Plummeting In Love (Book 1 of Danny Phantom Trilogy)

Dirty Little Secrets

"Dude, don't you think you're overreacting? Just a little?" Tucker asked as he shot an amused look behind him. Danny was trying his best to remain inconspicuous as he hid behind Tucker and Sam. Every few seconds, Danny would poke his head up from the fortress made of his best friends' bodies that he'd surrounded himself with before ducking back down again when he thought someone was looking at him.

"People are staring at me. I can tell!" Danny stressed in a whisper as he hid behind Tucker's backpack. "I'm lucky my hair and eyes went back to normal after a few hours."

"Although I want to believe that Kagome wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut and would go bragging to her best friends, I have my doubts. No one's staring at you," Sam said and moved to the side. Unfortunately, she had caused a gap to appear in Danny's shield and he immediately freaked. He attempted to hide behind her, but Sam was faster. Giving him a literal push, Sam lead Danny towards his locker with him fighting her along the way. Tucker followed behind his friends with a grin and chuckle.

"No one's staring... How come no one's staring?" Danny questioned as he glanced at the other students littering the hall. They were either focused on a notebook, at their lockers, or chatting with friends. No one was looking at Danny... Weird.

"Maybe she didn't tell anyone, dude. I mean, how would you even go about explaining that to people? It sounds pretty crazy... Well, crazy to other people," Tucker said with a shrug.

"Yeah. I guess you're right. I don't know why I thought she would," Danny said while inputting the combination to his lock. It bothered Danny how easily he believed that Kagome would turn on him. Maybe it was the paranoia? But, Kagome had been nothing but kind and friendly to him. She could be trusted. Right? Danny had really thought about telling Kagome his secret, but the fear of rejection held him back. And to think, all it took was some matchmaking from Technus and a few days to get him to want to blab to Valerie a few years ago...

"Uh-oh. Here comes trouble," Sam muttered so that only Danny and Tucker could hear.

Danny had about three seconds to collect himself before he heard, "Hey, Danny". With a small jump, Danny accidentally slammed his locker shut before facing Kagome. He saw Kagome jump as well before giving him a startled look. "Hey, Kagome! What's up? How are you? What's going on?" Danny fired off questions in an overly enthusiastic tone. His hands went from being slipped into his pockets, to lost in his hair, to gripping his biceps as he folded his arms over his chest all in a matter of five seconds. Finally, Danny decided to lean against his locker. He could hear Sam groan, "Oi" from where she stood behind him. 'Play it cool, Fenton!'

"Not much. I kinda wanted to talk to you in private," Kagome answered.

Before Danny could answer, Sam stepped forward to answer Kagome for him. "Whatever you have to say to Danny, you can say it in front of us."

Kagome didn't bother to hold back an exaggerated eye roll. "Fine. I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I can tell that the kiss freaked you out and I'm really sorry I let it happen. I just want us to be friends. Is that okay?" Kagome explained directly to Danny. She had a slightly nervous and unsure look in her eyes as she faced him.

"Uh... Sure. I'm sorry, too. I'm not exactly sure what happened," Danny replied with a shrug and sheepish chuckle.

Kagome smiled brightly in relief. "That's good to hear. Anyways, I'll see you around, Danny. I've got to meet with the other cheerleaders before classes start."