[Third Person Pov]
Danny lay upside down on the edge of his hotel bed, his head dangling toward the floor while he stared blankly at the ceiling. The soft hum of the air conditioner filled the room, blending with the faint rush of traffic from the city outside. His hands rested loosely over his chest, fingers tapping in a slow, absent rhythm as his mind wandered through a haze of thoughts he didn't want to think about.
Then, his phone buzzed.
The sharp ringtone sliced through the silence, jarring him out of his trance. He groaned, not moving at first, then lazily lifted a hand. A faint green glow surrounded the device on the nightstand as it floated into his grasp through telekinesis. He flipped it around, squinting at the bright screen.
Sam.
Danny stared at the caller ID, his heart giving a small, painful squeeze. For a long moment, he just looked at it—no words, no reaction—then finally let out a breath through his nose. He pressed the decline button, shut his eyes, and tossed the phone carelessly across the bed. It bounced against the comforter and landed face down, but the ringing started again a few seconds later. Then again. And again.
By the sixth call, his jaw was tight. Danny grabbed the phone, thumbed the volume button until it was completely silent, and flung it back onto the bed.
"Not today," he muttered under his breath. "I'm not doing this today."
He let his arm fall limp over the side of the bed, the blood rushing to his head. His thoughts spiraled back toward her voice, her face, her laugh—and he hated how easily his mind clung to the memories he was trying to bury.
'Talking to her would just hurt too much,' he thought bitterly. 'And I can't restart anything while I'm still lying to her about… everything.'
He closed his eyes and let the ache sink in, muttering softly to himself, "Why does this have to be so difficult…"
Images began to flood his mind: Sam's smile under the dim streetlights during their secret date, their late-night rooftop talks, the wind in her hair when he flew her above the city—those secret moments that felt like the world had stood still just for them. He could almost hear her laugh echoing in the back of his mind, a sound that once made him feel alive.
Danny's lips twitched into a faint smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "We barely even got to experience our honeymoon phase," he murmured. The words stung as they left his mouth. The warmth that used to fill his chest whenever he thought of her now felt hollow.
Suddenly, a bright flash filled the room, followed by a wave of heat that made him flinch. A swirling vortex of blue fire ignited in midair near the foot of his bed, spinning faster until it burst outward with a fiery whoosh.
"WAAH!" Danny yelped, rolling off the bed and crashing to the floor with a heavy thud. He groaned, clutching his side. "Ow… seriously?"
From the dissipating flames, a familiar figure strutted through—bright hair glowing like a living flame, a confident smirk painted across her lips. Ember McLain.
"Well, look at you, hotshot," she teased, resting a hand on her hip. "I knew you were my number one fan, but you didn't have to fall so hard for me."
Danny blinked up at her, still sprawled on the floor. "Ugh… what the hell, Ember?"
"Surprised to see me?" she asked proudly, puffing out her chest.
"More like annoyed," Danny grumbled, pushing himself up to one knee. "How did you even find me? I didn't tell anyone where I was going. Hell, I didn't even know where I was going."
"First of all—rude," Ember replied, holding up her phone. "Second, your location was on."
Danny's left eye twitched. "...I really need to turn that off." He let out a heavy sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Why are you here, Ember?"
Ember raised a finger, about to say something clever, but Danny cut her off instantly. "If you say you were worried about me, I'll put you in the thermos."
She froze, lowering her hand, lips pressed together. "Uhhh… fine. I just wanted to hang out?"
"Not in the mood," Danny said flatly, flopping back onto the bed and returning to his upside-down position. "Honestly, Ember, I just… want to be alone right now."
For a second, Ember hovered there silently. The fire in her hair dimmed a little as she looked down, twirling a strand of her glowing locks between her fingers. "Yeah… I get that," she murmured softly.
Then, without warning, she floated over and plopped herself onto the other side of the bed, mimicking his exact upside-down position. Her fiery hair brushed against the tiled floor, flickering gently.
Danny turned his head and stared at her blankly. "...I thought you said you understood."
"I do," Ember replied cheerfully, turning her head to meet his gaze. "I just decided to ignore you."
Danny let out a slow, resigned sigh as she smiled at him. "You see," she continued, voice teasing again, "I've decided I'm going to be haunting you now."
"You're going to haunt me?" Danny scoffed, giving her a sideways glance. "I'm a ghost. I can't be haunted."
Ember grinned smugly, folding her arms across her chest. "Correction—you're a half-ghost," she said, wagging a finger. "Which, by the way, I'm still wrapping my pretty little head around. That means the other half of you can totally still be haunted."
Danny rolled his eyes. "Oh, please—"
But before he could finish, Ember's grin shifted into a glare. "Also! Why didn't you tell me you were a halfa!? I thought we were friends!"
Danny shrugged lazily, unbothered. "You never asked."
"Oh right, because that's such a normal question to ask!" Ember shot back sarcastically. "'Hey, quick question —are you by any chance half-dead, half-alive?'"
Danny smirked, tilting his head toward her. "Yeah, and if you had asked, I would've answered honestly."
Ember blinked at him, speechless for a beat. Her eye twitched as she let out a sound somewhere between a groan and a growl. "You're irritating, you know that?"
He gave a nonchalant shrug in reply, clearly enjoying how much he was getting under her skin.
"Would you have told me eventually?" Ember asked after a moment, her voice quieter now—almost hesitant. She didn't know why the question came out, but it did. And to her surprise, she actually wanted to hear his answer.
Danny stayed still for a moment, staring at the ceiling. "It… would've depended on how close we got," he said honestly.
Ember's expression softened. "I see," she murmured, unsure what to make of the bittersweet answer.
For a while, neither of them said anything. The air between them was heavy but not uncomfortable—just quiet, like they were both letting the weight of their thoughts settle.
Then Danny finally turned his head toward her. "You know… I don't think I ever properly thanked you for helping me deal with Desiree."
Ember blinked in surprise. "What, that?"
"Yeah," Danny said with a small smile. "You didn't have to help me, but you did. I owe you for that."
Ember's smirk returned as she gave him a playful nudge with her elbow. "Please, don't go getting all sentimental on me. What are friends for, huh?"
Danny huffed a laugh. "Apparently, for being annoying pains in the ass. Like when I said I wanted to be alone, and you replied with something stupid like, 'I'm haunting you now.'"
Ember's mouth opened, then closed again. "...Okay, fair, I might deserve that," she admitted, looking a little flustered. They both chuckled quietly, the tension between them breaking.
After a while, Danny sighed, his tone more reflective. "You know, I just realized something. You and Klemper are probably the only two people who actually remember what happened that day." He paused, staring at the ceiling as he tried to organize his thoughts. "It's weird, you know? Everyone else… Just doesn't really know what I'm talking about, I know they're trying to be supportive, but they'll never really get it."
He turned his head slightly, his voice quieter now. "If I talk to you about it, you'd actually understand. You were there. You saw it."
Ember's eyes softened. She opened her mouth, ready to tell him the truth—that Sam and Tucker remembered too—but then she stopped herself. Danny was looking at her in a way he rarely did—grateful, open, like it was just him and her and no one else.
And for a brief moment, Ember didn't want to ruin that feeling. She didn't want Danny to stop looking at her that way, she didn't want Danny running back to Sam.
"Actually…" she began, hesitating. Danny looked at her, waiting.
"Actually what?" he asked curiously.
"Actually… everyone in the Ghost Zone probably remembers," she said instead, forcing a smile as she couldn't go through with it. "They weren't affected by Desiree's little memory-wipe after-effect thing"
'I'm sorry,' she thought quietly to herself as she smiled at him. 'I'm sorry for being selfish… but please, just keep looking at me like that a little longer.'
Danny groaned lightly, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, but I'm not exactly close to anyone in the Ghost Zone, am I? In fact, I think I'm collecting more enemies than friends at this point."
"Ha! You and me both," Ember said, giving him a playful grin. "Guess we're just two magnets for trouble."
Danny chuckled under his breath. "Yeah, guess so."
They stayed that way—upside down, side by side, their heads hanging off the edge of the bed—as they drifted into easier conversation. They talked about everything that came to mind: dumb ghost gossip, human-world chaos, future plans.
And though Danny would never admit it out loud, a small part of him was glad Ember had ignored his request to leave. Her presence filled the silence in a way that didn't hurt.
Somehow, in the stillness of that upside-down world, he found a strange kind of peace.
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