#star error

"Uh, I don't know." Dash shrugged. "I was kind of busy pissing."

"Wait, what?" shrieked Paulina. "What are you two talking about?"

Dash smirked and turned to Paulina and Kwan. "I walked into the bathroom and guess who I saw in there? Together?"

Paulina gasped and pressed a couple of hot pink manicured nails over her heart. "Danny and Star?"

"No way!" Kwan laughed.

Star's face burned. "It's not what you think."

"Why do you keep trying to deny this, Star?" Dash rolled his eyes. "I mean, yeah, we all think you can do better than Fenton, but if you really like him that much, whatever. You don't need to hide in the bathroom to make out with him."

"Yeah, honestly, teasing you about it is starting to get boring," said Kwan with a shrug.

Star sighed and turned away, rubbing her elbow, biting her lip. She wanted to insist it wasn't true, that she could never possibly like that freak, that they were completely wrong.

But her heart ached and the words just weren't coming to her.

Why weren't they coming?

"Star, are you okay?" Paulina touched her shoulder.

Star stepped back. "I have to get to tutoring," she muttered.

She walked away. Her friends did not follow her, did not call her back.

In the tutoring room, Star tried to focus on the student next to her, tried to work through the correct formulas and calculations. But everything was jumbled in her head, coming out of her in confused mumbles. She could see the same perplexed pout and eyebrow pinch on each student's face again and again but she had no idea how to make it all stop, how to make it go away.

She checked the tutoring sheet. But Fenton's name was not on her list. She checked again and again because perhaps she just missed it all the other times.

But his name really wasn't there.

Fenton really wasn't coming to see her.

But why did that matter? Did she actually need to see him again? The mystery was solved, she now knew why his freckles glowed. Case closed, right? That was all she cared about, right? That was the only reason she had been watching him so closely the past week, right?

Yes. Right. No other reason. She definitely absolutely did not need to see him again.

But then why did she…want to?

She kneaded her knuckles above her breast, an attempt to massage out the aching feeling, the heaviness in her heart.

She looked back at the classroom door, willing it to open, for Fenton to stroll on in with that dorky smile on his face.

It was only as the final student left and Star zipped up her bag and slung it over her shoulder that she finally accepted that he just wasn't coming.

….........

Late that night, Star lay in her bed under the covers, scrolling through the social media feed on her phone. Except she wasn't really looking at it. No, her thoughts were elsewhere and nothing on her phone screen was even remotely interesting.

Her little sister, Nova, snored softly in the twin bed against the other wall of their shared room. Down the hall, she knew her parents were also sleeping soundly while her older brother, Orion, was playing a video game with online friends in his room. Paulina had already signed off for the night, always a big believer in getting enough beauty sleep, especially if she wanted to wake up early enough for her morning run.

Star knew she needed to get to sleep as well, but her brain would not shut off. Her mind kept running over what she saw in the men's restroom at school.

Fenton clutching his side, lifting his shirt and there it was, the same injury that Phantom had.

She asked him her last question: Was he Danny Phantom?

He didn't get a chance to answer but he didn't have to.

She swiped out of her social media app and opened her photo app instead, pulling up the only picture of Fenton she had on her phone. Eyes wide, mouth partly open, tiny pinpoints of light dotting his nose and cheeks.

He looked…cute.

She felt herself blushing as her finger hovered over the screen, but she couldn't bring herself to flick the photo away.

A notification appeared at the top of her screen and she clicked that instead. Her social media feed popped up and she read through the post submitted to a group Paulina had started, one dedicated to the ghost boy. Someone had apparently just spotted him in the sky. She tapped on the accompanying photo and squinted as she tried to make sense of the bright white smudge against a backdrop of blurry stars.

Was it true? Was Fenton really up in the sky right at that very moment?

She jumped out of bed and threw on a coat over her nightgown, slipping on a pair of flip-flops before tiptoeing out of her room. The apartment was dark, the living room empty. She approached the front door and unlocked it, carefully turning the knob and gently pulling it open, flinching as it made its familiar squeak.

She paused and waited for the sound of her parents coming out of their bedroom to take a look. But there was only silence behind her.

She stepped out into the main hall of the apartment complex and shut the door behind her as quietly as she could. Then she ran for the stairs leading up to the roof, up and up and then she pushed open the door, gulping in the breezy night air, sharp and chilled in her lungs.

She scanned the rooftop area. No one else was up here. She was alone.

She walked to the parapet and pressed her hands to the cold concrete as she leaned over and peered down at the street and carports several stories below. The streetlamps were switched on, bathing the parking lot in a sickly yellow.

And then she looked up. At the sliver of moon hanging above her in the dark sky freckled with glinting stars.

Just like his face—

And suddenly she really wanted to see his face.

She looked. Waited. And then she saw it. A ribbon of light streaking past the moon. A shooting star? Or a shooting ghost?

Ooh, make a wish! Paulina's voice squealed in her head.

She closed her eyes and breathed out as she made her wish. A wild, crazy wish. A wish she never expected she would ever want to come true.

"Star."

A voice called her from behind. A voice she knew very well now. She slowly turned around and there he was on the other side of the rooftop.

The shooting ghost had granted her wish.

She stared at him for a moment, took in his appearance in the dim light from the streetlamps below. He was dressed in the same clothes he had been wearing at school earlier that day, his hair and body darkened by the shadows, no glow to his skin. Human.

She rubbed her arms, digging her manicured nails into her coat sleeves. "How did you find me?"

Fenton shrugged. "I know where everyone and everything is in this town." He pointed a finger upward. "Kind of comes with looking down on it from up in the sky so often."

Star pouted. "So I'm not special?"

"I didn't say that."

He started walking toward her. Slowly. One step, then another, inching closer. Star's heart fluttered as she stayed in place, waiting for him to be near enough to touch.

"I hope it's okay that I'm here," said Fenton, stopping just a couple feet away. "I just… I couldn't stop thinking about you, and then I saw you up here and…well." He lowered his eyes and chewed on his bottom lip. "It looked like maybe you were looking for something." He shyly raised his eyes again. "Or…someone."

The murky street light dulled the color of his face but his eyes still twinkled a hint of icy blue. Star shuddered and then melted as she held his gaze.

"Maybe," she said. "Maybe I was looking for something. Or someone."

A breeze passed between them. Star felt her arms prickle with goose bumps that poked the inside of her coat sleeves.

"How's your side?" she asked.

Fenton blinked in mild confusion before looking down at his right side and pressing a few fingers against it. "The scabs opened up a little from all the times you jabbed them with your elbow at lunch. But they're doing okay now."

Star tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Yeah, well, if you had just told me your little secret from the start, I wouldn't have had to do that."

"But it was too much fun trying to watch you figure it out."

He gave her a smile. Not a smirk, simply good humor. Star felt herself blush and hoped that the dim lighting didn't make it too obvious.

"This is why you were bleeding that day we met at Station 11, isn't it?" said Star. "You were fighting ghosts before you showed up."

Fenton nodded. "Yeah."

"And when I was waiting for you outside the bathroom door and you turned up behind me even though there was only one way out of there."

"Yeah, I can phase through walls."

"And…your freckles."

Fenton's mouth tugged in a half-smile. "That's an inconvenient side effect."

"And they only glow when you're excited?"

"That's what Sam and Tucker have told me."

"But then why did they glow in the library when I told you"—she bit her lip and looked away—"that maybe I'd be okay with going on a date with you?"

"Why do you think?"

Star tentatively turned her face back to find Fenton gazing at her, fond and warm. She pulled her coat around her tighter and stuffed her hands into her pockets, her head ducking as she looked down at her feet.

"You shouldn't like me," she said quietly. "I've only ever been mean to you."

"If there's one thing I've learned from patrolling and watching the people of this town on a regular basis," said Fenton, "it's that you can fall in love with anyone."

Star lifted her head, remembering that Paulina had said something very similar earlier that day. She lost her breath as she stared into Fenton's eyes, so sweet and kind.

"And you've been nice to me." Fenton scrunched his mouth and glanced up briefly. "Once."

Star raised a brow. "Really?"

"Sure," said Fenton. "You helped me understand math in a way I never did before."

Star rolled her eyes. "Well, that's not a good reason to like me."

"You're also smart," said Fenton. "You don't take crap from anyone. When you want something, you go and get it." He paused, a gentle smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. "Or if you want to know something, you don't give up until you find the truth."

Star sucked in her bottom lip and exhaled out her nose.

"Even if you have nothing nice to say about me, I'd still like you," insisted Fenton.

Star gave him a sidelong glance, one eyebrow rising and waggling. "I have nice things to say about you."

Fenton folded his arms and grinned, a challenge in his eyes. "Oh, yeah?"

Star puckered her lips playfully. "You're attentive, sweet, brave…" She shrugged. "Pretty good prankster, too."

Fenton looked skeptical. "Am I?"

"You definitely won our prank war."

"Yeah. Well. You gave me a pretty good run."

He smiled again. Star's face warmed as she looked at his lips. So soft, so inviting. So close and yet not close enough.

"Our game isn't over yet," she said quietly. "You know that, right?"

Fenton tilted his head to one side.

"You didn't actually answer my last question," explained Star. "In the bathroom at school today."

Fenton's eyes lidded slightly. "I guess I didn't," he said thoughtfully. "You're right."

"Does this mean I can ask another?"

One corner of Fenton's mouth twitched upward. "Of course."

Star breathed in, swallowed, breathed again. "Can I kiss you?" Another breath. "Danny?"

His freckles lit up, bright green dots scattering across his nose and cheeks in constellations she longed to trace with her fingers. He came in closer, taking hold of her arms and leaning in. His eyes closed and Star closed hers as well, feeling the warmth of his mouth near her lips.

"You didn't actually answer that question either," said Star suddenly, opening her eyes.

Fenton also opened his eyes. "Shut up and kiss me," he demanded through a smirk.

Star could hardly suppress a giggle as his lips met hers, warm and soft, gentle for just a moment before he deepened the kiss, pressing himself into her as his hands found their way to her back, one near her shoulders, the other on her waist. Star threaded her fingers into his hair and kept him close, so close, even if he tried to break away now she would simply have to pull him right back in because she couldn't let him go now. All hers, only hers.

Their lips came apart with a tiny smack. Fenton's arms continued to surround her, his fingers caressing her back. Star lowered her hands down to his chest and kept her elbows in so he could hold her more tightly.

"You weren't lying," said Star. "You really are a good kisser."

Fenton shrugged. "Yeah, well, I was practicing on a pillow before I came here."

"Oh, so that's why you skipped English!"

"I really wanted to make sure our first kiss was incredible."

"Well. You succeeded. Danny."

Star could feel Fenton melt as his hold loosened just a little.

"I like when you say my name," he murmured dreamily.

Star chuckled. "I like saying it."

Fenton—no, Danny—retightened his embrace and moved his face toward hers again. Star was quick to move in as well, meeting him in another kiss. She could see the glow of his freckles through her slightly open eyes, tiny spots of green light flickering between her eyelashes.

They didn't break apart for a long time. Star couldn't say how long, only that she didn't want it to end. Danny continued to hold her in his arms, his nose close to hers as Star nestled her hands and forearms into his chest.

"We still gotta finish our game, you know." Star straightened, running her fingertips over his collarbone. "My last question, for real. You have to actually answer this time." She looked at him with mock sternness. "No more coy evasion."

Danny laughed. "Coy? You're accusing me of being coy?"

Star pressed a finger to his lips. "Shh. Let me ask."

Danny smiled but kept his mouth closed, giving her finger a light kiss that made Star feel giddy because damn if this boy wasn't completely adorable.

She traced his lips with her finger, one corner to the other.

"Can you take me out on a real date?" she asked.

Danny's smile widened, and Star traced the new shape.

"Yes, of course," said Danny. "Where would you like to go?"

Star pulled her finger away from his mouth and pointed up toward the sky.

Danny chuckled. "I can do that."

A ring of light surrounded his middle. Star jumped and stepped back but Danny's arms kept her close. She watched as the ring split into two, one traveling upward, the other down. She watched as his clothes changed into a black and white jumpsuit, his hair turning white and his eyes shimmering green. His entire body glowed, surrounded by an ethereal aura that chilled her own skin.

And his freckles were brighter than ever.

He lifted her off the ground, one arm supporting her back, the other under her knees. Star draped her arms over his shoulders and pressed her mouth to his. His lips felt cool and tingly, like kissing snow or a cloud. The sensation made her smile and he smiled too, both of them giggling just a little.

And then they were in the air, soaring high above her apartment building. Up into the clouds and stars and then over the moon.

The city lights below were spectacular. The night sky above was breathtaking. But Star could not look away from the glittering freckles that dotted Danny's face. And he never stopped looking at her either.

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