A week later Danny was underneath the harsh rule of his mother- who had punished him for leaving the hospital with a grounding until 18. She wasn't keen about hearing the excuse of fighting ghosts, reminding the teen that there were still plenty of ghost hunters left in town. The mother also reminded her son that she was generous enough to not revoke his senior trip and prom privileges. When the boy confronted the judge of her unfair ruling; she stated that Danny was a child and, her being his mother, had to punish him for his rebellious actions. Your actions have consequences… Yada yada yada.

At the same time, Danny was also sort of glad. No ghost fighting meant he could catch up on some much needed rest. His friends were kind enough to visit since he couldn't leave the house and the extra free-time forced him to shape up on his studies. Though he still had some slip-ups here and there. Valerie kept him updated on any ghost activity in the town; there was nothing aside from the occasional delinquent poltergeist. The ghost hunter was confused as to why Danny kept asking so frequently, but the teen kept his reasoning to himself.

Danny sucks on his Nasty Burger shake as he listens to Tucker rant about the latest tech. He was very grateful that his mother allowed(after hours of begging) him to go out with his friends. She specifically warned him to not engage in any ghost-fighting. The teen was adamant on not feeling the wrath of his mom a second time. It was a boring Saturday in Amity Park where the only thing to do was to hang at the mall or the Nasty Burger joint.

"Do you ever talk about anything else?" Sam interjects, annoyed with the rambling friend.

Tucker shoots the goth girl a look, "Yes I do but it just so happens nothing else is going on at the moment," he snarkily responds.

"How about we discuss the fact that this senior trip is confirmed to be at the Kingsmen resort, which is known for their irrational destruction of habitats belonging to cold-thriving creatures."

Tucker sighs "Here we go again with your super tree-hugging ideals." "Riddle me this, how come I can't talk about my PDAs but you can rave over your environmental bullshit?"

"Because it's about an actual cause. And it's not bullshit," she growls.

"Ah yes, let us climb atop our high horses to take down the mega corporations that impede on the lives of the wittle wabbits," Tucker mocks. "And since you care about all animals, including bulls, and all of their needs; Bullshit is technically included in the cause."

Danny chuckles when he sees Tucker back down after the death stare Sam gives him. If there was one line you didn't want to cross with Sam, it would be the one with the wittle wabbits. He was in the middle of a sip when blue smoke escaped his mouth. Sam and Tucker notice it too. It was weird to not see the teen rush out to go chase the ghost. But they knew as much as he did what would happen as a result. The teen shook his empty cup and stood up to throw it away, slurping down the remnants of the tasty beverage. On his way to the trash, he bumped shoulders with a familiar blonde. Danny glances back but Dash does not. That perfectly describes the once bully and victim's relationship at the moment. After the rumors spread that the reason Danny ended up in the hospital was because of Dash's beatdown; The blonde was threatened with expulsion and lost several scholarships including the one to his dream school. Your actions have consequences.

"Y'all wanna hit the mall for a bit?" Danny asks when he returns.

Tucker quickly nods, knowing there would be hot chicks everywhere on a Saturday afternoon. But Sam is a little bit more hesitant considering this was Danny's first time out since his initial grounding. The goth didn't want to push the limits of Mrs Fention's kindness.

"I don't know, Danny. Shouldn't you be heading back by now?"

"My mom said no ghost fighting, so as long as I'm not fighting ghosts I should be fine."

Sam couldn't argue with that logic but she was still skeptical about the whole thing; she kept her worries to herself and decided to text Jazz of their whereabouts. Danny leads the way to the mall while trying to push the thought of ghosts to the back of his mind. He glances out to the young couple pushing their baby in a stroller. He can't help but smile at how happy they look. Alright calm down, Fenton. A couple days of no ghost fighting won't kill you, he reassures himself.

He looks at the brand new town buildings lined with marble columns and pristine gateways that the profit from the new found tourism bought them. The variety of stores that popped up to sell their unique products. Bright new faces everywhere, no one wanted to miss out on living in the ghost capital of the world. Amity Park was no longer the small city where weird things occurred. Danny realizes he needs to take a step back and acknowledge what the prior years of fighting had resulted in. People were happy and things were safer than ever. Was there really a need for round-the-clock patrols like he used to do?

Then reality kicks him in the gut and shows him what happens when he lets his guard down. An image of the mobster ghost's face flashed in his head and he was quickly reminded of the massacre that occurred that night. Malcuard's blood red eyes glaring at the teen from his mind; he could still hear the malicious growls haunting his memory. No. They were grim reminders that he could never stop fighting, whether he wanted to or not. Danny Fenton will never have a normal life.

"DANNY!"

The teen jumps out of his trance and glances in the direction that he was called. Sam was holding him back from walking absentmindedly into oncoming traffic. She had an irritated glare on her face, but underneath was a worried expression.

"Whoa man, I get that you're bored but walking into traffic isn't going to spice things up," Tucker jokes.

Sam shoots the boy an annoyed look and glances back at Danny, pulling him away from the curb.

"What's up with you?" she asks, concerned.

"What do you mean?" Danny stupidly responds.

"Dude, you've been daydreaming since we stepped out of the Nasty Burger. What's on your mind?"

"Oh uh- nothing. I've just been thinking, I guess."

"That's a first," Tucker snickers, only to be elbowed in the ribs by the goth teen. "OW!"

"Danny seriously. You haven't been exactly straight with us lately. I mean we don't even really know why you left your hospital bed to go to the Ghost Zone."

Shit that's right. Danny hasn't told them any details about what went on in the Ghost Zone, not even how he went in half-dead and came out completely healthy. The explanation was he had something important to deal with immediately. That was part of the reason why he was so harshly punished; his mother wasn't fond of him keeping secrets from her, especially when it involved ghosts or THEIR Ghost Zone portal. The teen found it slightly ironic but that wasn't the time to speak his mind. He couldn't tell them about the horrors he saw; it would put them into a panic, and that's the last thing he needed. Malcurd and his vile castle would stay between him and Jazz. In fact he was considering consulting Clockwork in the possibility of wiping his sister's memory of the event. But he was banned from using the Ghost Zone portal until further notice, and the time-ghost hasn't made any effort to contact him.

He hasn't stopped to think how his friends would feel about him hiding this from them. They've gone through a lifetime of crazy shit and for him to hesitate on this; his current actions made it seem like he didn't trust them for one reason or another. They hate the excuse but he was truly trying to protect them, the less they knew the better. But he couldn't let them worry about him either, so he had to suck it up.

"I'm just thinking about how weird it's gonna be not ghost-fighting with you guys for God knows when," Danny lies with a chuckle. "I mean at this point it was such a stable part of our friendship for such a long time; I'm a little worried that you might think Daniel Fenton is boring."

"What? Danny no- we would never think you're boring. We became friends with you- not Danny Phantom," Sam expresses sweetly.

"Yeah bro, you think we hang around for your powers? Let's be real; you're cool with or without your powers."

Danny smiles goofily and rubs the back of his head, "Thanks guys. I think I've just been in my bag because of the season change."

The crossing signal blinks white, and Tucker wraps his arm around his best friend's shoulder; They walk across the street sharing a quick laugh.

"Damn dude, you're starting to remind me of Sam," Tucker mocks.

Sam stood still for a moment, while she hesitated on accepting what Danny said as the truth. She let out a sigh and followed the jokers. This was going to be a strange fall. The trio arrived at the mall entrance fifteen minutes later and it was time to take their minds off recent events. What better than to do a little shopping? Sam's favorite store was here and Tucker and Danny enjoyed watching her to see how deep the goth girl rabbit hole went. Sam has scolded them multiple times for observing her like a zoo animal. Sam responds with a middle finger when Tucker expresses wanting to come with her.

"Go check out chicks at the food court or whatever it is boys do at the mall," Sam said, walking away.

Tucker snaps to attention at the mention of women and commends his friend for coming up with such a good idea. He issues his goodbyes and grabs Danny's arm to escort him in the direction of the "spectators lodge". Once the goth teen was out of earshot, Tucker glances back at Danny with a sinister smirk.

"So what's your plan for prom?"

"I-I don't have one…"

"Bro. Who are you asking?" Tucker inquires firmly.

"To prom? I thought you, me, and Sam were going together," Danny answers slowly.

"You thought we were going to go together? To the last formal dance of our lives? Hell no! This is the last social event we're gonna have with these schmucks and you think I'm gonna ride solo? Or you're going solo? Nah you gonna go out with a bang."

"I don't know, Tucker!" Danny sighs, throwing his hands in the air. "I'm not really into these things!"

"Well I know that we're not showing up without dates."

"Dates? Come on, Tucker, get real! We can't pick up chicks; I can't even talk to Paulina without fumbling over my words."

"You're a big dawg now! You saved the planet and you think getting a date for senior prom is hard? Now I know you're fucking with me."

"I don't even know where to start…"

Tucker sits his friend down at the food court table and takes a seat across from him. He folds his hands, signaling that it was time for business.

"You don't have to start until the senior trip," he answers confidently.

"Isn't that a little early?"

"Hear me out; the earlier the better. You have a vast number of choices and asking a girl early shows that she was your first choice and not some last ditch effort to fit in. Plus, it shows your certainty about her being the one you want to take to prom. Everyone likes a guy who knows what he wants."

"You think it'll work?" Danny questions, unsure of it all.

"This is scientifically proven to work," Tucker assures.

Danny laughs at how serious Tucker was taking this, but he was grateful for the help that he was receiving. The teen knows he'd just mess this up if he was on his own.

"Now the only thing left is who to ask," Tucker states.

"Man, I don't know."

"The way I see it your only options are Sam or Paulina."

Danny blushes at the mention of the women, before looking at his friend with an irritated expression.

"Why are they my only options?" he snaps.

"Because you have the strongest relationships with those two," Tucker explains simply. "Sure you can ask any chick and they'd probably say yes, but I would think you'd want your date to be a little more meaningful than that."

Danny knew his buddy was right. His cheeks burn hot at the thought of Sam in a dress. But the teen didn't think that Sam liked him like that. And forget about Paulina… she's just in love with his image.

"You don't have to marry them; at the end of the day it's just a school dance. BUT the most important one, so don't fuck it up."

"Gee thanks, not like I feel pressured now or anything," Danny mocks.

"Let fate decide then; all you gotta do is pop the question. And before you ask about when, you'll feel it in your gut when the time is right."

The more they talk about it, the more curious the teen becomes. Danny felt butterflies in his stomach at the thought of asking one of them to prom. Maybe his senior year won't be too bad after all. Tucker excuses himself to go grab a drink and offers his friend one. Daniel shakes his head and allows him to take off. It gave him some time to gather his thoughts. One particular thought lingered in his head longer than others, and that's asking Sam to the prom. He didn't know why he felt so weird about it; his feelings about Paulina paled in comparison to this. Maybe it was because he already knew what Paulina wants, while Sam, despite what she argues, is hard to read.

Speak of the devil. Danny spots Paulina round the corner with her typical entourage of swindled guys and gals. The lovesick puppy eyes they gave her were comedical at this point. Danny was willing to put money down on her being a tempting queen in another life. The teen couldn't lie; she was a very beautiful woman. Flawless caramel skin with the ability to make models jealous, silky black hair without a split end in sight, electric blue eyes that radiated power, a pearly white smile that could end wars, and the list goes on. Danny couldn't imagine what her daily routine was for her to look like she walked out of a supermodel catalog. And don't even get the teen started on her body. He didn't know if he was a typical teenage horndog or if she really did have a slamming body(probably a mixture of both). A chest that would make Aphrodite proud that thinned down to a skinny waist, before quickly widening back out to form that perfect onion booty, and it didn't end there continuing down to legs that went on forever. The way she swung her hips; one could tell that she knew what she had.

Danny caught himself before he started drooling and decided to focus on something less intimate. With how hot his face was at the moment, maybe he did need a drink. So he shoots a text to Tucker asking for that soda after all. A wisp of blue smoke billows out of his mouth and he immediately looks up from his phone. The teen quickly scans the area for any imminent danger and only sees droves of people walking around the mall. A text notification from Tucker brings him back and he was about to look at the response when something caught his eye.

A short figure in a dark blue hoodie ducking into one of the maintenance hallways between shops. The person glances back to see if anyone noticed them before taking off. Too bad they didn't take notice of Danny sitting in the food court 80 feet away. The teen was able to catch a white face and glowing blue eyes, definitely not normal. He stood up with the intent of investigating further when his mother's warning popped into his head. He sighs and quickly taps a series of numbers on his phone. Come on, pick up… He listens intently to the ringing on the other side.

"Hello?" a female voice answers firmly

"Val? I need your help," Danny starts.

Valerie pushes the phone closer to her ear before responding, "What's going on?"

"There's a suspicious looking person in a dark hoodie lurking around the janitor halls in the mall."

"What the hell does that have to do with me?"

"Duh, you're a ghost hunter!"

"How do you know the guy is a ghost?" Valerie snips at the friend.

"Because my ghost sense went off right before I spotted him and they are the only person creeping around a mall on a Saturday."

Valerie sighs, "Danny, I'm not the police. I can't go around harassing people cause you think they're a ghost. If you have a problem then call the cops and I'm sure they'll be more than happy to entertain you."

The woman hung up before Danny could get another word out. Dammit. She didn't have that much hesitation when she was hunting me. Well hopefully she's right and this was something Daniel Fenton could handle. The teen leaves the food court area and begins to make his way towards the maintenance hall. Another wisp of blue smoke. And a spine-chilling sensation.

"Benjamin Omega…"

Danny glances to his right and sees a man dressed in a decrepit brown leather cloak that hid his grayish face. The mall-goers seem to completely ignore this out-of-place character, walking right past him.

"Oh? You're not who I'm looking for; Although your spirit is very interesting."

Danny's eyes widen as he twists his torso to dodge the green fireball aimed at his chest. The attack connects with a nearby pillar and ignites it instantly, quickly spreading to nearby surfaces. A crowd screams at the sudden explosion and people begin to panic upon seeing the flames. People stare haphazardly at the now materialized attacker and Danny. The pyromaniac offers his hand to the boy slowly.

"Forgive me. I get excited when I see new faces; do you mind coming with me?"