Nobody's Home
By DannyTimmyGirl327
This is also a songfic from Pearl84's 'Checkmate'. Remember, some of the scenes won't be like hers exactly, but they will have a great connection between the story and the song. Read, Review, and enjoy! I don't own the song 'Nobody's Home' by Avril Lavigne, the story 'Checkmate' or Danny Phantom (If I owned Danny, it wouldn't be cancelled right now!)
I couldn't tell you why he felt that way,
He felt it everyday.
Well, I couldn't help him,
I just watched him make the same mistakes again.
Walking through the barren streets of Amity Park, Danny suddenly realized how far a walk it was from the hospital to his home, but he didn't care.
Danny knew he made a mistake a while ago. It was way after the accident but way before what happened to Jazz. Because of his selfish, ruthless behavior, he drove her away and forced them to fight.
Of course, they didn't fight, but Danny later realized that the fight inside her was slowly stirring. He thought he deactivated the nanobots that Vlad placed inside Jazz's anatomy, but he was wrong. The remote was a mere diversion from the real thing.
On his 15th birthday, he almost lost his older sister.
And right now, he needed her more than he could ever imagine.
What's wrong, what's wrong, now?
Too many, too many problems.
Don't know where he belongs…
Where he belongs.
Before he knew it, he was far from home.
Unfortunately, he could feel someone following him; someone watching his every move. Danny glanced around as the uneasy feeling inside him grew ever stronger. His baby blue eyes scanned the area, wondering why the feeling wouldn't go away.
"Daniel…" A familiar voice hissed to him in the darkness. Danny, without even thinking, made his way over to the alleyway, where it was dark, cold and extremely solid. He knew the wall at the end was a burden; a trap to keep him from running away.
Suddenly, his ghost sense went off. He quickly transformed into his alter ego, Danny Phantom and tried to use his neon green etco glow as a light source, but instead a series of electrical surges passed through him. He tried screaming in pain, but a hand covered his mouth and muffled his calls.
"Daniel, it's only me." He looked up, seeing the hated eyes of Vlad Plasmius, the one who was slowly killing his sister, inside and out.
"What do you want?" He finally managed to say. He furiously pushed away from his grip and fired an etco beam. Vlad merely went intangible and sighed. "Honestly, Daniel, you're powers are a mere insolence compared to mine. Why, if you accept my offer…" Before he knew it, Danny had slammed him into the brick wall. He grabbed Vlad by the collar of his cap and burned his emerald eyes into his bleak crimson red.
"Listen and listen very well, Vlad. I don't ever want to see your face here ever again, because if I do, so help me, you're going to regret the day you tried to kill my sister! Also, if you come anywhere near my family again, I'll destroy you right then and there! I don't care if everyone discovers my secret; only if it means getting rid of you once and for all, you cold, heartless, son of a-"
"Now, Daniel, it's not polite to curse," Vlad interrupted, making him even angrier. Danny let out a furious, yet inhuman-like growl, and held him even tighter by his collar, almost digging his fingernails into his neck. "I meant every word, count on it!" He cried.
"Very well, Daniel. Now, release me before I do something I'll never regret," Vlad warned. Danny cautiously released him. "I see you're becoming more and more like me, everyday. You're aggressive, demanding, and angry. Why, you almost used a line of curse words on me, didn't you? And your strength- growing more powerful by the second. You have only a few days to decide, Daniel. I wouldn't waste anymore time thinking about it, though." He said, disappearing into pink smoke.
"I'm nothing like you!!" Danny shouted into the empty skies. He was about to change back into human form, when he realized how late it was. He took off into the night skies, thinking about what Vlad previously said before.
"You're becoming more and more like me, everyday……"
"No….." Danny whispered, tears forming in his eyes. He replayed what he promised his family and friends.
"I'll never turn into that. I promise…"
"I hate lying." He mumbled, the tears of guilt finally streaming down his eyes.
-.-.-.-..-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
He wants to go home,
But nobody's home.
That's where he lies,
Broken inside.
With no place to go,
No place to go.
To dry his eyes,
Broken inside.
Later that night, around 9:30, Sam decided to visit Danny to see how he was doing. But when she got there, the house was completely empty. The door, strangely enough, was unlocked, so she walked right in. She carefully scanned the area, just in case someone was trying to fool her and pop out any second.
But the house remained silent.
"That's strange," She mumbled to herself. Usually, the place would be buzzing with some weird ghost invention or an eerie green glow coming from the lab. But she approached the banister to the basement, and not a sign of life anywhere; not even a ghost.
She cautiously walked over to the stairway that led to the bedrooms upstairs. Surely, no one in the household would be asleep so early. But, perhaps, maybe they were all accompanying Jazz at the hospital.
Wait- they wouldn't let Danny stay so late, no matter how much he wanted. Something was strangely off.
When she reached Danny's room, she found it to be empty of any human- or in his case ghost- life. "Danny?" She called out, her voice carrying out through the window. Suddenly, she heard a soft sobbing from the roof. "Danny? Are you up there?" She called again. She climbed the ladder that led to the rooftop of the building, feeling a slight chill from the change of altitude.
Sam walked quietly over to Danny, who was sitting on the edge of the roof, his head hanging low. She could see him shaking from where she was standing.
She made her way over to him and sat beside him. "Danny? Are you okay?" She whispered. When he didn't reply, she wrapped her arm over his shoulders and pulled him closer to her. He fell into her embrace and continued to cry.
"Danny, please stop crying. Everything's gonna be better, I'm positive," She comforted, rocking him back and forth. He finally looked up with the saddest emerald green eyes. "No, it's not."
"I mean it. Jazz is going to be fine. You'll see," She said once again. Before she knew it, Danny pushed her away and stood up.
"No, Sam, it's not gonna be alright! If you were there, you would know it, too." He cried out, his voice dying into a whisper.
"What do you mean?" She asked, quietly listening.
"While walking home from the hospital, I saw Vlad and he…. Well….."
"What? What did he do??" She asked, quickly standing up.
Danny looked at her and sighed. "I was…. Really angry because of everything happening with Jazz and all…. He… well… it was his fault… and…. I couldn't control myself…. I left all that rage and frustration build up inside and I finally exploded. You should have seen me, Sam, I was almost dangerous…. Even to him. So, he said I was more and more like him everyday and I thought about my promise and-" Before Danny could continue, he fell to his knees, crying.
Sam kneeled down and closed her eyes, hugging him close to her. "You'll never break your promise Danny, I promise. And you'll never loose control again,"
"But I did, I was a monster tonight…."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Finally, after Danny had calmed down a little, Sam went home. She told him to call her if anything was wrong, but Danny knew no one, not even his best friend could fix his problems.
Without getting ready for bed, Danny fell back onto his bed, and closed his eyes. All he wanted to do was make the pain go away… but he knew it was still there.
He pulled the blanket over his shivering body and whispered, "Goodnight, Jazzy, I love you."
Open your eyes,
And look outside…
Find the reasons why.
You've been rejected,
And now you can't find
What you left behind.
Be strong, be strong, now.
Too many too many problems…
Don't know where he belongs…
Where he belongs…
The next morning, Danny woke up to find a note on the other side of his bed. He carefully picked it up and rubbed his eyes so he could read it. It said:
Dear Daniel,
You're decision must be final today, because it's Friday, the last day you get to live in Amity Park. If you do not reach the helicopter near the far outskirts of town, it's goodbye to Jasmine, I suppose. I'll give you until 7pm to say your final goodbyes. Remember, do not tell where you're going or the fact that you're leaving.
Danny didn't even bother to read the rest. He tossed the note aside and walked over to his closet. He pulled out a couple of large duffel bags, unhooked his laptop and gathered anything else in a suitcase that he could find.
He took one more look at the picture of him, his family and friends and stored it away in his backpack. He had no idea how he was going to carry it all, but he didn't care. He sighed, pushed everything back into the closet, and walked downstairs.
He hadn't heard his parents coming home last night, so he assumed they were still at the hospital. He slowly made his way down to the lab and took one last look at everything he come to know and fortunately stay away from.
He left the lab and walked to the front door, taking in everything that was always there since he was little. He remembered hiding under the kitchen table from Jazz when he used her markers to 'redecorate' her room, and hiding under the couch when he was playing hide-and-seek with his dad. He even remembered the nights that his mother used to cuddle with him on the sofa and eat hot cookies and hot chocolate.
He smiled one last time and left the house.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Hey, guys," He said when he saw Sam and Tucker already at the hospital. They smiled and waved, happy to see their best friend feeling better.
"Hey, Danny, where have you been? We were waiting for a few hours," Tucker asked, pulling out his PDA. "Hours? But it's only-" "12:30, right?" Sam said, giving him a sly smile.
"Guess I overslept or something," He lied, trying to hide the real reason he was late. "So, what'd I miss?"
"You'll never guess what happened! Your sister, the one whose been nagging at you all these years, is finally gonna break the rules!" Tucker said, not really looking up from his game. "Yeah, she told us that she's gonna try to leave the grounds tonight because she has a special surprise for you!" Sam added, a gleam forming in her eyes.
"What is it?" Danny asked, more curious that upset, now. "We can't tell! She made us promise and if we did tell, she'd shove those pain killers she takes down our throats because 'after she's done with us, we'll need them'," Tucker replied, laughing at the remark from earlier.
Danny had to smile at what his intelligent sister had up her sleeve. He was even more anxious to stay rather than go with Vlad. But, he replayed the part of the note that made him once again, wish he were in her place instead:
It's goodbye to Jasmine, I suppose……
His smile disappeared when he remembered that. "What time does she want me to meet her?" He asked. "I think she said around 8pm… or something," Sam replied, glancing at her watch.
Danny's happiness dissipated. He knew what would happen if he didn't reach that helicopter by 7pm tonight. Without a second thought, he took off down the hallway to Jazz's room. "Danny! Wait! Where are you going?" Sam called after him. Danny didn't reply. He ran without stopping until he reached her doorway. His parents were no where to be found. "Maybe they went to get lunch," He thought to himself. He took a deep breath and opened the door.
Jazz stared at the soup in her lap in disdain. She played around with it until she heard Danny walk in. Her face became much brighter than ever before. "Danny!" She cried out. She gave him a tight hug that almost knocked the breath out of him. "Yeah, good to see you, too." He mumbled.
"Sorry, it's just that I really missed you," She said. "But I was only gone for one night," He said back. He was about to sit on the chair next to her bedside, but Jazz preferred him to sit right next to her on her bed.
"So…. What's new?" He joked, laying beside her. Jazz rolled her eyes and said, "Y'know, same old. Just sit here, sleep, feel like a lab rat after all the significant tests doctors have performed on you and well… there's nothing that can get newer than that."
"Unless they serve you spaghetti instead of… this," Danny implied, staring at the watery soup with the same look she had earlier. "Oh, yeah, your world famous spaghetti and taco sauce- homemade, of course- would be awesome right now." Jazz replied. "Don't tell me: you can almost taste it, right?" Danny asked, chuckling. Jazz closed her eyes and sighed, licking her lips as if she were eating away the taco sauce. Both siblings laughed.
"Well, I can give you some of it… for a small price," Danny said, a sly smile appearing on his face. Jazz adjusted herself on the pillow. "What?" She cautiously asked. "Tell me… what the surprise is!" He commanded, flicking her on the nose. "Danny! You're gonna have to wait! And I hate when you do that!" She exclaimed.
"When I do what?" Danny asked, an innocent look glistening his eyes. He did the same thing. "That!" She said, playfully punching him in his arm. "Hey!" Before they knew it, they were having a slap fight.
"Daniel! Jasmine! What are you two doing??" A voice shouted. Danny and Jazz immediately stopped slapping each other, glanced at the other and fell over laughing. Their mother walked over to them while their father was right behind her eating a ham and cheese sandwich.
"Danny, when did you get here?" Maddie asked, a look of concern and irritation on her face. "A little while ago. I'm sorry I didn't call before," Danny said, slowly sitting up. He looked over at his sister, who was still silently laughing. Danny smiled and shook his head. The one thing that changed with her stay in the hospital was her personality. She was a little more like her brother- fun-loving, happy, and somewhat carefree.
"Danny, go get something to eat with your friends. You can see your sister later." Maddie instructed him. Danny nodded and left the room.
She turned back to her daughter, whose expression was the same before Danny came in earlier. Maddie smiled at her, and sat beside her. "You and Danny almost seem like twins, you're so close, now," Jazz sighed, trying to remember the last time they were so close.
"Jazzy! Would you like the rest of my sandwich, princess?" Jack asked, offering her his ham and cheese sandwich. Jazz smiled and shook her head. "No thanks, Dad. I'm fine." She turned to her mom.
"Hey, mom, can I have you ask Danny something for me?" She asked. "Sure, what is it?"
"Well…." Jazz toyed with a piece of loose thread on her bed sheet before she told. "Have him meet me here at around…. 6pm. Oh, and tell him to bring his famous spaghetti and taco sauce, please?"
Maddie knew how much she loved Danny's spaghetti. After all, she was the one who taught him how to make it when he was about five years old. Ever since, they only made it on special occasions.
"Sure, sweetie," She promised.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
He wants to go home,
But nobody's home.
That's where he lies,
Broken inside.
With no place to go,
No place to go…
To dry his eyes,
Broken inside.
Danny finally came back at around 6pm after receiving his mother's message from Jazz. He went intangible and flew through the hospital, going directly into Jazz's room.
When he got there, he locked the door behind him, but found out that she wasn't there. "Jazz?" He whispered, searching the room. He was about to leave, when he spotted a note on the pillow.
Danny,
Meet me outside in the back courtyard. I have your surprise waiting.
Love,
Jazz
Danny did what the note said, seeing her sitting on a bench that overlooked the sunset. He changed into human form and walked over to her.
"Jazzy…. I have your spaghetti," He said in a childish voice. Jazz glanced around and grinned. "Danny, thank goodness you came! I have the surprise right here!" She walked over to a row of flowers that stood behind a bundle of bushes and pulled out a navy blue velvet box. She sat down once again and motioned Danny to come closer. He obeyed and sat beside her.
"Danny, I had this for you on your birthday, but I never gave it to you." She opened the box and pulled out a locket. "I have a picture of us when we were little and a picture of us now. Happy really late birthday, Danny," She whispered.
Danny held the locket in his hands, fingering the golden touch. He carefully opened it, quietly laughing at the little girl and little boy in the picture. He remembered Jazz having long, red pigtails and a freckled face and him with his short black hair and baby blue eyes. He loved playing with her, even if he got in trouble for playing tricks on her.
"Thanks Jazz. I'll always have it with me," He gave her a strong, yet gentle hug. "Hey, Danny, we'd better get back. It's almost 6:45," Jazz suggested. Danny's eyes widened. "I gotta go! I'll see you la-" He realized he'd never see her again. He gave her one last kiss on the cheek and was about to leave, when Jazz grabbed his arm.
"Danny, where are you going?" She asked. "It's really important… but…" He stopped and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Danny, please tell me." She whispered, firmly holding his shoulders.
"Jazz, I don't want you to every forget me. I love you more than anything else. Just remember: your baby brother: the hero will always be there to protect you and you'll always be with me." He finally pushed her hands away, changed alter egos, and flew off. "Goodbye, Danny. See you later." Jazz whispered, smiling proud at her brother.
His feelings he
hides.
His dreams he can't find.
He's losing her mind.
He's
fallen behind.
He can't find his
place.
He's losing his faith.
He's fallen from grace.
He's
all over the place.
"Bye, Amity Park," Danny whispered into the empty streets. He flew to Sam's bedroom window, seeing her reading a book on her desk. He flew by Tucker's window, seeing him playing with his PDA as usual. He silently said goodbye to them as well as his parents, gathered all his belongings, and flew to the outskirts of town.
He wants to go home,
But nobody's home.
That's where he lies,
Broken inside.
With no place to go…
No place to go.
To dry his eyes,
Broken inside.
He boarded the helicopter, and took one last look at his home.
Tears fell down his cheeks.
He's lost inside,
Lost inside…
Well, there ya go! 9 pages on Microsoft and a little bit of patience left. I hope you like it! Read and review positively, of course!