Chapter 9: The Date

Danny walked with Nat after they got off the bus.

The two teens were quiet for a while, neither knowing what to say yet.

"So…" Danny started, but found himself unable to find something to say.

"Yes?" Nat asked.

Danny turned red.

"N-Never mind…" He went.

Nat knew that he was nervous. She was as well. Still, she tried to make small talk once they arrived at a local Italian place.

Once there, they were served water and began to wait for their orders.

"So...uh...good environment..." Danny said.

"Yeah...very reminiscent of Italy..." Nat said, wishing they had better small talk.

Danny did too, not sure what to say.

"Uh...I've never been there… yet..." He said.

"Me neither, wouldn't mind going..." Nat said, smiling to ease him.

"Yeah, I bet the pasta there is more delicious than what we're gonna eat..." Danny said, less nervous than before.

"Probably..." Nat said, smiling a bit and feeling more relaxed.

Danny took a breath.

"So far so good…" He said to himself.


Meanwhile

Danielle was watching TV, sighing bitterly as she was also sulking

"This isn't nearly as much fun without Danny…" She said, thinking back to that day she met Jazz and how things went after their meeting.

Flashback

Jazz just sat on the couch, her eyes wide and her jaw dropped as her brother explained everything to her.

"And that's how she got here…" Danny finished.

With Danielle's life story, which was just months, now finished, they waited for Jazz to react. Tension was thick as she didn't react.

"Uh… hello?" Danielle went, raising a hand and waving it in her face.

Jazz made no reaction, silent and still as a statue as Danielle felt it was a mistake.

"Jazz?" No answer, so Danny asked again. "Jazz? Jazz? Jasmine Fenton?"

"Danny…" She went.

"Uh...yeah?" He asked.

Suddenly, she got up and pulled him by the collar, lifting him off the ground.

"Why didn't you tell me that Vlad cloned you? Why didn't you tell me I have a little sister?!" She screeched in his face.

Both with the dark hair blinked at her sudden explosion, not sure how to properly respond to that.

"Technically, I call myself a cousin." Danielle points out, but is ignored right now.

"Uh… because I wanted her to give me the okay to tell you." Danny answered.

"NO EXCUSE!" Jazz went before tearing up. "More than that, I thought we agreed to tell each other everything from now on!"

''Jazz, I'm sorry but...it was a really, really complicated matter and I still didn't want to risk Vlad finding out she's still around..." Danny said.

"You still should have told me...but I guess I understand why she wanted to hide from that fruit loop. I just wish that you'd at least trust me..." Jazz said.

"So… can she stay for now?" Danny asks.

Remembering their guest, Jazz dropped her brother on his rear and redirected her attention to Danielle, acting much more sisterly.

"So, Danielle, was it?" She asked her.

"Y-Yeah…" Danielle went, nervous.

"Tell me about yourself…" Jazz went, interested in more.

"Uh… not a whole lot. I like pizza… and cookies… and Chinese food… and fried chicken too...when I can get my hands on them… but I kind of had to limit how much I eat while I hide from Vlad, since he wanted to melt me and use my remains to create a perfect clone of Danny to have for a son. Also, I smell a lot… I mean, in general. Unrelated to food or being melted." Danielle responded.

"Well…we can fix that." Jazz said, offering her hand.

Danielle looked unsure, thinking of what she should do before seeing Danny motioning her to take it.

"Okay…" Danielle went as she gave Jazz her hand.

"Let's get you cleaned up…" Jazz said.

''What do you mean?" Dani asked.

"Duh, you need to take a shower and we need to get you some clean clothes. You did say you smell a lot, I can see why." Jazz said, sounding parental.

"Knew she'd like you." Danny said with a smile, not surprised as his older sister began fussing over the little ghost girl like she was always part of their family.

Flashback over

Danielle sighed.

I don't wanna have things change. Danielle thought.

Her older sister entered the room and, upon seeing this, sat down and tried to cheer her up.

"So, why don't we have a little sister time?" Jazz asks.

"Like what? A board game?" Danielle asks.

"Talk to me about some friends you made at school." Jazz said.

Dani paused.

"Well… well, there are these two girls in my home room... Sophie and Carly. I sometimes talk to them during lunch. Sophie's really loud and kind of full of herself and Carly is a little shy but sweet tempered. Though, I guess I wouldn't exactly call them friends, it's more like they're more like one of the few kids I even talk to at school." Danielle admits.

"Sounds to me like they want to be friends." Jazz said.

"I guess… anyway… I'm gonna grab a bite." Danielle said, getting up and leaving the room.

This left Jazz to sight in disappointment.

This is worse than I thought. Danielle is a good kid but she's so afraid to open up to others, her attachment to Danny and her fear of losing him isn't doing her favors... She thought.


Meanwhile

Outside the restaurant, two figures watched from afar, atop a building.

Both of them were looking into a window, where Danny sat with Nat, talking. They couldn't hear them, or be seen, but they never looked away.

Both of them snarled like animals, waiting for the moment they could make their move.

One of them looked down to see a young boy, maybe around 10, walking nearby with someone, presumably his mother. It wanted to eat, but a voice in its head called out.

"No! We must make him pay first!" The voice went.

Forced to ignore prey, the Wendigo resumed its watch.


In the restaurant

Danny and Nat were inside the place and now seated.

"A nice Italian place." Danny admits.

"It beats a so-called good "Vet-namees" restaurant." Nat said before noticing Danny sent her a weirded out look. "Sorry, my ex was pretty marble-mouthed. He meant Vietnamese." She answered before he asked.

"Oh… you have an ex." He said, looking rather uncomfortable.

"Yeah…" Nat said sheepishly.

There was a slight awkwardness between the two teens.

So… am I sure about this anymore? He thought.

"Danny, you okay?" Nat asked gently.

Danny didn't want to talk about it but he knew that he was on a date and she asked him a question. He sighed before turning to face her again.

"The truth is...I recently broke up with my girlfriend, who before that was one of my oldest and closest friends..." He confessed.

"Really?" Nat asked.

Danny nodded.

"Yeah...It's been rough. I thought that if I meet new people, I'd get over it… A little selfish of me to use this to get over her? Probably. I just didn't want to be bummed about it anymore."

"That why you try, and a huge emphasis on try, to hit on my friends?" Nat asked.

"Yup." He confessed, worried if he just blew his chances with Nat.

Thankfully, the girl didn't look angry or send him any judgy looks. She just smiled sympathetically.

"You don't deserve to wallow in heartbreak." She said in a gentle way, not holding it against him.

"You… aren't upset?" Danny asks.

She then shook her head.

"To be honest, I'm kind of selfish too… I used this to get over my ex too." She said.

"Really?" Danny asked, surprised.

Nat nodded.

"Yeah, his name is Rod. He and I used to be friends in elementary school and he worked up the courage to ask me out at the end of middle school. He was nice and cute but...well..." Nat paused, looking unpleasant thinking about him.

"He grew into a mean slob?" Danny suggested.

"More like he grew into a clueless moron who slurred his words and won't shut up about how cool solar panels are..." She said flatly.

"Really?" Danny asked, and she nodded. "Is this the ex who can't pronounce "Vietnamese" right?"

"Yeah...he couldn't even pronounce "solar panels" right either and I realized that it wouldn't work out. It was a mutual breakup but he kind of cried about it for weeks..." Nat admitted.

The two teens smiled, letting it all out.

"Huh? So...we both just admitted that we pretty much just tried get over exes and more or less were on this date on the rebound..." Danny said.

"Looks like it..." Nat said.

To their surprise, neither of them seemed to be upset or disappointed as Danny sat back.

"You know what's funny...I actually feel more open..." He said.

"Me too... It actually feels nice..." Nat admitted.

With that, their food arrived and the two got to eating as they spoke.


At the cabin

Danielle was in the middle of the living room, bored out of her mind. The ice cream pop she got already finished, so she had nothing more to do.

"Can we go home now?" She asked.

"You know we got a job to do here, or at least Mom and Dad do." Jazz answered.

Danielle groaned and turned around, deciding she'd rather get a nap than anything else. She didn't even have the appetite to get more food.

Jazz saw her sulking and sighed.

I could recall how she was when we met. She thought as she recalled the day she first met her little sister and how she is with food

Flashback

After meeting Danny's clone and surrogate sister, Jazz was acting the most motherly she's been.

Jazz had brought her a clean set of clothes and started making her some dinner.

"Here, I hope you like macaroni and cheese..." Jazz offered.

"Never had it before, but would love to try it..." Danielle said eagerly as she began to scarf it down, in an almost voracious manner.

Jazz was almost taken back by the little girl's appetite and how in less than a minute, it was all gone.

"So soon?!" She went.

"That was good..." Danielle said as she wiped her lips with her sleeve.

Danny, watching from afar, smiled.

"I should've warned you…" He said.

Jazz would have said something, then an empty plate was presented to her.

"More please?" Danielle asked innocently.

Jazz blinked.

"Funny… you're Danny's clone, but you have Dad's appetite. I can't imagine how that happened." Jazz commented, before she went to give her little guest seconds.

Flashback Over

Jazz smiled fondly before being reminded of how things are right now.

Poor girl… She thought.


Back at the restaurant

Danny and Nat were still having lunch together. They were trying to chat on various topics.

Danny also learned that Nat is a big sports fanatic, as she talked about one she loves.

"Then I sent the puck flying and I scored the goal." Nat said proudly.

"You really like sports..." Danny commented.

"Totally, I even hope to join the NHL and be a pro snowboarder..." Nat said.

"Huh? Cool...I wanna be an astronaut, or at least work for NASA one day..." Danny said.

"That's cool..." Nat admitted.

"Thanks. Of course, Amity Park isn't close enough to Florida or Houston for me to work at home. That's the dream, right?" He jokingly asked.

Nat chuckled at that as she recalled the town name.

Right, he's from there… Nat thought.

She recalled that his parents were at the North Pole during "the incident" everyone recalls.

"Y'know, Ellie, being the Disaster Denier that she is, is still convinced that the whole thing is a hoax..." Nat mumbled.

"Dodged a bullet with her..." Danny said, suddenly glad she rejected him.

Nat chuckled at that before asking one thing.

"What do you think about that Phantom guy? The one that everyone seems to think is either a hero or a hoaxer to get attention?" Nat asked.

"I...I've never spoken to him, I've never seen him in person... " Danny said, technically not lying.

"Huh… well… I bet meeting him would blow Ellie's mind." Nat said.

"I'm sure." He said as they resumed their meal.


With their meal finished, the two were on their way back to the bus stop.

He kept close to her as Nat flashed a pearly white smile at him. Danny turned red as he smiled back.

How did I never have this much luck with girls back home?! He thought.

As they made their way, the noticed a street band playing. They also noticed people dancing along. Seeing an opportunity to continue making a good impression, Danny stopped and smiled at Nat.

"Wanna dance?" He asked as he offered his hand to her.

Nat considered it and smiled.

"Sure..." She said as she took it.

The two began dancing as the band played a soft melody, both dancing to their own motions as they enjoyed the song.

He noticed the accepting and fun-loving smile on his date's face and couldn't believe he was actually doing so well.

How am I not looking like a total dork so far? Danny thought, surprised that his most simple motion of swinging his arms doesn't seem to make her lose interest.

"Sorry if I'm not as amazing as you… "Danny said, making Nat smile. "What?" He asked, smiling back.

"It's just… you're a more fun guy than you give yourself credit for..." She said, still smiling at him.

Danny was relieved to hear this as he took her hand and twirled her a bit.

Nat laughed at this as she turned to face him, only to notice Danny's attention was elsewhere.

He was looking down the street, at nothing in particular.

"Danny?" She asked.

"Hmm?" He went, turning his head.

"What's wrong?" She asked with mild confusion.

"I thought I saw…" Danny said as he gestured down the street before waving it off. "Never mind…"

Nat was mildly confused, but smiled as they kept dancing. Even as it got slower, the two didn't stop, holding hands and began to slow dance.


20 minutes later

The two finally returned to the village, Danny walking Nat to her cabin.

"That… was the most fun out of nowhere date I've had." Nat admitted.

"Yeah… me too." Danny said.

"Y'know… I think I know you a little better." Nat said.

"You do?" Danny asked, not entirely liking the sound of that.

"Yeah… from the NASA dream to the bowling hobby… I get it…" Nat said, making Danny grow concerned. "You… are really afraid to look like a dork, aren't you?" She asks playfully.

Danny laughed nervously.

"Me? Afraid to look like a dork?" He laughed it off. "I'm ju-yeah… yeah, I am." Danny gave in.

To his surprise, he felt a pair of lips touch his cheek, causing him to freeze from something other than the cold.

As Nat pulled back from giving him a peck on his cheek, she smiled.

"Don't worry… you're the endearing kind. What do they call it? Adorkable." Nat assured.

"I am?" Danny asked, feeling dazed but also wondering if he should be happy about that.

"You sure are." Nat said.

''Uh...thanks..." He said, still blushing.

They kept walking until they made it to Nat's cabin.

"Here's my stop." Nat went as she smiled at her date. "This was nice, Danny…"

"May I come in? To use the bathroom, to be clear." He asks.

"Hmm... not on the first date. I'm not that kind of girl... but right around the third date, I'll kiss deep with tongue. I'm that kind of girl..." She said with a wink before closing the door.

Once she did, he smiled.

That went better than I expected… He thought, happy.

As he walked away, he didn't know Nat was on the other side, smiling to herself.

"I score that… a 9 out of 10." She said to herself.


Still feeling on top of the world, Danny smiled to himself as he walked towards the cabin.

As he did though, heard it. The sound of walking in the snow. At that instant, he realizes his suspicions were true.

Turning his head, he saw for himself.

"I knew it…" He said.

There it was, the deer. He had seen it down the street, watching him.

Like it wanted something. But what he didn't know.

The silence in the area did not help as it stared with almost human-like eyes.

"Okay, this isn't totally suspicious..." He muttered as the deer stared at him. It then motioned its head away, like it wanted him to follow it. Danny was rather confused by this. "Did you just gesture?" He asked as if it would answer him.

It continued before turning its head and walking away, slowly. About 10 seconds later, it looked back, still with that same serious expression.

I guess I might as well see what it wants… He thought as he did so.

After a few minutes, he found himself in a clearing, not far from the village but far enough to not attract much attention. Once there, the deer stopped, its back still facing Danny.

For a moment, the deer made no sounds and did not move, causing Danny to lose patience.

"Okay, Bambi... what are-"

"Fight without concern for others now." A male's voice came from the deer's direction.

He paused, stunned as he stared at the animal from its back.

"D-Did you just-" He asked before he was cut off by something unexpected.

A piercing screech was heard from behind. Turning his head, he saw for himself two Wendigos coming out of the tree, barely visible in the virgin snow save for their dirty yellow teeth and sunken dark eyes.

Danny gasped at this before his eyes flowed green a moment. He also recalled how the deer led him here, and that voice that came from it.

"How di-" Turning his head, he saw the deer gone. "Wha-" He saw the creatures coming in on him." Uh... questions later." He said upon morphing.


New chapter with help from Flower princess11.

It's winter time, perfect time to write about this.

RonaldM40196867: Maybe. Maybe. I would prefer not to find out if it's real. I've been there. She doesn't want her and Danny to drift apart. Sure.

SuperiorBatman1: He hasn't.

Invader Johnny: We'll find out how it goes. So far so good though.

LockAndKey989: Soon. Also, to answer your question, I'm sure Psychobos had a work around for that.

pokemon fan 1991: Thanks.

Luiz4200: Probably.

Leonardo: I have not.

SoundVenom: Time will tell.

Tiamat Dragoness: We shall learn more on this stag later.

Matt: Updated.