With the exception of Christmas time, but thankfully, when Danny had had enough and sort of blew up on them when he was fourteen, they actively worked to not ruin the holiday for him. It still had some bad memories tied to it, so Danny would never truly love it, but at least now he didn't hate it.

"You got this, Dad." Jazz agrees from somewhere behind them. She was helping unload all their luggage. Danny had been helping, too, when his dad had walked around the rented van and forcefully turned him towards the area where the stage was being built. Danny had noticed that his sister had grown more relaxed in her time at college.

Unlike before, where their parents' antics had her rolling her eyes and shielding away in embarrassment, now she only smiles fondly and even goes along with the joking. The first year she came back for Thanksgiving break, Maddie had joked that she had finally gotten past her "My parents are so embarrassing" teenage phase and had now entered "My parents are a little silly, but I love them to death" young adult phase.

Danny was actually hitting his own second phase with his own two years of college, and he realized just how cool and loving his parents are. He never realized how much he took that for granted. He also realized that the rest of Amity Park, who consistently bullied him for his parents' freakness, were all a bunch of judgmental jerks whose opinion didn't matter.

He couldn't remember the moment he realized this. It felt like he woke up one morning and went, "Why do I care what they say? My dad and mom aren't afraid of telling me they love me. And they like spending time with me. Hell, I have a good life."

So now, even though he was an adult with very limited time between the end of his bachelor's program in engineering on the horizon and his full-time job, he still found a way to join the family on a vacation to go support Jack in his competition.

For the first time after years of training, Jack Fenton had placed in the MLE (Major League Eating) and was going for a national title. He won the local and the state eating competition back in Illinois, and now he was aiming for the top.

It was stiff competition, though. Danny already saw some big names in the parking lot alone. Everyone was arriving a few days earlier to get checked in and prepare. The Fentons were planning to let Jack focus on his sport while taking time as a family to explore the city and visit tourist spots.

They also planned to do a lot of swimming. The Fentons didn't have a pool, so they considered access to one, without paying, even if the local public pool was affordable, just far away- a luxury. In fact, as soon as they all had their rooms, Danny was planning on taking a dip to get rid of his jet lag.

"This is the year," Jack said once more before turning around and taking the luggage from his mother. With the ease of a strong man, he flung one over his shoulder, and the second he carried under his arm. His mother's smile widened as she leaned into his side. She had her duffel bag, strapped from one shoulder to the other- likely with all their ghost gear. Even though they support Danny and knew not all ghosts were evil, the few small ones that were made it important to still have weapons for defense.

Danny picked up his own bags- he didn't own actual luggage bags. Danny usually relied on duffle bags as long as the airport allowed it- and once he made sure Jazz was all set, they locked up the rented van. he would have offered to take her bags for her, but he knew Jazz preferred to do it herself. She felt more secure with her items in her own hands.

____________________________________________________________

"Ready, Danny?" Jazz questions, wrapping a swim cover-up over her top and women's swimming shorts. She's never been one for bikinis or one-pieces.

She had her pool items lined up on her bed, double-checking she had everything- towel, flipflops, goggles, and two water guns in case the pool was empty and they could have a nice little fight. Even as she asked, she was already carefully packing everything into her pool tote without raising her eyes or her head.

"Sure, am," Danny replied from here, lying on his bed, phone in his hand, a simulation game blaring from the speakers. His items, one single towel and an unflattened pool lounge, were at the bottom of his bed for him to grab. The siblings had gotten one room together with queen beds. His parents were in the adjacent room, which was bought by the competition organizers, but they only offered a single king bed.

Jack and Maddie had opted out of the evening dip- it was like five in the afternoon, and the pool didn't close until eleven- choosing instead ot take showers and sit down to watch a movie.

The Fentons were going to have a meal together later, likely after the siblings came back from the pool, and maybe catch another movie with their parents in their room if there was enough time. If they didn't come back by eight, Maddie and Jack were going to eat alone, and the young adults had to order takeout from somewhere.

"Alright," Jazz announced, throwing the bag on her shoulder, "Let's go!"

Danny clicked out of his game and hopped up on his knees to get off the bed. As he was walking towards the door, he reached down, taking the towel in one hand and the box of his flouter in the other. "Right behind you!"

Danny followed behind Jazz, with a skip in his step, already feeling energized by the mere idea of the water. Jazz pressed the elevator button, making a face when she noticed her brother. "Why are you barefoot?"

"Ugh, cause I'm only going to the pool? I don't need shoes there." Danny replied with a duh apparent in his voice.

Jazz rolls her eyes, but there is a smile on her face as she replies. "You're so lame."

"Yes, but I'm also pretty. It saves me." Danny gloats, flickering his ponytail over his shoulder. "I have developed the privilege to be lame and stupid."

"You're pretty, but you're not that pretty." Jazz corrects. "It can only shield you from one. Lame or stupid. Pick your position."

"Oh, that's a tough one." Considering his choices, the pair climbed into the elevator and carried it to the ground floor. "I think I'd rather be shielded from stupid. The lame of today can be the cool of tomorrow, but the stupid shall always remain the same."

"Wow, who said that?"

"Me."

"Drat, it was almost wisdom. Obviously, the resource was not reliable."

Danny flipped her off, and she laughed. Down below, there wasn't a soul at the outdoor pool area, and they were quick to mentally cheer. Walking towards the edge, where an outdoor table underneath a useless tent against the stars and moon was, the pair quickly unloaded. The pool was lit from below, and soft lights were placed around the walls to make everything visible.

Danny set up his battery-powered pump to get his inflatable ready before turning and stepping into the water. Jazz was already floating on her back, kicking her feet every so often to drift from one side to the other. "Ah, this is nice...."

"I know the water is perfect." He replies, dipping under, to get his hair wet. Despite his words, Danny was actually cold and hoped the dip would help his body acclimate to the temperature more quickly. While he was underwater, he got an idea.

Maybe a bit childish, but hey, he was a little brother.

Swimming closer to Jazz, he sprang up, screaming like a cross between a baboon monkey and a screeching cat. Jazz predictably flared, losing balance and splashing everywhere. As she tried to get her wits about her, Danny screamed, "I am the pool wizard, master of chlorinated water! Fear me!"

Jazz was still splashing in a panic when a loud laugh cut through the air. Danny froze, turning to face a pair of girls in suits. A pair of very pretty girls. The one in a purple bikini was howling with laughter, while the one in a black one-piece was smiling amusedly, flicking her black bob out of her face.

His face lost all color before it came roaring back with an embarrassed beet-red. He sank into the water as the two girls walked closer, rounding the pool to the other side and sitting down on lawn tables. Jazz finally got her feet under her, reaching up and grabbing him by the hair to try to wrestle under the water. "I'll kill you!"

"Wait. wait code G!" Danny gasps, struggling against her. For someone shorter than him- not short by any means, since the two somehow got Jack's height- she was surprisingly strong.

At once, his sister, the hopeless bi that she is, swung her head around, spotted the girls, and also famous Fenton Flush. She, too, sank in the water as the girls slowly entered the pool on the other side, chatting in a different language.

After a moment, the Fentons went back to their own activities, swimming, talking, throwing insults that were not mean-spirited at each other, and even played a couple of rounds with the water gone since they had the entire right side of the pool- the deeper end-to themselves.

The two girls remained in the more shallow end, sitting and stretching out on the tile floor, letting the water run down their shoulders and talking among themselves. They could almost forget about them were it not for their hyper awareness of how attractive the pair was.

The one with the bob seemed closer to Jazz's age, but since there were only two years different between them, that wasn't too bad for Danny. The blond seemed to be Danny's age. This means the girls were between the ages of twenty and twenty-two, give or take a few more.

They spent most of their swim taking subtle glances at them, though Danny had the feeling the girls were aware, if the purple one's smirk was any indication.

Eventually, like cowards, the Fentons decided a retreat was in order. The two exited the pool, gathered their things, and speed walked towards the exit, trying not to make eye contact. He swears they broke out into giggles the moment they closed the gate, but he didn't turn around to check.

Jazz was practically hyperventilating in the elevator. "Did you see them!? They looked like goddesses."

"Right!? Who gave them the right to go out into public looking that good!?" Danny moaned, "They came in right when I was doing something stupid."

"You just made a weird noise, I was downing!" Jazz gripes, pulling her red hair over her face in shame. "Every time I see a cute girl, I'm doing something like that. Moby Dick, I haven't had a date in two years. I'm going to die alone!"

"I hadn't had since Freshman year of high school." Danny counters, "It's been five years for me."

Jazz groans, "We're going to be the death of the bloodline."

"Hey, hey, hey," Danny soothes, hugging his sister. He rubs at her shoulder while carefully prying her hand out of her hair with the other. "Look at it this way. We won't see those two for a while. Tomorrow we're spending most of the day watching the first rounds of the eating competition. What changes do we run into there with those two? We can redeem ourselves with enough prep time."

The next morning, Danny was fighting off cupid while the girl from the pool- the black one-piece with a cut bob- was inhaling her hot wings like they were candy.

The girl, Casandra Wayne, accompanied by her coach, Stephine Brown, was demolishing the competition. She was five plates ahead of the rest and didn't seem to be struggling to eat more. In fact, she almost seemed to be enjoying an afternoon tea, her face clean despite the mess of dripping sauces. It made no sense, and yet it was the most beautiful thing he's ever seen a girl do.

His Dad was doing pretty well himself, but it was obvious he was not going to catch up. He would secure second place by how far ahead he was of the rest of the players. That was good because only the top three of the seven would be moving on to the next round.

Casandra's eyes, for some reason, raised from her plate, roaming over the crowd and stopping on Danny. There was a stunned moment where time seemed to freeze as their gazes locked, then suddenly, she winked at him.

It felt like a physical blow. Danny was quite sure this was what it felt like to have Cupid land the shot and fling an arrow into his chest. It felt like the little diaper-wearing menace dropped-kicked him with spiked heels.

"Great Gatsby!" Danny said, clutching his chest. "I'm in love."

"That's nice." His mom said distractedly, before rising to her feet and screaming with all her lungs, "GIVE THEM HELL, HONEY!! GO JACK FENTON!"

Jazz grabbed Danny's hand in a death grip, eyes lowered from the stage, staring somewhere in the VIP section. "Did you see the people who came with Casandra Wayne?"

"No?"

"Danny," Jazz whispers in a pained voice, "They're all hot. All of them."

Danny followed her gaze to see Stephine talking to a boy their age, looking like he would be on the cover of some CEO magazine, even in his skater outfit. Next to them was a man with a strip of white in his hair, leaning in his seat, casually showcasing his very nice body as he cheered on Casandra.

Finally, another man rounded up the group, wearing a tight blue T-shirt and well-fitted jeans, as he took hundreds of photos and cheered as if this were the Olympics. Because he was standing, Danny got a great view of his backside, and despite not being attracted to men, even he knew that was an amazing ass.

"Pride and Prejudice!" He swears, "What is in the water that they drink!?"

Jazz makes a gagging noise next to him because the one with the stripped white whipped his head around the second the book title left Danny's lips, zeroing in on them with fighting accuracy and offering a crooked grin that seemed to have stolen Jazz's soul.

Danny is about to tease her a little when the man turns back around, but his eyes travel up to Casandra and find her winking once more. He makes the same noise as his sister.