A/N: Hey! So, I'm unsure how long this is going to turn out. I know it'll be more than a couple chapters. This is basically just based off some ideas I've had floating around in my head for a while. Just know before going into this that I'm not positive how it's going to pan out. I'm sort of just winging it with this one. Updates will most likely be a bit erratic.

Important note- This is based after the show. Danny, Sam, and Tucker are seventeen years old, and juniors in High School. Phantom Planet never happened, so only Sam, Tucker and Jazz know Danny Phantom's identity. He still strives to hide his secret from his parents and the town.

Enjoy!

So, this was Amity Park.

It was nothing like she'd imagined it'd be. From what she'd heard about this place—this ghost infested, oddity of a town— she'd been picturing green skies, citizens cowering in fear, specters flying about and cackling.

Now that she was here, though, it was painfully apparent that she'd been way off. In fact, this place seemed like a nice little community. The sky was bright, the trees were green, and the kids were smiling. People walked down the street without fear, children played in parks, and birds chirped as they flew by. Most notable, was the absence of any spirit wreaking havoc. From the stories that were told all around the country of this place, she'd expected there to be a constant malevolent presence. She saw nothing, though. And, more importantly, she felt nothing.

The girl's eyes flickered about as she gripped the strap running across her torso, the satchel it was attached to bouncing against her hip. The bag wasn't a fashion statement, it held all of her prized possessions. And 'prized possessions', really meant 'only possessions'.

The leather pouch held a few meager items— an iPod with a cracked screen, a pair of plain headphones, a wallet containing $46, and some chap-stick. Everything else were things she considered essential: a toothbrush, a comb, a switchblade, and a copy of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It was her favorite book, though she couldn't tell you why it appealed to her so much, it just did, and she had read it a million times.

With the life she had, one would think she got enough of monsters in the real world, and yet she buried her nose in the old pages whenever she got the chance. Most who hadn't read the book considered the creation the monster, but one read through and it became apparent Dr. Frankenstein was the one to fear. Nothing that happened was the creatures fault. He was simply a victim of circumstance—alone, confused, thrown into a terrifying world that would never understand him…

Okay, maybe she did know why she liked that particular novel so much.

"Maybe nighttime is when things start to pick up around here." The girl thought to herself.

If that was the case, she needed to find a place where she could lay low and rest. She'd come here to stay off the ghost radar—as crazy as that sounded—and the last thing she needed was for a spook to try and…well, spook her.

She shook the thought from her head, coming out of her mind as she focused back on her surroundings. She really needed to learn to stop spacing out like that! For being on the run as long as she'd been, you'd think she'd of learned these types of things already. But she was barely seventeen—just a kid on her own—and she still had a lot to learn. Living like this was harder than she was willing to admit, to herself or anyone else, and lately she was constantly having to shove down a growing fear that the name she'd chosen for herself might always be fitting.

After all, Stray didn't want to be a stray forever.

After a while of wandering in an attempt to acclimate herself to the layout of the town, Stray found herself outside the local High School. It was nearly 3:00pm, which meant the final bell would be ringing soon, and kids around her age would be pouring out of the building before her.

The girl couldn't stop herself from chuckling as she read the big, bold letters on the front of the place. Casper High. If it was a coincidence, it was a funny one, and if it wasn't, well…then these people didn't take ghosts as seriously as they should. Stray herself took specters very seriously, perhaps even taking it a bit too far in certain instances. It's not like there was anyone around to be bothered by this quirk of hers, and as far as she was concerned, it was better that way.

-At least, that's what she told herself.

Turning her thoughts elsewhere as she waited, Stray began thinking back on when she'd gone to school. It felt like an eternity, though in reality it hadn't been that long ago that she'd had a normal life.

Just as the girl was getting lost in old memories, a shrill sound cut the air, making her jump and effectively pulling her from her thoughts. She glanced up from where she'd been leaning on a tree to see the front doors burst open as a wave of teens flowed from the building. Most hurried to meet their friends on the school's lawn, others nearly ran to their cars, hoping to get out of the parking lot without having to fight the traffic. She was surrounded by chatter and laughter in seconds flat, and soon she was straightening, ears perked and eyes raking through the crowd.

Stray told herself she was here in hopes of over hearing a conversation that would give her a better understanding of just how bad the ghost issue was here, if it was worth it for her to stick around, or if there was any place she'd be able to hunker down in—maybe an empty warehouse by the pier, or an old, abandoned home. But the real part of her knew why she'd actually been drawn to the High School. After all, why would teenagers be discussing anything that would be of use to her? No, she'd come here simply to be around those like her. Well, not just like her, obviously. More like, what she used to be like. A normal teen, living a normal life, with a normal family, and a normal home. It was just…nice to know she could still blend with a crowd, no matter how different she felt on the inside.

For a moment she forgot about everything—the ghosts, the fear, the pain, the running—and she drifted through the crowd of kids, not getting a second glance or an odd stare, and she was the calmest she'd been in a long time.

That is, until she was pulled out of it when she dazedly stepped into the path of someone coming down the school's front steps.

Whoever it was, they were unable to catch themselves in time, and in their attempt, practically fell off the step and into Stray. As their bodies connected, the girl instinctively tried to move back, but that plus the momentum had her falling backwards onto her butt.

She cringed, exhaling as she settled on the ground, lifting her hands and brushing them off on each other. She winced slightly as a stinging sensation shot through her palms. Looking down, she saw a tiny trickle of blood slipping out of a scrape on the heel of her right palm. Luckily the damage wasn't bad, just a little cut—no big deal.

Man, she really needed to watch where she was going. She'd stepped right in front of that guy.

She looked up just in time to see a boy, holding a hand to his head, eyes closed and mouth open like he was about to lay into her for running into him.

"Hey, watch—"

His words cut off the moment he opened his eyes and his blue hues landed on Stray. She looked up at him from where she'd fallen to the ground, an apologetic and slightly strained expression on her face. Her eyes panned over to the others by his side—a girl in a plaid skirt and purple tights, and a guy in glasses and a red beret—before moving back to him.

The dark haired boy simply blinked at her for a moment, before shaking his head and moving forward. He bent a bit, holding out a hand, which got Stray moving. Instead of taking the offered appendage, she pushed herself up, taking a step back once she did and adjusting her bag. She clasped her hands behind her back, hoping it hadn't come off as rude that she hadn't accepted the help. It was nothing against him, she just wasn't super comfortable with being touched by strangers.

The eyes of him and his friends followed her as she stood and brushed herself off, and she stared back, feeling a bit awkward and unsure what to do. The girl rose a brow, glancing to the boy with glasses, they shared a look, and he shrugged a bit.

"Uh—sorry. Didn't see you there." The ebony haired boy got her attention again, and she turned her eyes back to him, one side of her mouth turned up to assure him it was no big deal.

"No, no. That was on me. Totally my fault. I should watch where I'm going."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." He didn't seem hostile, but he wasn't smiling. He had an odd expression on his face as he continued to stare at her. Apparently he didn't usually act this way, because his companions seemed as confused as Stray was. Before an awkward silence had a chance to stretch out, the girl stepped up, smiling.

"Excuse him, it's been a long day. I'm Sam Manson. I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Um—yeah. I'm sorta new in town. I was just scoping things out. You know, trying to see where everything is." It wasn't a lie, she was just leaving things out.

"We figured." The second boy spoke up, smiling at her as well. "Everyone knows most of the faces around here, and we don't get many new ones on account of our reputation."

"You mean the ghost thing?"

"Exactly." He stepped closer to her then, offering a hand, his expression changing slightly. "I'm Tucker. Tucker Foley. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Who might you be?"

Sam rolled her eyes at that, and Stray realized Tucker was trying to flirt with her. She rose a brow but left it alone. He seemed like the sort of guy who would flirt with most girls.

She glanced down at the offered hand, thinking of an excuse not to shake it, and to avoid giving her name. She held up her right palm—which had already stopped its little amount of bleeding.

"I would shake your hand, but—yeah."

That got the first kid's attention, and he slapped a hand to his forehead. "Oh, jeez. I'm sorry I knocked you over like that. You're bleeding." He seemed embarrassed, but at least he was getting over…whatever had caused him to stare like he'd been doing.

Stray smiled, waving the scrape in the air a bit. "Barely. Look, it's pretty much stopped already. Don't beat yourself up about it."

He removed his hand from his head and peered at her tiny injury, before rubbing the back of his neck. "Still. Sorry."

He was silent for a moment, before perking as if he'd just remembered something.

"I'm Danny, by the way. Danny Fenton. And this is—"

"Sam and Tucker, yeah."

"Right, you know that already."

Danny sent a pointed look to Sam, who must have understood because she started talking.

"I don't think we got your name."

Dammit. They'd been so close to just moving past that. Sighing internally, the girl decided to just give it and get it over with. If they laughed or something, so be it.

"Uh—Stray." She offered, fiddling with her bag. "My name's Stray." She hadn't given her real name to anyone since she'd been on the run, and that wasn't changing now.

That gave them all pause, Sam opening her mouth as if to say something before shutting it again. The girl was uncomfortable, and expecting a reaction Sam was sure she had to of gotten before, so instead of saying anything about how it was unusual or how it couldn't be her real name, she simply crossed her arms over her chest and smirked.

"That's…unusual. I like it." Of course a Goth chick liked the name Stray.

She smiled at the response, having been expecting questions or accusations about how that couldn't be her name. It was a welcome change, and Stray nodded.

"Thanks." She was sure they knew it was just some sort of nickname, but the fact they didn't push was appreciated.

"So, are you going to be going to school here?" Tucker asked, jabbing a thumb back over his shoulder toward the entrance to the school.

Stray looked up at the building, remembering how she'd hated the year of high school she'd attended before everything changed. It was ironic, how she longed for it now. Eight hour days with the biggest concern being homework, and dances, and jerks in the hallways. Now she had to deal with jerks of the ecto variety, which definitely sucked a lot more.

"I'm…not sure." Stray answered slowly.

All three of them quirked a brow, Danny speaking the immediate question on all their minds.

"But this is the only high school in town."

Right, it was odd for a seventeen year old to not be in school.

"What I mean is, my mom might want to homeschool me. I've had…issues with public school in the past." The fib slipped off her tongue easily. Though she hated having so many secrets, being able to lie convincingly was a handy skill. The trio bought it right away, they had no reason not to.

"Homeschooling. I can't imagine being cooped up in my house with my parents all day. Maybe you can convince her to let you come here. Casper's a pretty good school. There are bullies, and cliques, but it's no worse than any other public school. Besides, you seem like you can take care of yourself." Danny responded, putting his hands in his pockets.

Stray nodded along. "Maybe. I don't know. She's sorta over protective." Lie, lie, lie, lie. Lying never made her feel good, but for some reason it turned her stomach even more while talking to these three. Maybe it was because they were making such an attempt to be friendly, or maybe it was the fact they were her age.

Being with other kids was a rare thing for her nowadays, and she hadn't had a normal conversation like this in a long, long time. It felt awesome to be able to just talk and forget for a second, but having to make up things about parents she didn't even have brought her back to her harsh reality.

Her thoughts must have manifested in a look on her face, because Sam was suddenly apologizing.

"We don't mean to pry, Stray. Like we said, new people don't come here often."

The Goth wanted to ask why her family had moved here in the first place. If her mother was over-protective, then why come to a place that was infested with ghosts? She held her tongue though, feeling as if the girl was hiding something but keeping it to herself. It was none of her business, and Stray didn't seem like any sort of threat.

"No, it's fine. Just…complicated." Stray assured, smiling at the girl.

By this time, the front of the school was beginning to clear out. Parents picking up the last of the waiting kids, friends saying goodbye as they began their walks home. Stray glanced around, before turning back to Sam, Tucker, and Danny.

"I should…probably get going." She told them, gesturing behind her in no particular direction.

"We're going to Danny's. If you're going the same way, you could walk with us." Tucker offered, pointing down the street.

The offer was tempting. Really tempting. The fact that these three would welcome her to spend any amount of time with them made her heart twist in a strange way she hadn't felt in a while, and yet she found herself shaking her head.

"Nah. Thanks for the offer, though. I think I'm going to wander around a little more."

Tucker lowered his hand, a little frown on his face, and shrugged. "Okay. I guess we'll see you around then. You will be around, right?"

"Yeah. This place isn't too big, I'm sure I'll run into you guys again." She glanced at Danny. "Hopefully not literally next time." He cracked a smile at that, though he still seemed embarrassed.

"Who knows? Maybe mom will cave and I'll end up in class with you." Like that was going to happen. No way she could come to this school. She was on the run and here to lay low, not to pick up where she left off with her education.

"Well, see ya."

She lifted a hand and waved, before turning to leave. She only made it a couple steps before feeling a hand on her shoulder. Stray tried not to tense at the contact, and before she could even wonder what was going on, she was turned back around and Danny was holding something out to her. It took her a moment to realize what it was, but when she did, she took it from him, glancing down at it before looking back up at him.

It was a band aid. A white band aid with green ghosts printed on it.

"For your hand." Danny told her, pointing to his own right palm.

Oh! Right, of course.

"Sorry about the weird print. It's from my house and well…parents."

"…Thanks, Danny."

He nodded, turning around to rejoin Sam and Tucker, who both waved at her before starting off down the sidewalk.

Stray turned as well, heading the way she was before the boy stopped her. As she walked, she peeled off the back of the bandage, and carefully applied it over the small scrape. It wasn't even bleeding anymore, and she doubted it would get infected, but she felt the need to use it after Danny's nice gesture.

As she left the trio behind, she found herself hoping she really did run into them again. They were nice, and they didn't question her name or treat her like a freak. That was more than she could say for most people who stumbled upon her.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, the girl went back to business. She needed to find somewhere she could stay, so she'd have a safe place to sleep at night. She began moving toward the docks, hoping to find some sort of abandoned building.

Stray could already tell it was going to be a long night.