her.
"Hey Sam, Tucker not here yet?" asked Danny looking around but not seeing him anywhere. He looked down at his watch and saw that it was still 5:50, so still a little time. Sam however was trying to keep a straight face.
"Oh um, actually Tucker wasn't able to make it, something about reprogramming his PDA," said Sam shrugging her shoulders and smiling lightly. "So if it's ok with you it'll just be the two of us." Sam was trying to keep the hopeful look off her face, thankfully Danny didn't seem to notice.
"Oh, well then, um, should we get tickets then?" asked Danny. He felt a little confused that Tucker wouldn't be here after everything Sam had said earlier about he and Sam feeling a bit neglected earlier. But then again he really did love his PDA, maybe a little too much honestly.
So Sam and Danny got in line for tickets, Sam trying not to feel nervous. To any passerby it would look like they were on a date. In fact a lot of people at school often assumed they were lovebirds, so seeing them like this together wasn't exactly something they wouldn't expect. After a few minutes they got to the front.
"Hey, two for Saw please," said Danny putting up two fingers. The ticket keeper however looked at them with a sorry expression.
"Oh, sorry, but that showing is actually sold out and it was the last one for the night," he said apologetically.
"What, ah crud, well that sucks. Um, what other movies are playing tonight?" asked Danny looking behind the clerk at the movie times.
"Well, if you and your girlfriend are wanting to see something romantic, The Notebook has come back for one weekend only by popular demand," said the clerk pointing to the special sign off to the side. It showed a big cutout of Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams embracing in a passionate kiss in the rain from the movie poster.
Danny quickly put his hands up at the mention that Sam was his girlfriend, not wanting to give off that impression.
"Oh, um, she's not my girlfriend, we're just friends," said Danny a little quickly. "And um, that kind of movie isn't really her thing."
What Sam said next however almost made Danny lose his balance.
"I'm okay seeing The Notebook actually," said Sam smiling slightly. Danny's head snapped to her direction so fast it almost spun right off his head.
"What, are you serious? I thought you would rather stab your eyes out than see a movie like that?" said Danny in complete disbelief.
"Normally I would yeah, but I kinda have been wanting to branch out a little bit more, have a bit more of an open mind to things I wouldn't have liked before," said Sam. This felt ironic considering how she felt about all Danny's new interests lately. She was trying to tell herself that she really did feel that way, and not because she wanted to see if Danny could possibly still feel the way he did when he was under the love spell. A romantic movie like The Notebook would certainly be a good way to test that.
"So, you're absolutely serious, you want to see The Notebook?" said Danny, still not sure he was hearing right.
"Yeah, it could be a fun experience to see something different, two please," said Sam asking for the tickets and even paying for them.
Danny's mouth was slightly hanging open the whole time they walked into the theater and to the right screening room. Once inside he looked around and felt really bizarre. The room was full of couples that were holding hands and leaning close to each other. He wasn't sure he really wanted to be in a setting like this, maybe if it was with Ember, but not Sam. In the past he would possibly have felt differently about this, but with his current feelings for Ember and after what happened with Sam from the love spell, he certainly was feeling awkward. Was she truly thinking clearly about this?
"Come on, there's two seats right there," said Sam pointing and walking towards them.
Danny hesitantly followed her and took his seat with Sam right beside him, feeling his toes curling up in his shoes from the awkward situation he somehow had landed in.
He looked in every direction of the theater, it didn't seem like anyone in here was single or someone with a friend. Every single seat that was occupied was a couple that were snuggled together. Sam and himself were the only exception.
After possibly the most awkward ten minutes of his life, the theater started to go dark and the trailers began playing, slightly helping Danny feel less weird as he watched, thankfully none of them were for another romantic movie. But that could only last for so long as eventually they had to end and the actual movie had to start.
As the movie started, Danny tried to separate his mind from how out of this world it felt to be here with Sam. Watching the elderly man reading the love story to the elderly woman in the nursing home wasn't really all that weird, but once it changed to the young couple in the past Danny was definitely feeling his face cringe. But after about ten minutes of seeing the young Noah and Allie, Danny's mind started to feel a bit more at ease. He was slowly drifting from the awkward thoughts of the situation and was just watching the young couple on screen. It seems this couple was only a few years older than he was, 17 according to the movie. Things really started to get interesting in Danny's mind when Noah and Allie were alone together in the street. They were just talking together and seemed to be enjoying each others company. Without even realizing it Danny's mind started to wander to his own feelings.
'I wonder if Ember would want to do anything like that? Where we just spend time alone together, talking, getting to know each other,' thought Danny in his head. As his thoughts were starting to drift, a small smile started to form on his face.
Sam meanwhile was trying not to feel nauseous from the sappy love story. This is something that under normal circumstances she wouldn't be caught dead watching, but she was making a big exception. When she saw the opportunity to test whether or not Danny could still feel the way he felt under the love spell it was too tempting to pass up. Sure it was ultra cheesy and sappy, but...it was romantic and it's not like she didn't believe in love. She chanced a glance over at Danny and noticed him smiling while watching Noah and Allie start to dance in the street, even though they didn't have any music.
'He's smiling, is he actually getting into it,' thought Sam slightly smiling herself, thinking her little scheme might be working.
Danny however was still absorbed in his own thoughts from watching, and Sam wasn't anywhere near the front of his mind.
'I kinda wish that was me and Ember dancing together,' Danny thought as his smile grew a little bigger.
Sam looked down at the arm rest and saw Danny's hand just sitting there, and she was going back and forth on her thoughts and temptations.
'Should I really try to hold his hand? Would he let me?' thought Sam as her own hand was fidgeting.
Danny meanwhile had gotten so absorbed in the romance on screen and picturing it as himself and Ember that he didn't even seem to remember that he was at the movies with Sam. And it seemed like Sam was ready to take a chance and put her cards on the table.
'Here goes nothing,' thought Sam gently inching her hand forward.
With her nerves going crazy throughout her whole body, Sam gently put her hand on top of Danny's, adjusting to hold it in her own. To her amazement Danny wasn't pulling his hand away, in fact he wasn't even looking at her. Feeling more confident that he wasn't pulling away Sam smiled and moved her hand into a better position so she was able to get a full grip. She and Danny were now actually holding hands.
'Wow, we're actually holding hands and he's not pulling away,' Sam was shrieking in her head.
Danny however barely even seemed to register that he was now holding hands with Sam, but he wasn't completely oblivious to the contact.
'Ember, it feels so nice to be able to hold your hand, I've been thinking about this and so much more for a month now,' thought Danny in a complete daze, still staring at the movie.
Sam was feeling completely elated and Danny was in a daydream. Both were in a state of complete happiness, but it just wasn't meant to last.
Right at that moment Danny's ghost sense went off. Since Sam was looking at his face she saw it and instantly felt a wave of dread.
'NO NO NO NO NO, PLEASE NOT NOW,' she was screaming in her mind.
Right on cue, through the ceiling of the theater a lion ghost fazed through the wall and starts roaring at the crowd. Danny and Sam's hands instantly separated, which Sam is furious about because she thought something was on the verge of happening. She was ready to tame this lion ghost herself for barging in. Danny meanwhile sprinted away from her and the crowd, no doubt looking for a place to transform.
Exiting the theater and ducking into the alley Danny transformed into Danny Phantom, not even aware that he had just been holding hands intimately with his best friend. Flying back into the theater he grabbed the lion ghost at full speed, dragging it back outside and into the open, up in the air.
"Ok Leo, I don't know who let you out of the zoo, but it's time to head back before you miss your dinner. These people here aren't the most appetizing," said Danny. As he was speaking the lion pounced at him, trying to bite his leg. 'WOW, and neither am I, I'm way too bony to taste good."
Dodging another lunge from the lion Danny rolled over the top of it, landing on it's back and gripping it by the mane.
"Woah Simba, why don't we press paws on this whole thing?" said Danny pulling out the thermos. "I'll even let you choose the mane course tonight." Laughing at his own puns, Danny put the thermos on top of the lion's head, sucking it inside and putting a quick end to this confrontation. He was getting better at quickly capturing these animal ghosts that only had animal level intelligence and instincts.
Sam may still be inside, but someone else also happened to be at the movies and had run out when the ghost showed up, hoping a certain dreamboat would show up.
"Yoo hoo, ghost boy, that was amazing," said Paulina running right at Danny with smitten eyes just like she had yesterday.
Danny landed on his feet with the lion now gone, looking over to see Paulina and let a small groan escape his mouth. He thought he made it clear yesterday that he was interested in someone else, but apparently this girl wasn't anywhere near as smart as she was beautiful.
"Oh wow, I knew you'd come to save us, and especially me," said Paulina running right up to Danny and reaching into her shirt, pulling a locket out that was around her neck.
Danny saw that it was a locket and wasn't so sure he wanted to see what was inside.
"Um, excuse me miss, but...what are you doing?" said Danny taking a step back.
"I bought this after you saved me yesterday, now I can have my hero with me everywhere I go," said Paulina showing Danny the picture of him inside, making Danny's teeth clench together. How had she gotten that done in just one day?
"Oh, well I'm...very flattered. But as I said yesterday I already have feelings for someone else," said Danny putting his hands up. Paulina looked pretty determined though to win him over.
"Ohhhhhh, but you said yourself that you think I'm beautiful, couldn't we just have dinner together? I know the perfect place to go, it'll be so romantic," said Paulina batting her eyes at Danny.
Danny really didn't want to stick around for this, in fact he wanted to put as much distance as possible between himself and all this. He was starting to remember the awkward feeling he felt before he started daydreaming about Ember in the movie theater.
"I'm sorry Paulina, but I actually have to get going, a superheroes work is never done," said Danny with a fake smile and flying off.
But he didn't actually fly off, after getting a little air he just maneuvered himself behind one of the stores and went intangible to fly inside it. Coincidentally it was the music store he first met and fought Ember at. Hiding behind a shelf of CDs he transformed back into Danny Fenton, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Phew, I know my mind got a little carried away, but I'm glad to be out of there. In a way I'm kinda glad that ghost showed up," said Danny to himself while walking out from his hiding spot. He was about to head to the exit before a wall full of guitars caught his eye. Too intrigued to leave now, Danny walked over and took in all the cool looking instruments that were shining so bright in the light. They were just begging to be picked up and shredded, by someone who knew how to play that is.
'Wow, these are so cool,' thought Danny, wondering if he'd be able to learn enough to get one at some point.
But as cool as these guitars looked and were begging to be played, Danny was yet to get the biggest surprise of his night.
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*Moments ago
Ember had been flying over the skyline of Amity Park every since she sped through the Fenton portal looking for Danny. Just her luck he again was not home so she had to go out looking for him blindly just like all the other times she came hoping to see him. It was late Sunday afternoon so it wasn't too surprising to see people out having fun before heading back home for school or work the next morning.
"Crud, once again I don't have a clue as to where I should look," said Ember glancing in every direction.
Suddenly though she heard loud screams coming from a handful of blocks away. It seemed some kind of commotion was happening, and in this city that usually meant one thing, ghosts. And wherever there were ghosts, one person was always there to stop them. Grinning big with her eyes narrowed, Ember took off straight for the noises. Moments later she saw Danny and a lion ghost wrestling together before it was sucked into his thermos.
Ember had to restrain herself from charging right at Danny and throwing her arms around him on the spot, and she was very tempted to do it. But what she ended up seeing after Danny caught the lion ghost had her skin almost vibrating off in anger. A beautiful Hispanic girl was skipping right towards Danny and looked like she was trying to flirt with him. Ember clenched her fists and now had to restrain herself from disfiguring this random girl's face. To her complete delight though Danny didn't seem interested and ended up flying away. Quickly taking off after him she saw him fly into the music store beneath them. Looking down Ember felt a crazy sense of fate. It was the exact same music store that she had first encountered him while giving away free tickets to her concert.
"Wow, this feels like it's being set up for us specifically," said Ember floating down and poking her head through the ceiling.
Seeing Danny looking at guitars, Ember got even more excited seeing Danny interested in something that she loves. The time had come for her to finally see him again and talk to him. All she had to do was somehow get his attention so he could meet her on the roof where they'd be alone to talk in private. Thinking for a few moments Ember got an idea. Making herself invisible she lowered herself slightly into the store, close enough so that Danny's ghost sense would go off. She actually smiled when she saw the mist come from his mouth.
"Oh come on, again? It hasn't even been 5 minutes?" said Danny looking around.
Ember stayed invisible but raised her hand to started charging a pink ecto ray, but didn't fire it. It had the exact result she hoped for as Danny noticed the glow and looked up.
'Yes, now I just need him to come to the roof,' Thought Ember as she kept her fist glowing and rose through the ceiling. Moving herself off to the side a bit she made herself visible again and waited.
Moments later Danny, transformed as Danny Phantom again, emerged through the floor and was looking around for whatever ghost was here. Seeing nothing he turned around and the moment he saw Ember he felt his entire body go into shock.
"EMBER! You, you're here?" said Danny in both surprise and sudden elation. He'd been eagerly wanting to see her again for so long, and now here she was.
Securing her guitar behind her back Ember landed and walked towards Danny.
"I couldn't take it anymore dipstick, I had to see you," said Ember rubbing her arm nervously, completely out of character for her. "I've...been wanting to see you again for quite some time actually."
Danny smiled hearing that Ember seemed to be going through the same feelings he had been for the last month.
"You've been wanting to see me? Well as I'm sure you know...I've really wanted to see you too," said Danny as they slowly got closer with each step.
"That letter you left me, and the rose, it was the sweetest thing anyone has ever given me," said Ember blushing a bit, touching the rose behind her ear. They were only about five feet away from each other now.
"I'm...so glad to hear that you liked it, I meant every word in it," said Danny also blushing, now noticing where the rose was and feeling so thrilled that she not only loved it, but actually has it with her. The rose only made Ember seem even more beautiful in Danny's eyes.
Ember was fighting every instinct in her body to throw her arms around Danny's neck and hug the life out of him. She did still want to at least attempt to keep her regular personality and not go all lovestruck girl on him.
"Danny, I'm just gonna come out with it," said Ember looking just a bit below his face as they stopped right in front of each other. "Ever since that night I haven't been able to stop myself from developing feelings for you. I don't know what all this means because I've never felt anything like it before, but...I really like you too. And I really want to see what all this could mean between us."
Danny was also fighting with his instincts to throw his arms around Ember, and hearing her words was not making it easier.
"I don't fully understand what these feelings are either because I've also never felt this way myself, but I do agree with you Ember," said Danny smiling. "I think there could be something special between us, and I'd love nothing more than to find out what it is."
As Danny finished talking he took a bold step. He reached out and took Ember's hand in his own. Ember looked down at their enclosed hands before looking into Danny's eyes, smiling again.
"So...does this mean what I think it means?" asked Ember hopefully.
"If you think it means that we just agreed to start dating, I think it does," said Danny taking her other hand. Both ghosts were burning in the face and enjoying the amazing feeling of touching each other. Neither of them had ever experienced this and it was overwhelming.
Ember couldn't help it anymore, she took both her hands out of Danny's and threw them around his neck, pressing herself tightly against his body. Danny wrapped his arms around Ember's waist and hugged her back. Both of them were flashing back to the cemetery where Danny had hugged her, that felt nice but this was infinitely better.
After hugging for several long moments their faces both looked into each other's eyes only inches apart. Normally a couple would wait until after they at least have their first date to do a certain something, but these two both had thoughts that had been brewing in their minds for over a month and was sending their feelings and hormones to the moon.
Without saying a word, both ghosts knew what the other was thinking, and that they both wanted this. Unable to wait another moment Danny and Ember both slowly leaned into each other as their lips met in a soft passionate kiss.
'AHHHHHHHH, I'M KISSING DANNY, I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS, IT'S INCREDIBLE,' thought Ember as she savored the most amazing feeling she's ever experienced. Her first kiss.
Danny was having very similar thoughts.
'I'M KISSING HER, I'M KISSING HER, I'M KISSING HER,' thought Danny over and over. If kissing felt this incredible he didn't ever want to stop.
Danny's arms were firmly wrapped around her waist, his hands resting on the small of her back and gently pulling her against his chest. One of his hands instinctively started rubbing up and down. Ember let out a light moan from Danny's hands, her own also acting on instinct as one gently cupped the back of his neck while the other slid into his hair, feeling how smooth it was while lightly scratching his scalp. Her feelings were soaring so high that her hair started to erupt like a wildfire, lighting the whole rooftop in a blue glow.
Neither of them knew how long they spent kissing, but eventually they did pull away and gazed longingly into each other's eyes again.
"Wow," they both said in perfect unison, completely oblivious to the world around them, wearing lovestruck grins on their faces.
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A/N Hello everyone, this is so exciting. Danny and Ember are finally together after a month of trying to figure out their feelings. I had to do a bit of research to remember what movies were playing in 2004 to make it feel authentic. As soon as I saw both Saw (October) and The Notebook (June) I thought "Jackpot, I know exactly how to spin this." I kept going back and forth on whether or not to have them kiss or hold off on it, but in the end I went with what I did because I felt after the month they'd spent waiting and wrestling with their feelings, neither of them would be able to resist. Pretty sure I wouldn't be able to, lol. Also it made a great stopping point. I wrote the rooftop scene about four different ways until I got it the way I wanted. I wanted to paint the clearest word picture I possibly could and make the kiss very passionate, I just hope all of you love it too. It's my biggest hope that everyone loved it as much as I loved writing it, and please remember to leave me a Christmas present with a REVIEW :)