Short chapter for me. Work has been kicking my behind

Chapter 20
Reaching Out

"Laughter is the shortest distance between two people." -Victor Borge

"In fact, if they're not hiding a secret relationship, I bet actual money Phantom wants to date Fenton."

Fenton paced in front of a picnic table outside the school, too agitated to sit calmly on a bench like Sam and Tucker. Several minutes had passed since he read that line, he was no longer on the bus, surrounded by teenagers watching his every expression, but the fluttering sensation in his stomach had yet to abate, his thoughts spiraling and spilling and tripping over what others were speculating about him and Phantom.

"...if they're not hiding a secret relationship, I bet actual money Phantom wants to date Fenton."

What was he going to do? He couldn't hide outside all day, but inside the school there were people talking about him, judging his worth and his actions, his appearance, his stance, his every word...

"I can't go in there," he said for what had to be the tenth time. "I can't, I can't..."

"You have to," Sam said. "The bell rings in, like, fifteen minutes."

In contrast to Fenton's panic, she sounded bored and a little frustrated. No surprise, given that her Mom had driven her to school. Her patience had already been exhausted. Sam adjusted her leg on the bench, the wrapped portion of her ankle clearly visible above the softer shoe the nurse and her parents had forced her to wear in place of her combat boots. Fenton glanced at the injury and then away again quickly, not wanting to add his confusion over Phantom's healing ability to the stress pile.

"I could pretend to be sick?" Fenton wrapped his arms around his middle. "Oh, you know what actually, I think I might just throw up..."

"That's just the anxiety talking, dude," Tucker said lightly. Unlike Sam, he had given up watching Fenton. He had laid his phone on the table and was scrolling through Paulina's website, apparently amused given his half smile. "You'll feel better once you start seeing the funny side of things."

"What funny side?" Fenton spun away from the trees blocking the outside dining area from the bus entrance and began pacing toward Sam and Tucker again. "Like when Paulina wrings my neck for allegedly stealing her crush? That funny side? Or what about when Valerie accuses me of cheating on her with a ghost? Or, or what about when Dash, like, beats me up and shoves me into a locker?" He reached the far end of the picnic table, turned, and paced toward the trees. "You saw how he was yesterday, and that was when everyone just thought Phantom and I might be friends! Now they think he—that I—that he and I—we—"

"...I bet actual money Phantom wants to date Fenton."

Fenton groaned and shoved both hands through his hair.

"Actually, everyone seems to think the attraction is one-sided at the moment," Tucker said, still scrolling through his phone. "The ones who have a crush on you—ghost you, I mean—absolutely hate the idea and are acting upset on your behalf. His behalf. Whatever. But then you got the guys who are having a blast trolling them. And some are just theorizing on what's really going on between you and your ghost half."

"Nothing!" Fenton looked at his friends, his fingers pulling at his hair, but as soon as Sam met his eyes, he quickly looked away again, afraid she might see the lie. "Nothing at all!"

"Yeah, duh," Sam said. Still bored. Still irritated. "You don't have to convince us, Danny, we know you, remember?"

"Yeah, man," Tucker added, "you can relax around us. We know the truth."

Fenton cringed. They really, really didn't.

"By the way," Tucker continued, "how far down did you read? You never said, you just shoved the phone back at me and tried to barricade yourself beneath your backpack."

Sam sighed. "Yeah, and, Danny, for the record, that sort of reaction is just going to throw more fuel onto the fire."

The same blush that had overtaken Fenton's face while reading the thread—particularly after that damn picture—inflamed his cheeks. Under his breath, he muttered, "Got as far as someone suggesting Phantom wanted to date me. Everyone was watching me on the bus. I just, I panicked, okay?"

Tucker finally looked up from his phone, but it was only to grin at Sam, reach across the table, and nudge her shoulder. "Wasn't that the part where you-know-who crashed into a tree?"

A small smile finally altered Sam's rigid expression.

"What?" Fenton looked between them. "Phantom?"

Sam's smile grew. "Yup."

Tucker snickered. "He was reading while flying last night. Next thing we know, he panics over the little d-a-t-e word, and then he's crashing into the tree above Sam!"

Just imagining suave, smoother-than-silk Phantom flying into a tree made Fenton smile, but the context behind why made his nerves flutter along his stomach all over again. Fenton knew what his own reaction had been—excitement, horror, something that might have been longing but was probably just...heartburn or...something—but what had Phantom felt? To such an extent he crashed into a tree?

"...Phantom wants to date Fenton."

Fenton shoved the thought, the last half of that stupid sentence, firmly into a Don't Think About It corner of his mind and proceeded to Not Think About It.

It might have even worked, had Sam not looked at Tucker with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Is it weird or normal that they both freaked out over the same thing?"

Fenton sucked in a breath. "Normal!" he shouted. Sam and Tucker gave him an odd look, and he added, "I mean...we're supposed to be the same person, right? So it's...it's normal?"

Tucker shrugged. "If you say so, man. Ghost-you seemed worried about what Valerie would think, but you're probably just embarrassed, right?"

Fenton bit his lip. He looked down and dragged his shoe over the grass, flattening the blades. "Yeah..."

"If you two would just merge back..." Sam said pointedly.

Fenton wrinkled his nose. Even if he was willing to go back on his word after texting Phantom yesterday, he couldn't do it now that Phantom was feeling so...insecure. "How would that fix anything? The whole thing started because someone caught us flying into our room last week, and that was back when we were still one person."

Tucker set his elbows on the table and leaned forward, his gaze suddenly intense. "'Us'? 'Us' flying into 'our' room?"

"Uh...yeah?" Fenton crossed his arms and eyed Tucker warily. "Like, me and Phantom when we were one?" Although Fenton didn't say 'Duh', his tone clearly implied it, and Tucker responded by sticking out his tongue.

Unwilling to get pulled into an immature fight, Sam continued Tucker's point by asking, "Why 'us' and not 'me'?"

Fenton rolled his eyes. "Why would I say 'me' when we were both there?"

"Because you weren't both—" Sam paused, hesitating. She made a face and lifted a finger. "Wait, hold on, it's tricky to wrap my head around, but you two weren't there together." Fenton opened his mouth, and she quickly added, "Not like you are now!"

Fenton frowned. "Yeah? So? I just said this was back when we were one person."

"Ah-ha!" Tucker cried, triumphant. "One person! 'Us' is plural!"

Fenton stared at him blankly. "Yeah...because Phantom and I were there, together, as one person."

Tucker held his mouth open, finger pointed upward, for several seconds before dropping his head onto the picnic table. "Sam...Sam, I give up. We can't fight stubborn."

"What's the big deal, anyway?" Fenton demanded. "It's just a word."

Sam sighed. "Because your ghost half said—" Tucker's phone chimed its text message notification, and Fenton's eyes zeroed in on where it lay on the table "—he was having trouble remembering things from your past, like his memories are being distorted or something. He spoke like you two were still separate even when you were one whole Danny."

"Oh." Heart leaping, Fenton watched as Tucker picked up his phone and swiped it awake. "That's weird...Tucker?" Fenton uncrossed his arms and moved toward the table, only to stop after only a couple steps. "Is it Phantom? What did he say?"

"Were you even listening to me?" Sam demanded. "This could be really bad!"

Fenton allowed his gaze to drift to Sam, to take in her frustrated expression, but... "Why does it matter if we're just going to merge again on Friday?"

"Because the same thing could be happening to you. This could be the whole reason the merge didn't work correctly the last time!"

"Maybe," Fenton conceded, though he didn't see how something as vague and unreliable as memories could cause them so much trouble. His gaze slid back to Tucker. "There's a lot of things it could have been, though, and right now Phantom might need our help, so can we focus on that? He was really upset this morning."

Sam blew out a frustrated puff of air.

"Upset?" Tucker asked. "Are you sure? His message just says 'I was only shaken. I'm fine now, I'm sorry I disturbed you. Focus on school and Valerie'. So whatever it is, he must be over it now."

Fenton groaned. "He's just playing it off. Did you guys see the news?" They shook their heads. "Well, a fight between Johnny and Phantom caused a car crash. The driver was seriously hurt, but because Phantom was able to heal him, he keeps insisting everything is fine and there's nothing wrong. But you guys should have seen him this morning!"

"Wait, he managed to heal someone?" Sam sat up straighter, losing her frustrated expression. "Someone other than you?"

"Yeah! But—" Fenton held up his hands, fingers spread, "—first thing's first, Phantom is really kicking himself over letting this guy get hurt in the first place. Trust me on this, he's not fine."

Tucker shrugged. "You would know better than anyone, I guess. It does sound like something you would do, though."

Fenton frowned. "Me?"

"Well, united you."

Sam huffed an odd laugh. Resigned but somehow...soft? "You always blame yourself when something goes wrong, Danny. That's part of what makes you a hero." She shook her head. "But don't worry, I know just the thing."

Sam pulled her own phone out of her backpack and pressed a number on speed dial.

Fenton's eyes widened. "No!" He ran toward the picnic table, hand outstretched, but Sam lifted her injured foot between them. Fenton froze, caught between his desire to snatch Sam's phone away from her and his unwillingness to hurt her ankle.

Sam raised an eyebrow and smirked. "No?"

"You can't—hang up!"

"I thought you wanted to help him?"

"I do but...Sam!"

Tucker watched them, his eyebrows lifted. "You know, this is a somewhat strange conversation when you think about it. Calling Danny when Danny's already here."

Fenton blew out a frustrated puff of air. "It's Phantom. I'm not supposed to be—" He winced. "We're supposed to be keeping our distance."

"Because of the rumor?"

"Um. Yes."

Tucker frowned.

Sam ended the call. "He didn't pick up anyway. Went straight to voice mail. I'll try again in a couple minutes. With all that flying, he probably didn't hear it go off."

Fenton sighed in relief.

Sam taped her shoe to his stomach before lowering it. "We have to talk to him in order to help him."

Fenton looked down and scuffed his shoe on the grass. "I know..."

How could he explain it? The thought of talking to Phantom over the phone caused the same amount of anxiety as walking into the school, only it was more...pleasant. An excited kind of anxiety. Like climbing into a roller coaster. Which was weird and frustrating and—

Fenton groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face.

"Look." Sam leaned forward. "We can't help you directly. Tuck and I have already learned how useless it is to even try."

Tucker sighed. "It's a pain in the butt to make you admit anything, dude."

"What we can do is give you—ghost-you—a different problem to focus on and solve. That will distract him from his own until enough distance has been placed between his emotions and what happened. After that, he should be able to face his problem without feeling so...overwhelmed."

Fenton looked at her from beneath his fringe of black hair, considering her earnest expression. "You really think that will work?"

"It worked in the past." A corner of her lips lifted in a smile. "It's working on you. Or haven't you noticed your worry moving away from the rumor and onto Phantom's wellbeing?"

Fenton opened his mouth, ready to protest he was still worried about what the other kids were saying, but...she was right. He was feeling less anxious than he had a few minutes ago. It wasn't so much that the problem had been resolved as he was able to look past it. For now.

He snapped his mouth shut.

Sam's smile grew. "We just need to get Phantom to help you through your problem while you help Phantom through his. Easy."

Easy.

Easy to talk to Phantom about people assuming they wanted to date? Easy to talk to Phantom period when Fenton knew those rumors weren't that far off? Easy not to...feel things?

Fenton swallowed. Easy...

Reluctantly, he nodded. Sam picked up her phone and dialed Phantom's number again. As it rang, she set it on speaker, allowing Tucker and Fenton to listen as three rings passed without interruption. Fenton brushed his sweaty palms down his thighs and looked away from the phone. The trees were swaying in the light breeze, their leaves rustling, but beyond them he could see another bus pulling into the circular path where buses were meant to drop off and pickup their riders.

He directed his gaze down at his shoes instead.

On the fifth ring, it cut off mid-tone, and Phantom's voice, breathless and a little hesitant, spoke through the speaker, "Hello? Sam?"

Fenton bit down hard on his lip.

Without preamble, Sam said, "Your human half read up on what people have been saying about you guys online, and now he's panicking and refusing to go inside the school. You need to talk to him before he has a heart attack."

"Or throws up!" Tucker tacked on, leaning over the table toward Sam in order to be heard.

"You don't have to tell him that!" Fenton objected.

"Fenton?"

Fenton glared at his friends, resentful that they would put him in that position so quickly, but their expressions were entirely unrepentant. Fenton sighed and held out his hand. If he was going to make himself vulnerable to the one person it would matter to the most, he wasn't going to do it with an audience.

Sam hesitated, apparently surprised by the request, but it was an understandable one—and largely a problem solely between Fenton and Phantom—so she handed the phone over. Tucker made a sound of dissatisfaction. Fenton ignored them both and took the phone off speaker before pressing it to his ear.

"Phantom, I..." He hesitated. How was he supposed to continue? He met Sam's and Tucker's eyes a moment before spinning on his heel and walking toward the school, out of their earshot. He didn't want to go inside the cafeteria, but the wall to the right of the stairs leading into the cafeteria felt promising. Something, anything to put his back against.

"...Did Tucker or Sam make jokes about it?" Phantom asked, forced to guess. "I had asked them not to, but—"

"They didn't," Fenton said quickly. "Well, Tucker was sort of laughing about it on the bus this morning, and he keeps telling me to look at the funny side of things, but that's about it."

"I suppose that is the best we can hope for, considering they don't know about...us."

Fenton pinched his eyes closed, feeling his face flush. "There is no us."

"Yes," Phantom agreed easily. "There is only...me. Correct?"

The blush worsened, heating Fenton's cheeks unbearably. "Yes."

"Yes..."

The conversation paused there, Fenton unwilling to continue and Phantom apparently waiting for him to add something. Fenton used the silence to cross the last few steps toward the school and then pressed his burning face to the rough brickwork beside the doors, desperate for the stone's cold touch.

"Fenton, I—" Phantom sighed. He must have changed his mind about whatever else he was about to say because his tone changed, becoming firmer, more serious as he asked, "Are the rumors disturbing you because they're true?"

Fenton pressed his forehead harder against the bricks, unmindful of the slight sting. It's to help him, he reminded himself. You can do this to help him, can't you?

Aloud, he said, "They're not true."

"They are more true than not."

Fenton groaned. He couldn't argue with that. "I...I saw the picture. From the cafeteria yesterday. When I had a concussion and you were leaning over me."

Phantom didn't respond right away, and Fenton wondered if he was as embarrassed as he himself would have been. Phantom's emotions were on display to so many people—and, in particular, to the one they were for. Fenton had been so out of it at the time he hadn't even noticed how desperate Phantom had looked once he got his sight back. It was only through the photo that he saw himself and Phantom from a distance that he had pieced together what had apparently been so obvious to everyone else.

Phantom hadn't even looked at Valerie when she landed on the ground beside them. His eyes had never strayed from Fenton. Why had that little detail escaped him until now?

Finally, Phantom said, "You were hurt. I will not...I can't make myself not feel, Fenton. No matter how much distance we place between us."

Fenton lifted his head from the bricks and rubbed a hand over his eyes. "I know. But how am I supposed to go in there and lie about you having—" He coughed. "About you...having...a...a—"

"Crush."

"On..."

"You."

"Me." Fenton bit down hard on his lip, stealing a moment to himself, before continuing in a rush, "I can't lie! You know how bad I am at it! I'm getting better, but I can't lie to the whole school!"

"Then don't," Phantom suggested.

Fenton blinked his eyes open. "What?"

"The more you try to hide it, the more people are going to dig. They will keep digging, gaining interest from others in the process, until they manage to trip you up. So don't lie."

"Don't lie? But..."

"You said it yourself. You are terrible at lying, everyone will know the moment you try, so spare yourself the anxiety and admit the truth. I have a crush on you. You found out on Sunday. No, you don't know how to feel about it, but you're dating Valerie so your plan is to avoid me until I give it up."

"But," Fenton protested weakly, "but they'll ask questions like how I found out or how long I've known you. Stuff like that."

"You can admit I kissed you on Sunday morning if you feel brave enough. Say your dad barged into your room before you could react. As for the others, you can avoid answering them. You might struggle to lie, but you're good at avoidance." In a quieter voice, Phantom added, "Unfortunately..."

"What about Tucker and Sam?"

"They are ready to accept it as a joke. If you appear to be playing along, they'll fall for it. The truth is so fantastical to them they won't believe a word."

"And Valerie?"

Phantom didn't appear to have a ready response for that one.

"If she hears you kissed me," Fenton continued, "she's going to be pissed."

"Perhaps that would be for the best...I need to talk to you about her, but that can wait. Remember, she is close to our other secret. Perhaps this will throw her off our trail." His voice turned wry. "After all, who would ever believe we could be both the same person and yet crushing on each other..."

Apprehensive, Fenton shifted on his feet. "You're the only one crushing."

"My point still stands. It will take the pressure off you and send her and the others to me, where I can avoid giving a straight answer. Over time, they will start to think you were lying and that there was never any truth to the rumors, aided in part by Sam and Tucker's clear amusement over the whole thing. Sound like a plan?"

"Yes," Fenton said, reluctant. He didn't want to admit any part of the truth, but if Phantom said it would work... "How were you able to come up with this so fast?"

"It is only fast for you. I found out about the website and the rumors last night and came up with this plan while patrolling. I was going to share it with you this morning—" Phantom cut himself off. After an awkward pause, he cleared his throat. "Does that help? Is that all you needed?"

Fenton chewed on the inside of his cheek as he stared intently at the wall. He wanted to say yes, to end the phone call and focus on the plan that Phantom had made, but something still wasn't right. The distraction Sam had said would happen hadn't manifested. Fenton could still hear defeat in Phantom's voice. He hadn't even teased Fenton about the crush or flirted with him.

If Phantom had planned everything out overnight, then he wasn't actively engaged in solving Fenton's problem. The question was too easy, the answer little more than a response Phantom could give by route.

Fenton needed to admit a deeper truth.

He sucked in a deep breath. "No."

After a pause, Phantom repeated, "No?"

Already, in that one word response, Fenton could hear Phantom's concern and attention refocusing on him. He closed his eyes and willed himself not to shake from nerves, his heart and stomach leaping. "It helps, it's going to keep me from looking like such an idiot when people start asking me about you, but that isn't what I...they're just questions. I could have ignored them. That's not why I cant go in there."

"Alright," Phantom said, his tone turning gentle. Encouraging. "Then what is the problem? What has you so scared?"

"It's—" Fenton swallowed and pushed a hand into his hair. "Phantom, it's just like the thing with Valerie!"

Confused, Phantom said, "I don't follow..."

"The thing that started this whole...mess!" Fenton pushed away from the wall and began walking in a tight circle, back and forth, too agitated to stand still any longer. "When the whole school found out we were bad at kissing because Valerie told Starr. The bullying got worse, everyone started making fun of us, we couldn't go into a classroom without someone shouting a joke at us, you were afraid Valerie would break up with us because of it, and then one of us—probably you because of course it would be you—got the fan-fucking-tastic idea of splitting ourselves so we could figure it out in private. Now I'm fucking back to where we started!"

"Oh..."

Fenton tripped but caught himself without breaking stride. "Phantom, I can't go in there!"

"They won't be making fun of you this time," Phantom said. He tried to sound calm, but Fenton could hear the higher pitch in his voice, the quickened pace of his words, so at least he understood Fenton's fear and was empathizing with it. "The possibility of my crush will give you status. It will be like when we dated Paulina. Well...Kitty overshadowing Paulina, but Paulina as far as the others knew."

"But we're not dating and nothing is confirmed. Hell, they're still fighting about it online! Maybe some will believe you like me, but others are going to be, like, aggressive about proving it's not true. They're going to be looking for reasons I'm not good enough. For you." Fenton pressed the heel of his palm into his forehead, grimacing as if he was in pain. "They'll be like, 'Oh, there goes Danny Fenton. He's always wearing baggy clothes because his body is so twiggy. Ha! He just tripped over thin air. Look how clumsy he is'!"

"Fenton..."

"Someone is bound to bring up the whole kissing thing again too! Despite everything we've gone through, we never resolved that." Fenton stopped walking to bang his forehead against the brick wall. "Fuck! Damn it! I'm going to be the laughing stock of the whole school again, but this time I'll have to face it alone without any of your confidence. If we had just come out the Ghost Catcher the right way, you could be leading the whole school around in circles and I could be protecting the town!"

Phantom didn't respond, allowing Fenton's words to sink in as he thought. Fenton lifted his hand and saw that it was shaking. He bit his lip. Lowering his hand, he turned until his could brace his back against the school wall. He stared out across the field. To the left of the picnic area, the trees separated them from the buses, but straight ahead was the football field where Phantom and Valerie had fought the behemoth yesterday.

It could have been him. Fenton would have fought the ghost the moment it appeared. He could have dealt with it outside and Phantom could have swept Valerie off her feet the way he clearly wanted to inside. Everything would have worked out better if they had just…not been who they were.

"I am strong where you're weak," Phantom said, "but so are you when it comes to my weakness. If we had split the way we intended, we would still be weak in those areas. We would have no reason to grow beyond what we knew. By seeking each other out, we are making ourselves stronger, don't you see?"

Fenton blew out a puff of air. There was something in Phantom's voice. Something a little like... "You just got a romantic kick out of that, didn't you? Over us being like a balance and being stronger together."

"I—" Phantom coughed and cleared his throat. "I, uh, yes. Perhaps."

Fenton laughed. It was feeble, little more than a "ha ha ha" sound, but it was his first laugh all day. Less because Phantom taking a romantic meaning from their duality was funny and more because his suave other half sounded as though he had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

To his surprise, Phantom responded with his own laugh. It was just as brief as Fenton's, but there was a brightness to it, as if the joy had been pulled out of Phantom without his conscious consent. "It is an inherently romantic notion, Fenton. Don't you remember the phrase 'opposites attract'?"

Fenton scuffed his shoe across the grass until the heel lightly impacted the wall. "I doubt anyone else is going to see it that way. No one actually wants the hero to be interested in the school loser." He thought about it a moment, then amended, "Unless they are the chosen."

"Not everyone in that school wants to watch you fail, Fenton," Phantom reminded him, his calm, somewhat brightened voice at odds with Fenton's anxiety. Fenton found himself leaning into it, closing his eyes and blocking out other sounds like the airplane passing overhead. "There will be some on your side, such as those who want to know I'm of the gay community. Sam and Tucker especially."

"Sam and Tucker are only on my side so long as they don't realize the truth." Fenton lifted his chin and pressed the crown of his head against the wall, his hair catching on the rough brickwork. "As soon as they realize I'm not lying, they'll turn on me like the others. They don't want you to like me any more than the others do, even if it's for different reasons."

"Ahh..."

"And maybe there are people who want it to be true, but how will that be any better? They're the ones who are going to be asking me questions. They're going to be watching me just as much as the others. If I admit you do like me, they're going to pressure me to reciprocate because it's..." Fenton wrinkled his nose. "...romantic. Or something. My sexuality is going to be brought up, and I—" He pinched his eyes shut.

"And you're not ready," Phantom finished for him.

"Not when it's this visible." Fenton blew out a breath. "Phantom, however you feel about it, I hate the spotlight. I'm not any good at it."

"You're too genuine," Phantom agreed.

Fenton sighed and slouched his shoulders. "Exactly..."

"No, you misunderstand, I meant it as a compliment. It is something I admire about you."

Fenton opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but his cheeks had flushed and his thoughts felt...scrambled. He snapped his mouth shut.

"As for being the center of attention...perhaps people will be looking for your faults, but it is in pursuit of deciding why I couldn't possibly fall for you, correct?"

"Crush," Fenton muttered, unable and unwilling to speak louder. "No one's saying anything about falling in love or whatever."

"No," Phantom agreed, "they didn't because their knowledge is limited, but it is how I'm choosing to describe it."

Fenton lifted his hand to his face and scrubbed at his rapidly heating cheek. "Fuck, Phantom..."

It had been so smoothly delivered Fenton wouldn't have realized he was being flirted with if he hadn't been looking for it.

Phantom chuckled. "Too much?"

"Is admitting you're falling in love with yourself too much?" Fenton asked, incredulous. "Uh, yeah? I'd say so!"

"So would I, if I saw you as the other half of myself."

"Well, I am, so stop it."

"But, Fenton, it is because you were my other half that you have no reason to fear."

Fenton frowned. "How so?"

"Those who will be searching for your faults are doing so because they want to prove you're not worth my attention, but, Fenton," Phantom's voice softened, became more insistent, "we were melded two days ago, mind to mind. I know you. I know how your anxiety feels, I know how your stubbornness helps you stand your ground anyway. I know the heady rush of your anger and how it rises to defend others more than yourself. I know why your clumsiness manifests, how you feel so much all at once you can't help but second guess yourself. I know all of it.

"I already have an intimate knowledge of who and what you are as a person. There isn't anything they could point out that I don't already know about. They have already lost. I know all of it, and it hasn't changed anything. I have a crush on you regardless."

Fenton stared wide-eyed up at the sky, at the white clouds floating lazily overhead, and consciously forced himself to keep breathing.

"Then, of course, there are the things they don't know about. Like your bravery, your resourcefulness during battle, the way you have protected this town for years without any thanks or acknowledgment. We were joined at the time, but I wasn't the one who fought. Was I?"

Fenton made an odd noise, struggled a moment, before he managed, "No, but you were there too."

"True, but it wasn't Paulina who was on the battlefield with me, was it? Or Dash. It was you. We have a history, even if it is...a bit tangled. They don't know how it felt to be joined with you during some of our biggest fights. And, Fenton, you were..."

The smooth flow of Phantom's speech trailed off as he searched for a word. Wide-eyed and flushed to the roots of his hair, Fenton pulled the phone away from his ear, but he still heard Phantom's voice finish.

"...amazing."

Fenton hung up hurriedly. "Shit," he breathed.

About five seconds afterward, he realized how stupid that was and he fumbled two-handed with Sam's phone, trying to call him back. "Fuck. Damn it." He made a frustrated noise. "Why does he have to be so—"

Phantom's icon—or rather, their ghost form pre-separation—flashed on the screen as Phantom called him.

Fenton made a tight little noise in the back of his throat. He accepted the call and placed the phone against his ear again. Immediately, Phantom's rich laughter rolled through the speakers. Lively. Joyful. Nothing like the despondent air he had been under since he woke Fenton earlier that morning.

"Did you hang up on me?" Phantom asked, his voice bright and still rich with laughter.

"No!" Fenton denied, flustered. "It was, it, uh, cut off?"

Phantom laughed some more.

"Shut up," Fenton hissed.

"You're adorable, Fenton."

"I will hang up on you for real, I swear," Fenton threatened.

"Okay, okay, one more thing."

Fenton shifted on his feet and glanced down and to the side. "One more thing."

Phantom snickered a few more times. In a husky voice that instantly sent a jolt through Fenton's body, Phantom purred, "You're definitely not a bad kisser. They can no longer criticize you on that."

Fenton struggled to form a response for several long seconds before he blurted out, "Bye!"

He hung up and then lightly banged the back of his head against the brick wall, willing his face to cool and his heart to stop that. "Stupid, stupid...get a hold of yourself! He's just teasing you like always, you should be used to it by now."

Sam's text message notification went off. Warily, Fenton looked down at it and read, "I'm sorry!"

Fenton rolled his eyes. He texted back, "No you're not."

"I am a little bit. Please call me back. I'll stop. Promise."

Fenton stared down at the message, chewing on his bottom lip. Technically, he had accomplished his goal, hadn't he? Phantom was laughing again. He was acting like his old self, even if his flirting was more heavy-handed than usual. There was no longer any reason Fenton should reach past the distance they were meant to uphold now that Phantom's mood had been lifted.

No reason except...he wanted to.

Fenton called Phantom again. He must have been waiting for the call—hopeful or eager—because Phantom answered before the first ring had finished.

"Sorry, shouldn't have brought that up," Phantom admitted. "But it had to be said before someone tried to hurt you with our past failure."

Fenton pressed a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. "It was how you said it, you ass."

Phantom chuckled sheepishly.

"Look." Fenton placed a hand over his eyes and forehead. His skin felt hot. "The bell is about to ring. Can you wrap this up? I appreciate the confidence boost, but your opinion isn't going to stop them from making my life hell."

"It wasn't meant to, I was only hoping to fortify you against that hell. But..." Phantom's voice became hesitant, losing some of its confidence, "perhaps I could help you inside the school as well? If Sam lets you borrow her phone, you could text me updates on how things are going. I could offer advice if you run into a problem. I could help. I will help."

Fenton shifted on his feet and looked over his shoulder. Tucker and Sam were talking, the two of them bent over Tucker's phone on the table between them. "I don't think that's a good idea, Phantom. We're supposed to keep our distance." He turned away from his friends and braced his left shoulder against the school. "Besides, admit it, you just want to talk."

"Yes. Maybe. But it would help you out too, right?"

Fenton raised an eyebrow. "'Too'?"

"I know what you're doing, Fenton. You would not normally reveal so much to me. You made yourself vulnerable for my sake, didn't you?"

"Well, I..." Fenton winced, caught. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at the sky. "You're not upset, are you?"

"No, quite the opposite. It is helping, but I'm not ready to let this good feeling go. Please, Fenton."

Fenton sighed. It would be nice to be able to reach Phantom if he started feeling stressed or things got out of hand. In fact, just thinking about heading into school with Phantom's support readily at hand made the anxiety squeezing his chest ease. Phantom's feelings for him were a problem, yes, but a more pleasant problem than being the center of attention without his help.

He pinched his eyes closed. "I'll ask her."

Phantom breathed out his own sigh, full of relief. "Thanks, Fenton."

"Yeah, just don't, uh, push things anymore, okay?"

"I'll try not to, but," his tone became sardonic, "I've been told it is in my nature as your other half to flirt uncontrollably."

Fenton tilted his head and peeked at Sam and Tucker from the corner of his eyes. He could guess who Phantom was referring to. "To be fair," he said cautiously, mindful as it sounded like a sore point for Phantom, "you have been flirting with me pretty much since we separated."

"We were meant to kiss, Fenton," Phantom protested. "It was warranted flirting."

Fenton snorted. "You just liked watching me squirm."

"Well...yeah, all right. That might have had something to do with it. Your reactions were—never mind, I probably shouldn't say."

"Probably shouldn't," Fenton agreed. "And I should probably go, so, um, bye?"

"Yes, bye, Fenton. Let me know what she says."

"Right." Fenton lowered the phone from his ear and ended the call. He slouched forward, shoulders curling inward until he could press his cheek against the rough brickwork. He made a rough noise in his throat and pressed a hand to his face. It still felt warm. He was still blushing, wasn't he?

Then again, he would probably be blushing throughout the day.

He turned away from the wall and began walking back to the picnic table Sam and Tucker sat at. His friends were no longer leaning over Tucker's phone. Instead, they were watching Fenton approach. Likely, they had been watching him for a while, possibly during at least part of his last conversation with Phantom. His steps faltered, but Tucker waved him over in a "hurry up" gesture.

As soon as he was within earshot of the table, Tucker called out, "Dude, man, you have got to get a hold of your reactions. If someone other than us had seen you talking to your other half just now, you'd have the whole school up in arms."

Fenton winced, his blush getting worse. "I—well, I—Phantom actually thinks I should play along, so that's fine, right?"

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Play along?"

"Like, uh, pretend they're right and figured us out." Fenton walked around the table and sat on the bench beside Tucker. "I guess I'm so bad at denying it, I'm just creating more interest by trying."

"Ha! I'll say!" Tucker held up his phone, grinning. "You got people going nuts online just over that whole bus thing."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Apparently, the only reason you would blush and stammer over their questions is if they were right and you're trying to hide something."

Fenton forced his lips into a weak smile.

"He's just shy, huh, Danny?" Tucker clapped Fenton on the shoulder and gave him a little shake. "It wasn't like it was any of their business anyway. If a guy had kissed Danny. You don't owe them anything, dude."

Touched but uncomfortable, Fenton bit his lip and ducked his head.

Fortunately, the bell rang before the conversation could continue. Tucker stood and moved around the table just as Sam used the table as leverage in an effort to push herself up without putting weight on her ankle. Seeing Tucker's intention, Fenton stood and followed him around to Sam's other side, and the two of them helped her stand. Once on her feet, she leaned more heavily on Tucker than Fenton, which, given his behavior so far that morning, was probably a good idea.

"So long as the two of you don't care about people making those kinds of assumptions," Sam continued as she limped toward the school, balanced by her grip on Tucker's arm, "I guess there's no reason to worry about that besotted smile of yours."

Fenton froze. Sam and Tucker continued walking toward the doors leading to the cafeteria, and after a moment of panic, Fenton jogged forward the two steps he had lost. "Excuse me, what? What smile?"

"Were you two talking about Valerie?" Tucker asked.

"A little bit, but what smile? When?" Fenton jogged ahead of his friends and turned to face them, walking backward. "I wasn't smiling."

"It was just a little one," Sam explained. "If it hadn't been for the blush and the soft look in your eyes, I never would have noticed. It was sweet."

Fenton felt his cheeks heating up all over again.

"The consequences of being shy, dude," Tucker said. He sighed mournfully. "All the girls are going to think you're cute. Again. What's it going to take to get noticed around here?!"

"If you want," Sam said with a wicked smirk, "we could ask ghost Danny to flirt with you in front of everybody. Maybe then you'll get the same attention as Danny."

"You can have it," Fenton muttered.

Tucker perked up. "Do you think he would?"

"Why not? He seems to enjoy flirting and he already admitted he found you attractive."

Fenton tripped but caught himself on the next step. "H-he, uh, he did?"

Sam's and Tucker's attention refocused on him, and there was something searching in their gaze, something that made Fenton want to hide.

Tucker opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Fenton hurriedly turned to Sam and said, "Phantom wants to know if I can borrow your phone so I can keep him updated on what's happening."

Sam looked down at the phone he still held in his hand, held out between them, and then slid her gaze up to meet Fenton's. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked. "People are going to assume you're texting him. Like I said, this rumor isn't going to go away if you keep throwing fuel on the fire."

Fenton bit his lip. That was true, but... "I don't know if I can get through this without his help."

"You got us!" Tucker pointed out.

Fenton forced a smile. Their support meant a lot, but he was lying to them. It wasn't the same thing.

Sam sighed. "Alright, fine. Just don't get it confiscated by the teachers and don't let Valerie see you texting someone else. Can't believe I'm saying this, but for the sake of your relationship, you need to be careful."

Fenton nodded enthusiastically. "I will. I will."

He looked down at the phone and quickly wrote up a text, letting Phantom know.

Right after he hit send, Sam hesitantly said, "Uh, Danny..."

Fenton looked up and met her eyes. Sam and Tucker had stopped walking. Now several feet away from them, Fenton did likewise, confused.

"Your ghost half," Sam continued, "he mentioned something last night about not being able to remember—"

Sam's phone vibrated in Fenton's hand, and he looked down. The text Phantom had sent in reply just said "Yes!" but Fenton could just imagine his other half's wide grin. Now that he was on the look-out for it, he felt his own lips stretching into a smile. He forced it away with a little shake of his head and looked up at Sam again.

"Yeah?" he urged when she didn't continue. "What doesn't Phantom remember?"

Sam hesitated.

Tucker nudged her with his shoulder. "Yeah, Sam. What doesn't he remember?"

Instead of answering, though, Sam shook her head. "No, don't worry about it, it's fine." She started walking, forcing Tucker to do the same. "It can wait."

They walked around Fenton. He stood in place, feeling as though he had missed something. But what? Something about Phantom? He sighed, turned, and trotted after his friends.

Whatever it was, if it was important, Sam would bring it up again later.

Had to end it here because, if we had continued into the school, the chapter would likely have reached 20k words before I reached the scene I need it to end on. That wouldn't have been good for anyone.

But it does demonstrate a question I've been meaning to ask for a while. Do you guys prefer long chapters or short chapters like this one? I like long ones because it gives you more of a chance to settle into the story before the chapter ends, but on the other hand, shorter chapters are easier to write and edit so they go up faster. Any input would be greatly appreciated ^-^'

Oh yes, and, Phantom boosting Fenton's confidence here is meant to hark back to his realization from the night before. He knows how much his approval matters to Fenton now, so he's letting him know he likes him as he is in the hope Fenton will believe Phantom and not, say, Paulina who might claim he's too much of a loser.

I suppose that's it for now. Next chapter, we're back in school. I'm thinking about taking some outsider POV's again since Noah was such a hit. And I love them xD

Thanks for reading!