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“Let’s see…phone, wallet, keys, tickets-TICKETS WHERE’S THE-oh right here.”
Danny quickly snatched the tickets up and stuffed them in his wallet. “Can’t lose those. I think that’s everything.” He winced. “I hope. Why do I have a feeling I’m forgetting something?” With hands planted on his hips, he did a final sweep of his room to make sure he had everything. “At least everything’s clean.”
Dusting off his pants, he put everything in his pockets. As he was fixing his shirt, he couldn’t help but think if they were the right choices. He thought that casual clothing would be okay but couldn’t help but wonder if he needed something more formal. Slim-fitted blue pants, white dress shirt, sneakers, and a red hoodie seemed ideal. Jazz told him that it’s fine, though. He didn’t need to dress to impress.
Shaking hands smoothed his hair back, putting some strays behind his ear. His anxiousness clouded his thoughts. Doubts filled his mind as images of a well-dressed boy filled his vision.
He always tries to make himself look good. What would it look like if I didn’t try to do the same? Before more deprecating thoughts filled his mind, he felt vibrations from his pocket. He plucked his phone out and opened the message notification.
Jazz: Have a good time, little brother. You two have known each other forever. Everything will be fine. Don’t stress.
Danny snorted. She would know what I’m thinking about. At this exact moment.
Ping.
Another message froze the smile on his face and his eyes turned to the lit icon that popped up.
Tucker: Hey man! Open up!
Danny jumped up, flustered. Did Tucker knock? I didn’t even hear it! So much for ghosts having sensitive hearing. He ran down the stairs and skidded to the front door, nearly ramming himself into it. Dusting some particles off his shirt, he slowly took a deep breath.
“Okay Fenton…play it cool. It’ll be just like any other hangout!” He grinned to himself. “Just the two of us. Together. Alone. Without Sam as a buffer.” His grin turned into a grimace as he spoke, his eyes pinching.
“Danny!” Tucker banged on the door. “What are you doing? I thought you wanted to meet now!”
Danny breathed in sharply then let it out slowly. “Here goes nothing,” he mumbled to himself. A little louder he replied, “Alright, alright, easy Tuck,” He opened the door. “No need to break down…my…”
Tucker looked good. Green pants hung around his waist with a wallet chain attached to his belt. He wore a yellow sweater with a turtleneck and brown boots on his feet. But Danny was mesmerized by his face. His trusty red beret still covered his head. But his eyes…
snap snap snap
“Hello?” Tucker snickered. “Earth to Danny. Do you read?”
Danny grabbed Tucker’s hand that was in front of his face. “Yeah yeah, hold your PDA.”
“Always! But she’s in my pocket at the moment. Now come on! You said you wanted to do something!” He crossed his arms. “And not tell me anything.”
“I did.” Two white rings encircled his chest and split in opposite directions revealing his ghost half. He picked up Tucker. “Time to fly!” He turned and locked his door before taking off.
Xxx
Flying was something he always enjoyed since becoming half-ghost. Even after all the new powers he obtained, tips and tricks learned, and time mastering them, he still liked to just go up in the air and enjoy the solitude of the sky.
And it was even better with the company he was with.
Danny pulled Tucker closer to his chest, his hair tickling his face. The scent of his shampoo filled his nose and made Danny smile. Tucker’s hand squeezed his neck in tandem.
The wind whipped their hair and ruffled Tucker’s clothes. The sun was shining with a few clouds scattered about. It was a beautiful day - perfect for what he wanted to do.
As the tree line changed to Amity Park Park, Danny dived down in a spiral. Laughter filled his ears as he moved about as if on a roller coaster.
He quickly turned right side up before landing softly. Tucker jumped out of his arms and threw his hands up. “Woo! Man, we gotta do that more often!”
Danny smiled in return. “We will later. But first,” he sat down. “I’ve got something in store for today.”
“Hm?” Tucker questioned, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. His eyes widened slightly after a moment and he grinned. He crossed his arms and leaned on the tree behind him. “And what’s that, Ghostboy?”
“Oh I don’t know, maybe a super filling, mouth watering, all meat brunch! Extra fat included.” Danny waved his hand in the direction of the grass in front of him.
Tucker stared at the grass he indicated and chuckled. “No veggies, right?
“No,” Danny said, his eyes half-lidded. He turned to his right. “Just-huh?” His eyes widened. “What?! I-” His pupils shrunk as he came to a realization.
“You left it in the kitchen, didn’t you?”
“I left it in the kitchen, didn’t I?”
They looked at each other.
Danny managed a nervous laugh. “Well, it, uh, no matter!” He stood up abruptly, nearly tripping over the tree root in front of him. “I can always-”
“It’s cool dude,” Tucker put his hands out, palms forward. “We could always get food at the Nasty Burger. They have a new menu item I’ve been dying to try. Let’s go!” He grabbed Danny’s hand. “We’re flying by the way. No way am I ruining my good looks with a workout.”
Danny chuckled as he picked Tucker up.
Xxx
Danny solemnly stared at his Mighty Meaty Cheese Melt as he berated himself. How could he forget the basket? He actually triple checked he made enough for him and Tucker. And a new smoothie mix! Chocolate, cheese, and apple slices.
Perfect for a snack and a dessert! he imagined Tucker saying. He sighed.
Tucker looked over, mouth full of the new Mega Mighty Deluxe Melt. “Whaff won Dannif?”
Danny snapped out of his thoughts. “Nothing, Tuck.” He gave a slight grin. “But I’ve got another surprise for you!”
Tucker swallowed, some ketchup staining his upper lip. “More? Are you actually gonna tell me now?”
“Nope!” Danny gave a Cheshire Cat grin. “You’ll just have to guess.”
Tucker groaned. “Dude, what is it! Oh, I know that look.” He smirked. “We TPing Vlad’s abandoned mansion again?”
“No, but actually let’s do that tomorrow with Sam. She’ll be mad we left her out.”
“She’s buying this time.” Tucker stood up and took the rest of Danny’s burger. “I’m not letting this go to waste!”
“Hey!” Danny giggled. He grabbed his food and pulled it back, bringing Tucker with him. “You ate two already!”
“I’m a growing boy! I need to start on three.”
“Nooooo!” Danny laughed, his eyes closing in mirth. Tucker grinned at the sight.
“Hurry up then!” Tucker folded his arms across his chest.
Danny ate his burger slowly in response, making Tucker bounce on his feet. When he was done, he grabbed their trash and threw it away. “Impatient as always.”
“Am not!” Tucker exclaimed as Danny reached over to wipe the ketchup from his mouth. “You’re just being awfully cryptic today. Come on dude! We share everything!”
“I know,” he threw his arm around Tucker. “But you’ll see why soon.”
Tucker sighed dramatically, throwing his arm around Danny. “Let’s go then. And don’t worry, I’m wearing the new and improved Foley. So no ghost attacks are happening anywhere near us.
“Thank goodness I’m half-ghost then,” he slyly responded, squeezing Tucker closer.
Xxx
“WHAT IS THIS?!”
Danny grinned at Tucker’s excitement. Concession stands stood outside the Amity Convention Center beckoning people to their services. People milled about dressed up in various costumes, chit-chatting to each other. Billboards with colorful characters advertised various shows coming up the following year. The whole place was abuzz with excitement.
Tucker whirled to Danny. “I thought the Cartoon Super Convention got canceled this year because of the disasteroid!”
“I may have pulled a few strings,” Danny laughed as Tucker threw his arms around him. “No big deal.” The happiness in Tucker’s eyes made him beam in pleasure. He linked his arm with Tucker’s and walked to the ticket booth.
At least I remembered that, he thought, handing the tickets to the receptionist. He also remembered to pull his hood up and smoothed Tucker’s beret down so they wouldn’t be seen. They walked inside.
Inside the center was a buzz of activity. So many people were dressed as their favorite characters and even acted out certain scenes. Danny and Tucker had to squeeze and circle around a multitude of people.
“Remember that con back in San Diego?” Danny nudged his partner.
“You mean the Comic Fab convention Freakshow ruined…” Tucker trailed off as he looked over to where Danny indicated and brightened. “They have a panel!”
“After the incident there, they canceled a lot of programs due to property damage. So they managed to squeeze in some of them here.” Tucker was already pulling Danny to the room as he was explaining. They stumbled over each other as they walked in.
Xxx
“Dude this is like the best thing ever! I can’t believe this is reality.” The figurine in Tucker’s hand rattled as he talked. There was a skip in his step as if in anticipation of what’s to come.
Danny couldn’t believe how well things were going. They spent time in some panels, met the head writers for their favorite comic books, bought souvenirs (and the next issue), and are currently walking to the next attraction. Tucker’s elation was sending Danny to cloud nine. He closed his eyes in mirth as he squeezed Tucker’s other hand. Anything can happen at this moment and still wouldn’t damper his mood. What can possibly go wrong?
A gasp cut through the chatter. “IT’S DANNY PHANTOM!”
Danny’s world shattered at the exclamation. He froze in place. Everyone’s eyes on him made him realize he could feel the overhead lights shining on his head.
Tucker grabbed onto Danny as everyone swarmed around him. Their excitement nearly suffocated them both. Phones were pulled out and he could hear people snapping pictures. Danny just knew their presence would be known to the whole center in a few minutes.
His hands balled into fists as he plastered a fake grin on his face, one holding Tucker’s in a vice grip. “Haha, hey everybody! Enjoying the con?”
The roaring screams nearly deafened him. Of course his hearing was in top condition now.
“Show off some tricks!”
“Shift over to your ghost side Danny!”
“Yeah! ‘Goin Ghost,’ right? Do it!”
He could feel his teeth grinding against each other. “Okay I’ll go ghost.” And then he and Tucker promptly disappeared.
He could hear the chorus of “No!” and disapproval as he flew Tucker out of there.
Xxx
He landed a ways away behind a cluster of trees. He couldn’t help the sick look on his face as he set Tucker down. Why did he think that? Something always happens whenever that line is used.
Or maybe it was just his luck. Nothing could ever go right with him involved.
Arms pulled him close as they wrapped around him. The warmth of their owner’s body soothed his sadness a little. Cool lips trailed from his cheek to his ear, leaving kisses. “Hey.”
Danny slowly encircled his own arms around Tucker’s torso. “Hm.”
“You know I don’t care about what happened, right?” He nuzzled his face into Danny’s neck. “Being with my best friend is more than enough with me.”
Danny rested his head atop Tucker’s and shut his eyes. “I wanted to make today special. It’s different from what we’re used to. But everything just…fell apart.” His last two words warbled as he spoke.
“Dude. Everything’s the same with us as it always has. Just some added perks.” He smirked. “This, for example.”
Danny released a watery laugh. “I guess so.”
“You don’t think I enjoyed today? The fact that we hung out together, ate unhealthy food, geeked out over the new release, got more collectables for our ever growing collection?” Danny felt his own figurine poking his stomach from his kangaroo pocket. “Well, I certainly did.”
“Really?”
The small voice made Tucker pull his head back. “Yes, Danny.” He stared into his partner’s eyes. “Nothing needs to change just because our relationship status did.” He grinned. “Although, Cindy will always be my number one,” he teased.
Danny snorted, pushing him away. “Cindy was never in your hand today, Tuck.”
“Exactly.”
The statement calmed Danny and he relaxed. The tension melted away as he finally believed Tucker. “Thanks, Tuck.” A genuine smile lit up his face, his eyes crinkling.
“No problem, dude.” He squeezed their hands together before a thoughtful look overtook his face. “Could go for another burger, though.”
“You had three!”
“Two actually. Remember?”
Danny shook his head, amused. “Well, I can think of something to eat. Somewhere just as chaotic. But my parents are out, so no interruptions.”
Tucker smiled. “It’s a date.”