Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or 6teen.
As Amélie was busy taking orders for a seemingly endless line, Paulina smiled as she sat at the cafe across the street. Star was with her as the two watched more boys enter or re-enter the line.
"It's like everybody from Casper High is here," Star commented. She took a sip of her chai tea, feeling sorry for the girl. "Did you get the geeks to do this?"
"No. I just posted it on school board," Paulina said matter of factory. "Figured it would be easier. Besides, it's all of them. I don't see the football team."
"I think they have practice still."
"Eh, oh well. Once that lines starts up again, little miss thinks-she's-so-hot will quit her job and—"
"Is this to get her into the cheer squad?" Star asked in mild annoyance. "Cause your plan will make her more popular."
"Shut it!" Paulina snapped. She took a sip of her mocha latte, savoring the taste like she was winning back her title of school queen. "Once I'm done with her, things will go back on track."
Star rolled her eyes as she watched Amelie fix up everyone's orders. By the end of the line, half the ice cream in the shop was devoured, with half of the customers leaving with brain freeze. The French girl left, having fulfilled her job but partially exhausted.
Paulina seethed as her plan did not work. It was time to go back to the drawing board. Star reluctantly followed, looking back in admiration for taking on such a task. The blonde knew she could not have handled that kind of attention and wondered how Amélie could accomplish her challenge.
But that would be for another day as the Hispanic girl yelled for her to come.
It was Friday afternoon, and high in the sky, Danny was busy dealing with one of his more deadly foes.
Skulker: a hunter after anything rare and unique, perfectly fitting Danny. The high-tech ghost flew through the air with his jet pack, his flaming hair and goatee dragged in the wind. A slew of rockets, lasers, and blades appeared from his mechanical body, aimed at the ghost boy.
"Looks like someone is in rare form," Skulker gloated, aiming a rocket at the boy. The reticle matched with his prey as it locked on. He fired as Danny dodged it again but did nothing else.
Danny looked at him in confusion, glancing behind to see the same rocket coming back. Then, the hunter launched nets at the boy, intending a pincher attack to capture and stun him. Though stunning in this case meant by the homing rocket, a deadlier form.
"Seriously, Skulker, I'd appreciate if you didn't bother me when I was doing homework," Danny yelled. He turned back, raising a ghostly shield as ghostly shield all around him. The net landed at the tiny missile exploded on impact, shattering his defenses and the nets.
The mechanical hunter smiled as he produced a laser cannon from his left arm. He aimed with a slasher smile as he opened fire, pushing his prey back with ferocity.
"Do you not know? The best way to hunt, is to catch your prey off guard!" Skulker said, bringing out a blade from his other arm's wrist. "And what better time than to hit you when you're doing homework?"
The ghost Hunter closed in with his jet pack, raising his right arm, ready to slash at Danny.
"Oh I so don't have time for this," Danny groaned. He charged icy energy before firing at Skulker, freezing him in a block of ice. The boy pulled out the Fenton Thermos and aimed, sucking the ghost in.
With Skulker captured, Danny flew back home. Phasing into his room, the ghost boy transformed into a human boy. Happy to get to work, he went to his desk, finally getting a chance to finish off his last assignment, reading two chapters in his history book.
While the subject was dull and boring for him, the boy finished quickly, wanting nothing more to do than hang out with his friends. Running to the kitchen for a bit of snack, the boy saw an unexpected, not ghostly, surprise when he saw Jazz studying in the kitchen with Amélie. This was the second time he saw the girl here, making him stare in surprise as the two noticed his presence.
"Uh, hi. Please don't take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here? In my house? With my sister?" Danny asked slowly, unable to grasp that a beautiful girl had come to his house twice.
"Amélie is with me studying for the next test, which you have as well," Jazz explained, saying the last part in a condescending tone.
The ghost boy groaned, having completely forgotten about the upcoming history test. He went to the fridge to grab his snack, deciding to ignore the need to study and just try to take a break for once. Like most boys his age, he did not want much to do with school right now.
"Great," the boy snarked. "Well, if anyone needs me, I'll be in my room."
"Danny..." the Fenton siblings looked at Amélie. "Why don't you study...with us?"
While the words had more curiosity than command, it got the boy's hormones running, thinking the girl wanted him around. But that was only for a second, as years of being on the lower end of the social totem pole pushed that away. No one that beautiful talks to him unless of extenuating circumstances.
However, those words made the boy forget about shirking school duties. It was a curse about teenage hormones. You felt more emotions, including those where pretty people can persuade you to break routine.
Although, the ghost boy was glad Amélie was not the manipulative type.
Getting his textbook, Danny ran up the stair, noticing his sister snickering to herself. He was easy to read at times.
"Can you make him do my chores?" Jazz teased.
"Quelle?" Amélie asked in her native tongue.
"Never mind." The older sister did not stop chuckling as her brother returned with his textbook.
Danny went to his seat next to Jazz and across from Amélie. He did not give a passing glance as he stuffed his nose into the book. Everyone studied in silence, save for the sound of snacks being eaten. The ghost boy and French girl would sometimes pass glances at one another, much to Jazz's confusion.
The sister sat there watching, wondering what was going on.
"Danny? Why don't you say something to Amélie?" Jazz asked, wanting to break the ice.
"So, Amélie how are you liking Casper High?" Danny blurted out.
The girl rolled her eyes, having heard that question too many times, but she answered anyway.
"Fine. Things are getting better as more students talk to me. One even asked me to be a cheerleader," Amelie said with a smile.
Danny blinked as he stared at the hot franchise girl. He already imagined her in the revealing cheerleader outfit with pom-poms on her hands, jumping around in poses. Despite his imagination, he had never thought about this before, something he wondered why.
"Really? Huh, I never took you as the type to like it," Jazz replied.
"Oh, I love to dance and cheer. I've practicing ballet for years and love to, Uh...how you say, show off," Amélie said, putting down her book.l, flashing an excited smile. "But I do not know if the uniform will work for me."
Jazz looked at Amelie's outfit, which consisted of a short sleeve blouse with the top buttons undone with a mini skirt. It was very similar to the cheerleader uniform already, only being short by exposed mid-drift and sleeveless tank top.
"Do they have your size?" Jazz asked, looking her over once. Breaths aside, the French girl was taller than most girls.
"Probably, no. I have to special order some things...like...that..."Amelie muttered that last part.
Jazz would have asked what she meant but was interrupted when Danny loudly flipped through his textbook with his nose in it.
"Hey, Jazz? What was this date again?" Danny asked, looking up. His sister greeted him with an irked face, who pointed at Amélie with her eyes. "You think you can help me out?"
The sister kicked his shin, trying to get him to read the room, but the boy ignored her, actually being in tune with the conversation.
"Kick me all you want, I'm not going to stand by as you talk about Amélie ho—...ahem I mean figure." Danny met her with tense, uncomfortable eyes.
"Danny!" Jazz whispered, elbowing her brother.
"It iz...quite alright, Jazz." Amélie pointed to her face. "There have been boyz who stare at my face to be polite, but I am fine with it. At least he is trying to be polite."
"I thought I was being polite," Danny muttered.
"Staring is not polite."
The ghost boy rolled his eyes and groaned, going back to his book. He didn't need any distractions as the ghosts made enough of those.
Right now, he needed to study and pass the test. With his homework completion in constant jeopardy, these exams were some of the only things keeping his grade afloat. And while this study group helped, having the prettiest girl in school would never let his focus stay on the books, especially with growing curiosity about the said girl. He couldn't help stealing a glance every now and then.
And that didn't go in noticed as Jazz elbowed him sometimes. The ghost boy rubbed it off, barely bothered by the action, given all the ghost fights. However, he wasn't the only one having problems with focusing.
"Why do you do that?"
Danny and Jazz turned to Amélie. The girl put down her book as she softly stared at him.
"Do what?" Danny said, blinking in confusion.
"Regar—I mean stare at me, but go away if I try to talk to you." Amélie's face was neutral, but her eyes had a sternness in them that put the ghost boy on edge.
Danny rubbed the back of his neck as Jazz stared silently. He could recall the times his eyes locked with the French girl's and could have sworn she didn't notice. He blushed for a moment before collecting himself.
You gotta love it when reality catches up to you. Danny snarked in his head.
"Look." Danny stood up, now staring Amélie in the eye. His own blue eyes held some form of authority or power, something the girl never saw in any of the other students. "I admit...you're pretty hot. But in case you haven't noticed, only the jocks can get close to you at school. If anyone else tries to talk to you, they'll be greeted by the entire football team."
Amélie nodded, recalling how the boys kept others at bay.
"If you want to talk, school is not the place I can do it without consequences. The kind that stuff me into lockers."
Danny sat back down. While being stuffed in a locker wasn't as horrible anymore, thanks to his ghost powers, that didn't mean he wanted more time in there. Frustrating or not, the bullies were relentless when motivated. Especially Dash, who tried to knuckle the jocks back under his control.
"Danny!" Jazz said in shock.
"Jazz, you've seen how the entire football team has been. They've been stuffing nerds in the same locker just for looking at her."
Amélie slammed her book, standing up. Her figure towered over the ghost boy, but it was not enough to frighten him. However, the boy was surprised to see another new side to her.
"While that iz true, that does not mean it is my fault. You are blaming me for something that those boys will do."
"I'm not blaming you, but in case you haven't noticed, I'm one of their favorite punching bags." Danny was calm as his eyes showed his anger. "I don't need to give them a reason for anything, but I don't want to give them another reason."
"So you are scared, afraid of them."
"...no, just annoyed by them."
Amélie would have seen a coward if the boy had not said those words. She kept staring at him, noting how his body language confirmed his honesty as no fear was present. He did not even show any frustration or exhaustion.
"What do you mean by that?" Amélie asked.
"I mean, it's annoying and I don't like it, but I'm not gonna stir them up. Those guys are idiots, especially Dash who seems to know he won't grow up to be successful."
The French girl paused, blinking as she could have sworn to have a stroke. Or at least, that's what it felt like.
"je suis désolé, quoi?"
"No clue what that means, but yeah. Dash apparently just wants to live out his glory days in school. I don't think he even wants to graduate."
Danny sat down. His mind was calmer as he looked at his sister, who had been watching silently. She did not know what to say or how to join.
"Look, I'm sorry." The ghost boy spoke apologetically. "I just have more on my plate than most guys, and I didn't want anymore. You didn't come here to be ogled like a piece of meat, and you certainly don't deserve it." He leaned back on his chair, staring at the ceiling. "I guess I shouldn't say those things to you. I probably am blaming you. I should have just said something, even if it was just going to tick Dash off.
Amélie stared back, now in a mix of surprise and calm happiness. This had been among the few times she was talked to like this, and it was a warm welcome over the constant chicken fights that were the jocks.
"We will not always be studying. We can talk after we, how you say, hit the books enough."
Danny lifted a finger as he tried to argue back, but it was redundant. He looked around, realizing Amélie was right, they weren't at school, and that he had no excuse not to talk anymore. And there was no way any of the popular kids would be seen here. His parents were ghost hunters was only one of the reasons he was a target of ridicule.
"I...guess so," Danny replied, repenting to Amélie's argument.
The French girl gave a smug smirk as she returned to her book. Hanging out or not, there still was the test with plenty of time to relax later.
The time went by fast, and before the teens knew it, they had closed their books and began conversing about Amélie and her time here. Jazz and Danny went to grab drinks and snacks as their guest sat down, happy to get away from the stress school life was bringing.
"I tell you zese, uh jacques..."
"Jocks," Jazz corrected. "With an American J."
"Merci. These jocks are not something I wish to endure for long. Zhey—I mean, they are now fighting over me, but they do not even approach like a gentleman or let anyone else come near. C'est Craignos De Chez Craignos." Amélie collected herself as she let out her frustration. It felt good to talk it out with a friend.
"Tell me about it. And the girls aren't making it easier, I mean, I'm one of the few who at least says hi. What's there not to like? You're a good person?"
"Merci, and you are the same. I am happy to have met you and your brother. But don't worry about the girls. Paulina seems nice."
Danny stared in disbelief. All his time gaining over her last year made him aware of how little she is of character. Especially when it could include Danny Phantom.
"I don't think that's the reason why, but hey, at least she's talking to you."
Amélie giggled, not understanding the boy's meaning, but glad to have him agree somewhat. While she had much to learn, this moment felt like the first time she was part of the community. Jazz had made her feel welcome, but they mostly talked about study and how she liked Amity Park. Danny was just conversing, a refreshing change of pace.
The two soon talked about the town and what there was to do besides school. The ghost boy did not have much to answer due to not being part of such social circles, but Jazz helped fill some blanks.
Soon they heard a beep, and Amélie looked at her phone. She had set the alarm to remind her when it would be getting late. It was only seven o'clock, but she had much to do.
The French girl got up as her friend and brother followed her out the door. The boy held open the door for her, waving goodbye. Surprised, she took one step before stopping.
"Let's do this again," Amélie said, turning with a smile. It was warm and froze Danny in place as he stared. "The studying then talking again. I don't get to...hang out with many people still and I would very much like to do this again."
The ghost boy closed the door as Amélie waved goodbye. He watched as the taxi came and took the girl away. He turned to go upstairs and try to relax, but he saw the stairs blocked by Jazz, who was staring at him with a wide smile.
"What?" Danny asked with furrowed brows.
"Nothing," Jazz replied in curtly sing-song. She just turned around and walked up the stairs, giving her brother a funny look.
Danny paused as he watched his sister leave. He scratched his head, wondering why she was acting in such a way. But part of him went back to Amélie and her smile, giving the ghost boy a warm and fuzzy feeling. It made him wonder what would happen next time.
Or he would have done so if his ghost sense had not gone off. Sighing, the boy transformed and flew off to save the day.
Unaware of what would be the beginning of some bold changes.
And sparks begin to form as Danny and Amélie start to talk. But as the joy learns along the way, being a hero may prove to be an obstacle, as will others appear.
Reviews:
RonaldM40196867: Danny doesn't ignore Paulina, but they don't see each other as often as she wants. Most times, the boy is far away fighting, more concerned with his task at hand. While Star isn't getting dumber, she is getting annoyed.
Jebest4781: Thanks!
Invader Johnny: She won't go insane, but any victory she wants won't come easily, especially if she doesn't put much thought into her plans.
KorevainsoLightshire: You assume correctly.
pokemon fan 1991: Yeah...Amélie's chest will keep getting attention. Though the main reaction will be from boys her age and a few others.
Luiz4200: Dash doesn't use much of his brain, so it's constantly on autopilot with an idea of how things will pan out.
Guest: I hope this one was good.