My friends had recently been responsible for the rekindled desire to relive my childhood. I always liked Danny Phantom as a child, but like other shows they used to air, I never really appreciated them like I do now. I also never shipped in them like I do not, but that's another story, or, is it?

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Danny Phantom or its characters, setting, etc. We won't get into the discussion of if I did, for it may cause controversial arguments.

MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW AS YOU GO INTO THIS STORY: This fanfiction was written under the basis of disregarding the finale, Phantom Planet. If you try reading this with the finale in mind, you may a bit thrown off.

On that note, Enjoy!

The summer went by as quickly as it had come, between the disaster at camp, the visit from Dani, and various other incidents involving meddling ectoplasmic beings. The genuine dread of the start of the school year overcame the teenagers quickly, and it could be felt in the halls of Casper High. It wasn't so much a depressing atmosphere; it was more of a somber, unenthusiastic one. No one seemed happy to be back in school, the groups of friends gathered in the halls didn't laugh, didn't even smile, it just felt very unenthused. But like the year before it, this year was bound to fly by. As sophomores, Danny and his friends weren't on the bottom of the barrel anymore, but they still didn't matter in the eyes of the student body. Even the ghosts that plagued the sleepy city took the liberty to give up antagonizing the town for the most part. The lack of ghost attacks was astounding, the longest dry spell Danny had ever seen. Even a trip to the Ghost Zone didn't stir up his usual ghost rivals. They would acknowledge him with an angry scowl or a death glare, but no words, no threats came. Danny and his friends we dumbfounded. At the same time, they weren't about to complain. Danny, being naturally gifted, even just a little bit, was able to get decent grades in school for once; he and his friends got the opportunity to enjoy the life that a normal teenager would. September came and went, and the weather got colder. The leaves changed, and the mood did too. It seemed that slowly, very slowly, the students didn't mind being in school. Everyone seemed uplifted. October came, and naturally Halloween was an invitation for the ghosts to play. Danny, Sam and Tucker were more than happy to play back, missing their regular encounters with the creatures from beyond the portal. November came, and the leaves fell, as did the temperatures. It wasn't hard to tell that winter was going to be cold and harsh this year. And it was, especially as the month came to a close. The calendar year ended with Danny and Sam, who had been able to admit some feelings for each other, deciding to stay friends. They both agreed that while there was something more, it wouldn't be worth it to try anything and risk their friendship. Tucker, being the wiseass he is, made a joke about it being like a brother and sister dating each other, much to the chagrin of his friends. The student body, who had taken great enjoyment in antagonizing the pair about their relationship, had seemed to notice this decision, picked up on it like vultures catch the scent of decaying flesh. Fortunately no rumours had arisen from it, which was surprising considering how quick the teens were to spread gossip.

As the new year began, the school was downright optimistic. The solace of knowing that the summer was only five months away motivated them. It was hard to believe, considering this was a high school, that teenagers could be so willing to work, and actually not complain about it. January and February flew by, and March sat well with everyone. April came, and it brought the sun, warmth and increased temperatures. The flowers began to pop up from their slumber beneath the surface, the trees budded, and a breath of relief blanketed the town as winter jackets, heavy boots and snow shovels could finally be put away for the time being. April vacation, spring break if you will, was welcome with open arms and huge cheers, from student and faculty alike. Granted, the parents were less than thrilled, but everyone in life can't always get their way. Danny, Jazz and their parents, as well as Sam and Tucker, took a weeklong trip to Florida. Despite the occasional mishap, the tropical weather and new, refreshing change of scenery was much needed, and the trip overall was pleasant.

After spring break, the teachers realized they needed to kick it into high gear. Assignments, tests, projects, all of them were assigned liberally. Naturally kids were less than enthusiastic about this, but despite the whining that a few of the more problematic students did, no one really had any serious problems, doing the work no matter how much they didn't want to. April ended in no time, and May seemed like a blink of the eye. June came, and that meant finals were here. Kids crammed, studied their asses off, and they made sure they could finish the tests as quickly as possible, in order to start their summer as soon as they could.

The summer itself was actually very anticlimactic for Danny. He was a bit shocked when he learned that Sam and Tucker had started dating, but at the same time he could honestly say he was not surprised at all. Like they say, opposites attract. It did feel him feeling like the third wheel, but his friends were understanding and courteous enough to keep the affectionate behavior for when Danny wasn't around. The big shock of the summer was that Paulina, the girl he had eyed for the entirety of his freshman year, had asked him to go on a date with her. He was extremely close to saying yes, but to everyone's' surprise he said 'No'. Paulina was more angry than upset, and vowed to make his life miserable. He couldn't say he was intimidated by her threat, in fact he was pretty unfazed by them. Of course, she never really lived up to her words, but the looks on Sam and Tuckers' faces when he told them he said 'No' was priceless. Other than that though, the summer was uneventful to the point of dragging on.

When the school year started, Danny was actually glad. He had had it with sitting around while his two only friends were off being a couple, having fun and doing whatever it is couples do, which Danny didn't exactly have any idea about. That first morning he sat down at the desk, eyes set on staring at the wall in front of him. His mind drifted to other thoughts, and the wall blurred, the ticking from the clock became distorted, fuzzy. He could make out figures shuffling into the room, each one struck once again by the first day blues. It wasn't until the teacher slammed the classroom door shut that he was snapped back into reality.

The first month continued like that. Danny would stop and see Sam and Tucker, who thankfully weren't extremely lovey-dovey in public, talk to them for a few minutes, and then aimlessly wander to his classes, where he would do the work assigned and spend his free time gazing into nothingness, mind more focused on other thoughts than his actual grades. It was a shock that he had managed a B average with his inability to focus. Even the ghosts that reared their ugly heads made comments about his distractedness, but were silenced quickly with a blast from the thermos.

Once October hit, Danny had more trouble staying focused than Tucker at a technology exposition, and his teachers picked up on it. It had reached a pointed where he didn't even bother to complete his work. His grades plummeted, and his parents became concerned. He reassured them that he was alright, and the he would try harder to pick his grades up and work harder in school. He barely managed to scrape up passing grades, and as the months passed, he became increasingly disconnected from society. It reached a point where all he would do was go to school, go home and sit around. Sam and Tucker would call, knock on his door, but he just ignored them. It wasn't that he wanted to; truth is he longed to see his friends, but he couldn't do it. There was just a part of him that couldn't take seeing his friends so happy, both individually and as a couple, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was jealous. He longed for that kind of relationship, to not feel left out.

Christmas, a time he was never enamored with, felt even more depressing. Jazz felt the most concern for her little brother, seeing him slowly fall into a pit that he would not be able to crawl out of. As the end of December crept up, Danny's mood got dragged down. There was no happy new year for him, just another day filled with, well nothingness. The winter sulked by, and by April the rain was a perfect metaphor for his emotions. The skies opened up and poured, record rainfalls covered the entire region. But as spring break appeared on the horizon, the weather cleared up. Unfortunately, Danny's mood remained, well downright miserable. On the last day of school before vacation, he couldn't even bring himself to crawl out of bed, so he faked sickness and called out of school, and spend the beautiful day curled up in his bed, lights off, curtains closed, draped in darkness.

I really don't ever have anything to type down here, which I apologize for. I also apologize for this as a whole.

I'm sorry.