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Jazz Fenton had been more than willing to spring for Dani’s human clothes. In fact, she had been so for it that she had driven them to the mall and proceeded to drag Dani into the shop she said was considered ‘trendy’ by ‘teenagers those days’. Dani pointed out that she was, in fact, almost an adult, but Jazz just said something along the lines of ‘of course you are’ and continued on.
Despite all this fuss, Dani found that she actually did kinda like Club Banana. The clothes were made of good flexible-but-sturdy material and there were a lot of styles to choose from. Jazz immediately dragged her towards the dresses.
“What’s your favorite color?” she asked enthusiastically. Dani wrinkled her nose. Jazz frowned.
“No.” Jazz crossed her arms, “That’s not fair. I finally have a little sister and she doesn’t like dresses?” she pouts. Dani giggles.
“I’m sorry Jazz, they’re just not my thing,” she shrugs with a smile. Jazz sighs dramatically and throws her hands in the air. Then she watches Dani for a moment with an unreadable expression on her face. Out of nowhere she takes Dani’s arm and drags her between clothing racks so they’re pretty much isolated from any other customers. Dani doesn’t like being boxed in and she really doesn’t know Jazz that well yet, but she decides to give her the benefit of the doubt. If only because she and Danny seem so close.
“What is it?” She asks, trying to senses any ghosts. Her ghost sense isn’t as strong as Danny’s since she doesn’t really have much in the way of ice powers, but she thinks if Jazz noticed a ghost Dani would have at least sensed it. Jazz is still looking at her with that unreadable expression.
“You… you are a little sister, right?” she asks hesitantly, putting stress on the word ‘sister’ that Dani doesn’t understand.
“I’m not following,”
Jazz bites her lip.
“What I mean is, you are a girl?”
Dani’s immediate thought is that Jazz somehow knows that she’s attracted to other girls. From what little time she’s spent in the human world she knows that’s taboo or something. Is Jazz being, what’s the word, homophobic with her? It’s those thoughts that lead to her voice being stronger and more irate than she meant when she says,
“Of course I’m a girl. What do I look like?” She gestures to Valerie’s ill-fitting clothes still resting on her figure. Even underneath them, her hips and admittedly kinda flat chest are clear.
This time when Jazz frowns it almost looks reprimanding.
“Just because you look like the stereotypical image of a girl doesn’t mean you are one.” Then she relaxes. “But this isn’t the place to talk about that, and if you don’t know what I mean it can probably wait. Just… If at any point you don’t feel comfortable with something, just tell me, okay?”
“Okay…” Dani draws out, pretty confused.
“And… you should probably talk to Danny soon,”
“I talk to Danny all the ti--”
“About gender,” Jazz adds quickly, “there’s something it might be important for you to know,”
“Um, alright…” She’s still pretty confused, but she really wants to get out of Valerie’s hand me downs, so she doesn’t ask for any further explanation.
Jazz leads them out of the dress racks and to a more Dani friendly part of the store. The first things Dani picks out are things that remind her of the first clothes she owned. She had liked the color and had been disappointed when she grew out of them. Yes, they were tied with unpleasant memories of… of her father, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her from wearing something she liked.
She places the knee length red cargo pants and a light blue t-shirt in the cart with a definitive satisfaction. She doesn’t pick out a hoodie for two reasons. One: the cloak Dora gifted her would keep her warm enough and would clash with a hoodie. Two: she really wants to show off the tattoo on her arm.
Danny would never get a tattoo
She tries to tell herself Valerie’s words have nothing to do with her sudden need to show it off (to the point she had even thought of re-designing her ghost form’s suit), but she’s having trouble convincing herself. For the most part, she had ‘found herself’ in the Ghost Zone. By traveling far away to a place where they knew of the halfas but had never seen one and could therefore not compare her to Danny Phantom, she had found the opportunity to really see what it was she liked to do and watch and listen to. Still, it was hard for even her not to draw comparisons when upon returning she realized that she and Danny had the same style, the same favorite movies, the same favorite bands, the same hobbies.
The same taste in girls.
The fact that she had found something that so drastically differentiated them and that she could practically wear as a badge was bound to get her excited. Plus, Valerie had seemed to really like it and that was a definite pro.
Dani smiled privately to herself as she moved through the racks of tube tops (despite her preference for t-shirts, she also enjoyed accentuating that she had a girlish figure, and maybe that also had something to do with Danny and his masculinity, but she didn’t like to have to second guess her every ‘girlish’ like with the idea that she was doing it just to be different than him). When Danny had first told her he was moving in with Valerie her heart had frozen in fear. Then when it became clear that it was a platonic roommate arrangement the muscle had done a little twist. She promised herself to one day go room with Danny for a bit, and to do it soon.
Some context:
Dani had developed a puppy love crush on Valerie pretty much the moment she saw her. To Dani’s young small twelve-year-old self she had been an Amazon of a woman even at fifteen. She had been brave and strong and her controlling voice had made Dani’s throat dry. Then, of course, she helped save Dani’s life and that crush became cemented in her psyche. She had gone into the Ghost Zone to find herself and done just that. Suddenly becoming a bona-la-fide teenager with no parental barriers or real consequences to her actions had been quite the experience. She went on dates and did all kinds of things with people of every… configuration… under the sun. She discovered that she definitely had a type: well-muscled women who could lift her on one bicep and women who oozed confidence from every pore. It was impossible to miss that Valerie Gray was both.
Then, during one of her routine talks with her brother, she found out he and Valerie Gray used to date. This was a major bummer for three major reasons. One: was Valerie ‘straight’ was a basic question she hadn’t even thought to ask. The Ghost Zone didn’t have labels for these things. Didn’t even really have definitions for them. Ghosts just were and just knew. Two: Danny had at one point been attracted to Valerie. Danny liked her too. Just like Danny also liked the color red and Humpty-Dumpty and trashy horror movies and astronomy. She was just copying him all over again with Valerie. If she did manage to date Valerie would she ever be able to crawl out of the big blazing label of ‘CLONE’? Would Danny look at her and just see himself? Three: would Valerie look at her and just see Danny? If they used to date it meant Valerie was also attracted to Danny. How could Dani ever become anything other than a replacement? A generic consolation prize. Valerie couldn’t have the original, but at least she gets the cheap knock-off version.
Dani had dyed her hair red.
She had been in a bad place at the time. She had dyed her ghost form’s hair as well, but that had worn off by the time she made it back to Amity Park (she had been surprised when she transformed in Valerie and Danny’s bathroom that her human form’s hair was still red. Apparently, since she spent practically no time in that form it hadn’t had a chance to really grow out). That pretty much brought things back to the present. It also glossed over a pretty devastating and transitional time in her life, but whatever.
Dani places a baggy pair of jeans and some equally baggy yoga pants in the cart alongside a bright yellow tube top. Jazz has put some clothing in as well and Dani is surprised that she approves of the red cargo pants and t-shirt with a photo-like print of a blue sky with fluffy white clouds.
“I’m going to go check out some sneakers,” she tells Jazz, hyper-aware of her borrowed flip flops as they slide along the smooth tile floors of the shop.
“Alright, I’ll get you some socks,” she smiles.
Dani moves one of her braids off her shoulder. She thinks when it grows out she’s not going to dye it again. She liked the red while it lasted but she doesn’t need it anymore. She thinks she’ll leave it black for a while, maybe she’ll even cut it all off. If she and Valerie do get together, she doesn’t want it to be because Dani worked not to be herself (or Danny, if that makes sense). Maybe one day she’ll go back to wild colors, but only once she can be sure it has nothing to do with Danny.
On her way to the shoe aisles she passes a bunch of hats and picks up a new red beanie as soon as she sees it. She had loved how her old one looked too much to get rid of it, even when she was forced to abandon the rest of her clothes. She was glad to finally have a replacement.
Jazz catches back up to Dani with bundles of socks in her hands just as Dani picks out the perfect pair of sneakers. They’re blue converse like any other, except for the fact that they have a neon green glow-in-the-dark sole. She also picks out a pair of running sneakers because Valerie promised to teach her how to really work out (and doesn’t she just love the idea of getting to watch Valerie do pull-ups in a sports bra? Damn).
“I think I’m done,” Dani announces. Jazz smiles and puts the socks in the cart.
“Alright. Why don’t you try this stuff on and then we’ll head out?”
“Ugh, do I have to?”
“I’m glad to pay, but I want to make sure this all actually fits,” Jazz insists. Dani groans dramatically but heads into the dressing room.
She’s halfway through the stuff when Jazz interrupts.
“Hey, aren’t you going to show me anything, little sis?” Dani rolls her eyes playfully, but steps out of the curtain instead of wasting time asking Jazz why she even wants to see.
She twirls in her red tank top and baggy jeans as Jazz claps and squeals enthusiastically. Then she stops, stares at Dani’s chests and lets out a gentle ‘oh’ of surprise.
“Do you not have any bras, or do you just not like wearing them?”
Dani’s hands instinctively move to her chest.
“I just don’t have any,” she admits with a blush, “do I need one?”
Jazz bites her lip like she doesn’t know how to answer that.
“It’s up to you,” she finally decides, “but people will judge you on whether you wear one or not,” she warns apologetically. Dani bites her lip. The Ghost Zone is a pretty chill place where everything goes. She’s not used to judgment, but even the short walk to this store in which people wrinkled their noses at her ill-fitted clothing told her it was very real in the Human Realm. She didn’t really know how to react to it.
“I’ll give them a try,” she finally decides. Jazz smiles and the realistic equivalent of little stars appear in her eyes.
“Underwear shopping with my little sister,” she squeals, clasping her hands together.
An hour later when Jazz is piling Dani’s arms with bras and panties of every color and design, Dani will still not understand how she got herself into this.
She quickly decides anything with lace on it is not her thing. She also gets rid of most of the panties beside the funny graphic print ones. She quickly falls in love with boxer shorts instead and Jazz rolls her eyes good-naturedly but goes along with it.
They end up purchasing one t-shirt bra, which Dani really liked, one red sports bra, for obvious reasons, and a more traditional bra with an underwire and a dark blue pattern with cute little stars.
Jazz looks wholly satisfied with herself.
“Ha, and Danny thought he took this experience from me. I showed him.” There’s a strut in her step as she carries the bags out of the shop. Dani snorts in amusement.
“You’re really mad Danny wasn’t a girl, huh?” she comments.
Something happens to the mood.
Jazz looks stricken.
“No. No. Of course not. Danny is free to be whatever gender he feels. I would never begrudge him that,”
“I know, it was a joke, Jazz,” Dani reassures in confusion.
“Right, of course it was. I knew that,” Jazz attempts to save face. The air that had been getting so fun is awkward between them again. In order to try to take their minds off it, Jazz takes Dani’s arm and rushes them towards one of the mall kiosks.
“How do you feel about makeup?” She is clearly trying to act casual and completely failing. Dani laughs. Jazz’s enthusiasm is infectious and Dani has never tried makeup, so she shrugs happily and Jazz pays the makeup person to do Dani’s face.
She finds that she enjoys it more than she expected and working with those brushes seems kind of fun. When the person hands her a mirror she smiles widely at her own reflection, examining it from all angles. She looks nice in it and she doesn’t hate it, but she doesn’t look like herself either, which is something the ghost half of her, the part built on self-image, just… rebels against. So Dani refuses when Jazz offers to buy her a starter pack. Dani does, however, pick out a bright ectoplasm green lipstick that she thinks would look cool, like war paint, on her ghost form’s dead pale lips.
It turns out, though, that lipstick and bras are also hella expensive, and by the end of that mini-adventure Jazz is at the end of her budget and anything other than window shopping is officially off the table. Whoops.
Dani has never considered herself a girly-girl, but as she’s heading out of the mall at the end of the day-- bone tired, weighed down with bags and laughing with Jazz over something embarrassing that Danny did when they were kids-- she thinks she could get used to this kind of outing.
She could also get used to having a big sister.