A/N: My first official fanfic. Hope you like it! I apologize beforehand for any mistakes that I make. Stories shouldn't be written at 1 in the morning...but I'm doing it anyways.

Rated T for some english and a whole bunch of spanish cuss words.

Speaking of spanish, anything written in foreign language will be translated at the end of the chapter.

I don't own Danny Phantom.

It was an average day for a seemingly average class at Casper High. Mr. Lancer had spent his whole day teaching the class in that bored, monotone voice of his. His dreadfully long lecture finally ended a few minutes before the dismissing bell rang. He briefly described their upcoming assignment, which involved researching an 'influential person in the history of politics' with an assigned partner. He continued to read the list of partners.

"...Manson with Mr. Foley. Ms. Sanchez with Mr. Fenton..."

Two students straightened up in their seats, one of those students being Paulina Sanchez herself. Paulina: the beautiful and shallow cheerleader, the girl at the top of the school's social pyramid, the one that most girls wanted to be and plenty of boys wanted to date.

Her horror matched that of her assigned partner, Daniel Fenton.

Daniel—preferred name: Danny Fenton—slumped back into his chair, the horror look dissipating from his face and replaced by an annoyed frown as the bell rang. The stunning Latina gracefully rose to her feet and slipped her bag over one shoulder.

Danny, Sam, and Tucker fearfully realized the classroom was suddenly desolate save for themselves and the head cheerleader.

Paulina made sure her newest Prada bag intentionally smacked into the back of Danny's head as she spun around to face him. Her blue-green eyes narrowed as she glared at him with obvious fury. "Listen geek," she hissed through her perfectly glossed lips, "If you cost me my grade, you'll regret it. I promise I'll make your life a living hellif that grade falls anywhere near a D."

Danny visibly shuddered as the Queen Bee silently slipped out of the classroom, her perfectly round butt swaying with each step.

"Dude, what's the matter with her?" Tucker, Danny's techno-geek best friend and partner-in-crime, muttered as he began rising out of his seat.

Samantha Manson (commonly referred to as Sam: Danny's gothic, headstrong best friend and confidant) strapped on her purple spider-looking bag. "Haven't you ever wondered why Paulina always chooses nerds for partners? It's obvious; all she wants are good grades. The bitch is furious about getting stuck with Danny."

"Great," Danny mumbled as he stood up, "I barely have time for homework, much less a stupid research project." He gulped shakily as his eyes widened in sudden realization. "Oh man, Paulina's gonna eat me alive."

Tucker smiled as the trio exited the classroom. He pulled out his PDA and began punching in a code. His eyes never left the screen even after he spoke. "Man, are you kidding? Paulina's the hottest girl in school! You should be excited, dude!" Tucker grinned as a picture of the cheerleader appeared on his screen.

Sam smirked and folded her arms over her chest as she gave Danny a sideways glanced. "Well, at least we get to watch you get tortured." She grinned when her best friend flashed her an irritated glance. Sam sighed and softened a bit at the sight of her depressed friend. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Danny. Paulina's shallow. She's only worried about getting a good grade, so you have power over her. Use this to your advantage. Don't let her shove you around anymore."

Danny opened his mouth to respond but was, instead, interrupted by a familiar blue mist that escaped his parted lips. The young boy groaned in exasperation. "Aw man. Can't these ghosts give me a break?"

He quickly scanned the empty hall and smiled, grateful that school was over, much to his advantage. Two rings appeared at his middle before travelling in opposite directions. His ebony hair turned snowy white, his white-and-red tee shirt and blue jeans were replaced by his black-and-white jumpsuit, and his icy blue eyes transformed into a glowing green color. The rings disappeared, transforming him into his alter-ego, Danny Phantom.

A loud wail suddenly echoed through the open doors of the school building. "Will you be my friieeeend?"

Sam chuckled slightly when the irritating voice reached her ears. "Good luck with Klemper. If you need me, I'll be at the new gothic store that opened up."

Tucker adjusted his glasses and briefly glanced at his best friend. "You're on your own Danny. If there's an emergency, just call."

Danny gaped as his friends quickly scurried out of the room. They all knew Klemper wasn't the most powerful ghost, but he was definitely extremely annoying. "Sure, thanks for the help, guys." Danny rolled his eyes and shot out the window, searching for the familiar nuisance.

:~:~:~:~:

Paulina had been walking home, angrily filing away at her defenseless nails. The shallow witch had been furious: her day had grown increasingly worse. First, she broke a nail during first period. Then, one of her supposed friends stole her favorite purse. Moments after, she had been partnered up with grades-barely-hanging-on-to-average Danny. And, finally, Dash had dumped her right after school.

Now, here she was, running for her life as a ghost in the most hideouspajamas chased after her. "Dejame en paz!" 1 Paulina howled as she squeezed through the empty alleyways of Amity Park. She knew no one would save her now, especially since this side of town was usually deserted.

Paulina shivered as the temperature instantly plummeted and ice suddenly coated the roads. All it took was a wrong step to send her sliding across the road, flailing around uncontrollably. The beautiful Latina squeezed her eyes shut, the tiniest bit of hope she had been holding on to suddenly disappearing from her heart.

She yelped loudly when she felt her petite body bump into another person. She gasped and peeled open her eyes only to find that her hands were placed on top of a stranger's nicely toned chest. She moved her fingers a bit, noticing the familiar DP logo. She held her breath as her gaze travelled upwards until they met a pair of glowing green eyes.

"Ghost boy!" She squealed ecstatically. This day had suddenly taken an interesting turn for the best.

"Yeah..." The teenage ghost-fighter replied as he gently pried her off of himself.

She watched with starry eyes as he pulled out his Thermos. There was a brief flash of light that engulfed the strange ghost and ensnared him, the fight ending before it had even begun.

"Wow! You're so amazing!" Paulina cried out, daring herself to hop just a little bit closer to the young hero.

"Oh, uh, thanks." The ghost boy rubbed his neck uncomfortably before turning away from her, ready to take flight.

"Wait!" Paulina yelled, causing him to give her a weary glance. She fiddled with a strand of her wavy, dark hair and mustered up every ounce of courage she had. "Would you mind meeting me at the Nasty Burger tomorrow?" She blurted out before biting her bottom lip with excited anticipation.

"Uh..." the ghost boy awkwardly rubbed one of his arms, and Paulina felt disappointment well up inside her because she knew exactlywhat he was going to say. She recognized that look. It was the look that nice guys gave to their pitiful crushes. And, she was ironically playing the role of the pitiful crush.

"I can't," Phantom replied.

Even though she had already anticipated his rejection, she still fought to blink back sudden tears. She couldn't comprehend any of this. Being rejected was a completely new concpt to her...and she could hardly understand why anyone one would say no to Paulina Sanchez.

The ghost boy sighed in defeat. "I mean, I can't say for sure but...um, I'll try to come. I'll see you at six, okay?"

Paulina gave him a hesitant smile, which he accepted before flying off.

Paulina felt overjoyed and, yet, she still felt slightly disappointed. Why had he rejected her? This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She always got the boy. Always.

The girl huffed. She knew Phantom was seeing her simply out of pity. A pity date. She tried to push her thoughts away but to no avail. She turned, and began her longest walk home.

:~:~:~:~:

"I can't believe I said yes!" Danny shouted as he angrily thrust open the door. Sam walked past him and dropped herself onto Danny's bed while Tucker sat on a rolling chair, positioning himself in front of Danny's newest computer.

"Uh, Danny?" Tucker began as the electronic device hummed to life. "Paulina's the hottest girl in school. You were crazy about her! What happened?"

"Paulina flipped me off a couple of weeks ago." Danny explained as he sat on the edge of his bed. The mattress groaned beneath his weight.

Tucker snapped his gaze to Danny. "What? Why?"

Sam instantly sat up and crossed her legs beneath her, sitting indian-style. "Because," Sam explained, "Paulina tripped him and she ruined her nails in the process. She blames him for ruining her manicure. I saw the whole thing." Sam scowled. "I swear, I can stand in a puddle of Paulina and never get my feet wet. 2"

"Oh, that's rough," Tucker muttered as his incredulous gaze morphed into a pitiful one.

"So, what do you think she's doing now?" Danny wondered out loud.

Sam shrugged. "Probably torturing innocent children." She paused and added, "Either that, or picking out an outfit to wear for tomorrow."

:~:~:~:~:~:

Paulina ransacked her drawer, frantically searching for something cuter to wear. In her anxiety, she'd chosen the Nastyburger instead of another, more romantic place. She briefly wondered whether it would be rude to ask him to move the date somewhere else.

The Hispanic girl sighed with disappointment. Who was she kidding? She was fooling herself if she believed she actually had a shot with him. He probably had dozens of prettier girls asking him out all the time. Because, in addition to his hero status, Phantom was brave, strong, confident, and good-natured. Not to mention extremely cute.

She sighed for the second time that night and threw herself onto the bed. He probably even had a girlfriend by now. But, all she wanted was a chance to get to know him at least a little bit. A small, real conversation with the boy.

Even if it was just once...

A/N: I know this starts off kinda slow, but I promise there'll be more action in the next chapter. Plus, I'm hoping to get some reviews...PLEASE REVIEW!

Also, I'm willing to hear any and all suggestions and ideas you throw at me!

~face pales~

Wait! Don't throw it too-! ~shattering noise in the background~

Hard.

1) Dejame en paz!=Literally, this translates to "Leave me in peace." It's actually a spanish expression meaning "Leave me alone."

2)A/N: I'm sure you all know this, but that comment is from Parental bonding.