Danny put a hand on his chin and hummed in thought. And while he was doing this, another ghost was shifting nervously on his feet. The ghost was small, reaching the King's shoulder. He was wearing a white shirt and that silly XVIII century wig, while holding a pad in his hands. Phantom smiled and the man sighed inwardly in relief at seeing him obviously pleased.

"Great job, Winston, I like it."

The Royal Throne was made primarily from black and white marble. It's hands were made from the bright material, while the rest was made of dark one. On its head was a beautiful ornament of onyx, with a shining pearly white gem in its middle. Its back was five feet tall above the sitting place itself.

"Thank you, sir," Winston bowed.

"One question, however. Why do I need second one?"

Phantom pointed at another throne, which stood nearby, it was the exact replica of the first one, except for the size, it was somewhat smaller.

"Joke about sitting on two chairs at the same time?" Danny asked with amusement.

"W-what? N-no, I wasn't j-joking about you, milord," Winston said nervously.

"Don't worry. I'm just kidding. So, what is it for, then?"

"Sir..." The ghost said slowly, not believing that his king can be that clueless. "It is for the future queen."

Danny's head snapped in his direction. "I don't remember arranging any marriages."

"Maybe not, but...the Kingdom needs a heir, so you will marry eventually, even if your afterlife is eternal. Just in case."

"I see," Danny mumbled. "Go to the treasurer for your payment. He will give you your reward."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Winston bowed and walked away, leaving the young king alone in a huge throne room. Phantom let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. He then approached his seat of power and dropped on it like it was a puffy armchair. By the feel it certainly was. The soft material made so. Danny eyed the entire hall. It really was huge and spacey. Six dark columns on each side of black carpet with his insignia in the middle. It was meant to fit inside hundreds during official ceremonies from that moment on, when Pariah's sarcophagus was moved very deep in the dungeons.

Then his eyes fell on the smaller throne besides him.

"I wonder who that will be," he mumbled, before getting up.

This thought was quickly pushed behind by another one, as he was walking towards the portal in his personal lab. There was one issue which needed to be solved.

It was the issue of government. And not the one for the Ghost Zone, the Ruling Council was already formed and meetings happened almost daily, it was exhausting to combine the school and ruling the country as big as the entire planet of Earth. Yes, it wasn't big for the dimension wide Kingdom, but centralization had only begun. It will take a lot of time to expand. Sometimes invite tribes, communes or realms willingly, sometimes burn them down if they turn hostile. The latter was unwelcomed, but necessary.

One month remained till the next elections of Amity Park mayor. Or at least what was supposed to be elections. Ghostly invasion had disrupted all the plans. People just didn't know what to do, and their newly established monarch came up with solution. All what was needed is just inform them about his decision. Since Amity Park belonged directly to the Ghost King, he was authorized to do whatever he wanted without the Council's agreement.

Still, humans weren't aware about that detail. All this time among his subjects made it quite clear what they thought about Phantom's rule. Yes, he didn't do anything to them, but they simply waited for establishment of totalitarian regime. It may be for the best in the end, he supposed. When people expect you to terrorize them, and then you do completely opposite, they most probably will appreciate it even more.

"Jeez, I think like a fruitloop," Danny shook his head.

Still, only the most talented fruitloops ruled long enough to make their countries great.

-Meanwhile-

"Samantha! Where are you?" Undergrowth asked loudly.

At hearing his voice Sam perked up and quickly shuffled all the student books inside small hollow on her favorite tree to sit on. He was back quite early. Thank goodness it was a weekend and she was forced to stay home. Otherwise it wouldn't have been pretty. Sam knew how temperous her father could become.

"Up here, Papa!" She waved with a smile.

Undergrowth looked in her direction. Smirking slightly, he vanished, namely sinking into the ground. Then he grew from the very tree Sam was sitting on, being about her size. For him climbing was unnecessary and downright ridiculous.

"Is there anything you wanted?" Sam asked innocently, sitting in front of the hollow and hiding it from sight.

"Yes, child. I am leaving for a long amount of time."

Sam's eyes widened in surprise. "What happened?" She asked worriedly.

"Nothing serious, thankfully. I must venture on travel to...something important. Last time I checked a few hundred years before. I just realized that. It is my responsibility. Well, at least it's better than trust the matter to that 'Council' and this hormonal teen boy who doesn't have an idea how to rule a country. Especially that large."

Sam would have argued, and already opened her mouth, but quickly shut it. She had to keep her secret. Sam talked with Danny a lot, since he was her only...opened friend. After all, Tucker and Valerie didn't know about her being a ghost, and honestly, she wasn't sure if she wanted them to know. There was no telling how they would react. No matter how hard Danny tried to convince her that they won't figure out anything, she still was on edge around them. Sam was just thankful that she was able to disguise so easily.

The plant girl always wondered why she looked so much like human. All what was needed just to change her pupiless green eyes into normal ones. It was simple, literally on a snap of her fingers, but she still preferred to drop this farse when no one was looking, or when she was alone with the ghosts.

By simply talking to Phantom Sam could see that he was really smart, even if his horrible knowledge of literature told otherwise. After all, she knew a little to none about chemistry for example. Of course, it's not like she needed it, but getting expelled wasn't what Sam wanted. He patiently taught her the basics in a short amount of time between the school and her 'curfew', namely when Undergrowth returned. It was amazing how clearly Danny explained things. Before becoming half ghost he actually got an A in everything, safe gym.

Sam was confident that he could take the job of the King just fine.

"And for how long you will go?" She asked. She knew that it was pointless to ask where he was going. He wasn't going to answer.

Undergrowth sighed. "Two months, no less. Now you see why I haven't done that for so long? Will you be alright on your own, or maybe I should stay?"

"NO! I mean, I will be just fine!" Sam answered with a nervous laugh and an equally nervous smile.

Undergrowth wasn't looking at her at the moment and was too inclined in his thoughts to notice.

"Fine then. I'll leave tomorrow in the morning. If you want to say farewells in time, then wake up early," a small smile crossed his beak. "Let's have dinner now, shall we?"

Sam eagerly nodded and followed him. On the inside, she was singing in joy. As the next morning came, Sam said her goodbyes to the father, looking how he flew out of sight. Then she saw the swirling of the sky and her eyes widened in horror. She was getting late!

Danny was lying on the table face down in the class. The day before was rather exhausting: homework, paperwork, other stuff, all of that happened during the night, poor half ghost got only two hours of sleep. It was much better when the ghosts were against him, they gave him three hours. Tucker was glancing to the side at his best friend, worried that Lancer would notice. But his whisper fell on deaf ears, and he couldn't poke the sleeping teen from another corner of the room. Thankfully the balding teacher was writing something on the desk, without looking back.

Phantom's eyes suddenly snapped open as the blue air came out of his mouth. He perked up and looked around.

"Sorry, Mr. Lancer, I got delayed," he heard a familiar voice.

Danny looked to the entrance and saw Sam standing there, shifting the bag on her slim shoulder.

Lancer smiled. "That's not a problem, Ms.Thorn. Take a seat."

To say that Phantom was disgruntled would be an understatement. He didn't notice how the ghost girl sat nearby.

"Hey, Danny," she greeted quietly. Phantom didn't react and kept staring at Lancer's back. "You alright?"

"He never let me slack off," he whispered with unreadable emotion. He was either sad, angry, or shocked.

Sam chuckled, taking the required books out of the bag. Danny finally looked at her and blinked.

"Where did you get these clothes?" He asked.

She was wearing the black skirt and black shirt with a purple oval in the center. Sam looked down in confusion.

"Uhm, I got them in the drawer."

"And what happened with your clothes?"

"I couldn't find them, alright? I was in a hurry."

"And you took my sister's old ones?"

Tucker heard everything. However the dark skinned teen completely mistook the meaning of their dialog. His eyes were ready to jump out from his head as his jaw dropped. No way, no goddamn way it could be possible. For a shy Danny Fenton to do...this? He just kept staring at the two through the entire lesson. Tucker didn't notice the bell ringing, he only snapped out when the ghost and half ghost went out of the classroom, along with everyone else.

"Danny, I've got to tell you something," Sam suddenly whispered. Only their enchanced hearing could catch it.

Phantom looked down at her and raised his eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Can you imagine, Papa is away for two months!" She said excitedly. Sam suddenly took her friend's hands. "Will you show me how humans have fun? Please?" The plant ghost asked.

Sam then realized that she was holding his hands. The girl blushed and let go, not noticing Danny's slightly greenish red cheeks.

"I don't see why not," Phantom said with a slight smile. "I'm not busy after school today."

Sam beamed at him. "Thank you!"

"What's all of this is about?"

They noticed Tucker, who had a strange look on his face.

"Oh, ehm," Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "We planned to go to the cinema, actually."

Sam looked at him curiously at the unfamiliar word. Tucker, however, seemed not convinced.

"Tell me honestly, Danny, do you know each other more than you are telling me?"

Two ghosts froze.

"W-what do you mean?" They stuttered simultaneously.

"I mean why Sam is wearing Jazz' clothes and why would she needs to 'find her clothes' while being at your home?"

Danny had mixed feelings. While he was relieved that Tucker hadn't realized that his friends were ghosts, he was just as much shocked at the assumption that he and Sam had done something very inappropriate. The full ghost understood it just as quickly. To hide her green blush Sam turned away, putting a hand over her cheek. She couldn't deny that her King was attractive, but they were simply friends, for Ancients' sake!

'Are all humans so perverse?' She asked herself, becoming even greener.

"Tucker, her clothes just got muddy. Mom accidentally washed them as well, she had spent a night at my home, but we didn't sleep together."

Danny said it so smoothly that Tucker wasn't able to detect lies. In his eyes Danny was still the same naive freshman as before the accident. How wrong he was.

"Still, have her parents really let her stay at the BOY's house?"

"I'm still here, Tucker," Sam looked back at him and crossed her hands. "And yes, my papa is away. For a very long time, so he won't find out if I stick around."

"Wait, does he forbid you from..."

The bell, their savior and blight, rang. Danny was glad that they all had to part ways, even Sam went down her path, already knowing the directions. The rest of the day went without such nasty encounters. During the lunch break Tucker didn't bother them directly, although Danny could feel the pressure of his intense gaze. He would have talked to his friend, but it was Tucker who stayed aside.

But at least he was friends with Valerie, Danny, on the other hand, had been getting more and more lonely. It was partially his fault, Danny was the one getting distracted from their activities all the time. Tucker was getting angry, he could see it, but the techno geek didn't have a clue about how Phantom felt because of that. The half ghost was snapped out of his thoughts when Sam snapped her fingers in front of him.

"Danny, are you okay? You spaced out for a moment."

Phantom shook his head and looked at his friend. They had long since went out of the school and were walking down the street, right to their planned destination point. Danny gave a boyish smile, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just thought about something."

"You seem to be doing it quite a lot," Sam notes with a note of concern.

"Hey, that's alright for people to think about different stuff, Sam."

"But not during the conversation. Or is it another human thing that I don't know about?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. What were we talking about?" Danny raised his arms in surrender.

"I was asking what is this 'cinema' thing is."

"Well, we are already here. Let me show you."

Sam was curious as always while observing the building and a multitude of posters in particular. Danny offered her to pick the movie, after all, it was her first time there. Shockingly for the half ghost, she picked the horror film. He didn't have anything against it, he liked those too, he was just surprised. While he was buying the tickets, Sam was observing the corn popping with undying interest.

"Enjoying the view?" Danny asked from behind.

Sam flinched and turned around, flushing slightly. Phantom chuckled, showing her the purple tickets. "Do you want some?" He nodded towards the stand.

The ghost girl also smiled and nodded eagerly. Danny bought two big carton cups with popcorn, his pocket money now counted millions of dollars, piastres, ducats and dinarius. He could buy anything he wanted, even his own space shuttle, snacks weren't of any problem. Sam still felt embarrassed that someone else was buying something instead of her, but Phantom assured her with this same explanation. As they sat on a bench outside of the hall, waiting until the beginning, Sam examined the white puffy treat between her fingers, before trying it. Her eyes widened in delight.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Sam gasped.

"Glad you like it," Danny smiled.

Once again, Phantom found himself thinking about how adorable she was in the moments of her small discoveries. The half ghost was silently watching his friend enjoying her snack. Suddenly his own bowl was snatched from his lap. He heard the same annoying laughter of his most loved quarterback.

"I hope you don't mind if I borrow it, huh, Fentina?" Dash laughed, passing nearby along with his henchmen.

Danny only narrowed his eyes at their backs, considering the start of repressions policy. Sam was the one to react. She smiled slightly at her unlucky friend, outstretching her bowl.

"You can have mine," the ghost said.

Danny smiled, too. "Thanks. Looks like it's gonna be like in that cheesy love stories," he chuckled, throwing another puff in his mouth. They both laughed.

Meanwhile Dash, as he walked forward, didn't notice the obstacle under his sneakers. With a loud yelp, he stumbled forward, falling into the janitor's bucket, full of not only the water, but the dirt and used soap. And, soaked in muddy liquid, with a multitude of crumbs in all imaginable places, the jock had to leave under a multitude of laughs, not noticing that a pot plant's, which he had been passing, thin root was too long and solid. It retreated back afterwards. While Danny was busy looking at the scene of accident, laughing his butt off, his friend gave a tiny smirk.

The movie left mixed impression. Danny actually hoped that it was going to be like in that kind of films, but it was diametrically opposite. He was scared like heck. The movie was a shining diamond in a pile of mud of modern times' horrors. It was really good. But it wasn't like that moments, when a scared girl grabs her boyfriend's arm. Nope. Sam never even flinched. But sharing the bowl with popcorn was nice, Danny couldn't deny it. When they were walking down the street, Sam looked at her friend's pale face.

"It was boring," she commented. "The story to be exact."

"Why were you so calm?" Danny asked. "Weren't you scared?"

"Why should I be afraid? They were on that screen, not real at all," Sam asked with all sincerity in her voice.

Phantom let out a muffled laughter. "You sure are interesting, Sammy. So...what is your impression?"

The girl grinned. "Even though the storyline was garbage, it was still awesome. Like that glasses, the image was jumping out!" While Danny chuckled again, Sam continued, still holding the smile. "But...it wasn't the biggest thing I liked," Phantom blinked as they stopped going.

They were all alone, he noticed, because at this time the people of the neighborhood preferred to stay at their homes, not the small park alley. Sam put a hand on Danny's cheek.

"It was funny watching Pariah's Bane jump like a scared rabbit," she smirked.

Phantom's expression became one big deadpan, making Sam laugh. Suddenly he smirked evilly. "Oh, and you are so brave, huh?" He asked.

The half ghost grabbed the girl and put her on his shoulder, making Sam yelp loudly.

"Danny, put me down!" She exclaimed, trying to get out of her friend's grip.

"What's wrong, afraid of heights?" Phantom asked in a sing song voice.

Sam suddenly came up with an idea. She phased off her captor, but fell on the ground, half on the grass, half on the pavement. Danny gasped in fear.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry, Sam!"

He saw her shaking, her shoulders jumping up and down. Phantom fell on his knees near her.

"I'm sorry, Sammy, okay? I know it was stupid. I won't do that again, promise!"

She kept shaking. He sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Please, look at me," Danny asked. Receiving no answer, he decided to slowly turn her around.

But once he did it, Phantom understood that the girl wasn't crying. It was laughter, and now Sam wasn't holding back at all, bursting into a fit of laugh.

"Not funny!" Danny exclaimed.

"Oh, yes it is, we are even now, ghost boy."

Danny suddenly felt something push him forward. He fell on the grass near Sam and looked back. A green vine was sticking from under the surface. Sam suddenly got atop of him. She grinned, as her green eyes became pupiless.

"You are in my domain, now, Your Majesty."

Danny was caught off guard by her straitforwardness. What did she...they were in the park, yeah. "H-hey, Sam, let's not get overboard with this."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"Well, you are kind of atop of me."

Sam noticed this and blushed, before getting off. She sat on the grass nearby, hugging her legs close and looking away.

"Sorry, I just...I don't know what got over me. Instincts, maybe."

"That's okay, Sam," Danny sat near her. "I heard about these things. I'm half ghost, so I'm not affected by them."

They sat in silence. The sky was already dark, but Danny didn't care to look at the City Hall's clocks. The crickets kept trinking, the slight wind blew the edges of the trees, making the leaves rustle. It wasn't that late, but not a soul nearby. Probably because of the unspoken curfew. But it was fine. Sam looked down to the ground and saw one of the crickets near her palm. She smiled, carefully scooping the insect in her hand. Danny watched with amusement how the girl stroked its small body. She truly was one with the nature.

"Danny, can I ask you something?" Sam asked, letting the cricket jump off into the grass.

"Sure, go ahead."

"This day was wonderful. But I wanted to know...was this a date?" She looked at him with her shining eyes.

Danny was silent for a moment, before speaking again. "I didn't think it would be once you asked me to show you around. However, taking everything in consideration, I'd say that yes, it was." Phantom smiled, making Sam's core flutter. She simply adored that boyish smile of his.

"And does this mean..."

"That we are dating? Only if you want it, I'll never force you," Danny said softly.

"Nope. I'm not against it. Wow," Sam chuckled. "I'm dating the Ghost King."

Danny laughed, getting up on his feet. "May I invite thou to follow me, malady?" He asked, adopting the British accent.

Sam laughed, too, following her new boyfriend.

It was a satisfying walk, what took half an hour to get home, felt like mere minutes. They just went together, with Sam's head on Danny's shoulder. She wasn't sure if she could hold his hand, but Phantom was the first. He had to thank Ember, their former relationship had gotten rid of his anxiety problems without any trace. But Sam, who was completely new to this, blushed like mad. Danny gave a reassuring look to her, before seeing her shiver. The girl was affected more by the cold, plants couldn't stand it. She felt Phantom's arm rub her left one. She looked up at Danny.

"Thanks," she whispered.

Phantom only smiled. They got to Fenton Works. It was late, but he wasn't worried about the curfew, his parents just stopped caring anymore. Once they got inside, Danny turned off the protection systems, before stopping in the living room.

"Alright, I guess it's time for you to go home," he said.

Sam only looked at him. Taking a deep breath, she stood on her toes, closed her eyes and kissed Danny's cheek. Phantom blinked.

"Bye, Danny, see ya," Sam waved her hand and phased underground.

Danny smiled, looking at the spot where the girl disappeared to. "See you."