Danny Phantom - Gender Bender (Discontinued)

Chapter Sixteen

After she completed her study, Danny went ghost and flew towards Sam's house. She knew he would most likely be studying in the basement theatre as it was the darkest and coolest room in his parent's mini-mansion. She went intangible and invisible as she dove through the ground and then hovered in the theatre until she was sure the coast was clear. With a pop she turned back to normal, startling Sam who was deep in concentration.

"Whoa, hey Danny," he greeted with a smile. She floated towards him and landed on the couch.

"Hey Sam. How's your study going?"

"Allllright, I 'spose. What about you?"

She laid back on the cushions and sighed. "Same. But I think I'm done for today. Wanna go somewhere?"

"Yes," he said with a dead face. "Get me out of here please! Mum and Dad have guests from England over and they've got their fine China and dainty cupcakes and preppy and posh faces on. They're the only reason why I'm down here studying." He groaned and pulled at his hair. "I need to escape."

Danny grabbed his hand and smiled cheekily. "Then operation 'Escape the Parents' is a go!" She turned them both intangible and flew them up through the floor onto the alley way. She turned back into her human half and the two ran down the street, hand in hand. They had lunch by the beach and talked amiably about anything but school or ghosts. They continued wandering around Manly for a while then took the ferry into the City, where they discovered an pop-up ice rink at Hyde Park. It was sheltered by a lattice awning covered in pastel flowers and fairy lights, which glowed softly in the fading afternoon. Danny's eyes filled with excitement but her heart dropped when she saw the long line up for the rink.

"Oh, man. That's gonna take forever to get through," she whined. "Perhaps if we call Tucker over, she'll get here before we get in?"

"By the looks of that line, I would have no doubt that'd we'd have plenty of time." Sam huffed and and drew out his phone. He called Tucker and waited for her to pick up. "Hey, Duck-Tuck. Danny and I found an awesome ice rink at Hyde Park, wanna come check it out?"

"Sure, that sounds cool. Ha, get it? Cool?" Sam face palmed even though she couldn't see it and giggled. "Is it alright if I bring Melanie with me?"

"Melanie?" Danny asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, we've been studying all day together. She's just a...friend, yeah, friend."

Danny and Sam side glanced each other with a smirk. "Sure, Tucker, just a friend," they said in unison.

"Guys," her voice softened as she grumbled. "Shut up, you're embarrassing me. And rich to you two." Danny and Sam glanced at each other quickly and a secret smile played upon their faces. "We'll be over there in about forty-five mins, ok?"

"Should be plenty of time, seeing as the waiting time for the line is an hour -five," Sam said, squinting at the 'approximate wait time' sign. "We'll hop in line waiting for you guys, cool?"

"Cool. See you soon."

*****

Tucker and her new friend Melanie finally arrived, and only had to wait another five minutes before the group went in. Melanie, Danny noticed, was of a similar height to Tucker, had olive skin and long, wavy sun-browned hair with golden eyes. Tucker explained that they were in each other's IT class, but why she had never mentioned her before was a mystery. Perhaps it was because of the blush-filled looks they gave each other. Danny smiled to herself at the thought. They slipped on their ice skates and slid around the rink for a good hour. Danny stuck hesitatingly to the side at the beginning, her legs feeling like they would slip down into a ripping split at any time if she let go of the wall. Sam zipped past her, spinning and twirling on the ice flawlessly with a smug grin. "Oh, shut it and help me," Danny finally quipped. She held out her hand, still clutching to the side, and he took it with a firm grip. She timidly slid her left foot forward and latched onto Sam's arm for dear life.