He set the shot glass down, swallowing the remaining taste of the liquor in his mouth. It was going to be another start to a depressing night. By now he had been expecting it, even before he would walk into the dimly lit bar and sit on one of the stools fraught with rust and vandalism. The dark-haired male sighed out of his lack of willpower, not even bothering to stop himself from ordering a refill.
Danny was surrounded by the sounds of low, steady music and smell of body odor wafting through the air around him. The dreary atmosphere was periodically interrupted by pool balls clacking together or the occasional drunkard getting thrown out by security. He went to this bar enough times to know that now. It had been a week since he started going as frequently as he did now, so began to find comfort in his surroundings. He figured most of his life wasn't worth remembering anyway, especially now. Family issues, girlfriend problems, college work, ghost fighting, and his day job were hard to balance, and none of them were making his life any easier.
The car accident that occurred the previous Sunday started his long chain of problems. A speeding Saturn happened "accidentally" crash into the Fenton RV one moonless night, when his dad and him were just coming back from a father-son camping trip… something Jack and Danny hadn't done in a long, long while. The crash was devastating, with thousands of dollars' worth of damage to the RV, as described by the police. Danny managed to survive the crash with only a mild concussion and few deep cuts and bruises, quickly healed by his paranormal biology… but Danny's father…
He was clumsy… and goofy… and sometimes embarrassing…. But he was my dad… and a damn good one at that….
Police eventually realized that the crash was a set up, and done on purpose in order to kill the individuals – or at least the driver in particular – in the RV. Through his aching head and unstoppable pain in his limbs, Danny could make out the slight glow of red in the man's eyes before he was arrested and put into the police car, along with the chiming of new handcuffs.
Congrats, Vlad. You finally managed to kill my father. It only took you snapping and using the most mundane method you could have. Again, Danny took a big gulp of his drink as the thoughts flooded his mind as if the event occurred yesterday.
Maddie Fenton was completely ruined. She was bawling the moment she heard of his death, immediately grasping her son into a long hug. She was glad Danny was alive and well, but the death of the husband she loved would be remembered for as long as she lived. For the rest of that night after the police left, Danny didn't hear from her, despite his want to comfort and console his distressed – and now only – parent.
Valerie Gray was a lovely woman, and Danny knew he wanted something special with her. Her caramel skin would glow in the sun, and her curly black hair would always remind him of the black liquorish he loved as a kid. Not only that, but she was as sweet as her traits described… until you pissed her off.
Often, Valerie and he would fight about ridiculous things; she always seemed to yell at him for the small mistakes he made, from forgetting allergy medicine during the spring, to leaving his clothes in the bathroom after he took a shower. She would anger easily, and he realized it the hard way. Strangely, in some cases, it made her more attractive in his eyes, but after a few years of it becoming a major habit, he started seeing her in a different light. The stupidest thing he had done was actually talk back I defense of his own being, but of course she won.
Quarreling continued throughout their relationship for another two years, up until the other day when he told how he's been feeling about her yelling and complaining because he knew his opinion mattered in their relationship. Danny knew she was stressed out with her job while juggling school, and helping Danny fight ghosts, but it didn't mean she had to take it out on him. However, confronting the problem and pointing out the cause of her yelling made her even angrier. The hardest thing he did then and there was break up with her. They had been sharing an apartment in the basement of the house Valerie grew up in, she he prompting packed everything and went home.
Danny felt that he was in love with her and didn't want to leave her, but what was a better alternative? He couldn't deal with her yellowing and volatile behavior; it was too much for him now. Since the loss of his father, the least stressful situations were starting to become impossible to overcome… which included Valerie's constant verbal abuse. Now, he was single and still having recurring emotions about his ex. And now he fought ghosts alone while commuting further to school to boot.
Danny rubbed his face out of shame, wishing he could turn back time and turn the RV intangible so he could save his father or somehow change things with Valerie to make it work. To makes things worse, he nearly lost his part-time job earlier that morning for being late. Again. Ghost fighting was also taking up his time and exhausting him more than usual with the emotional pain he was already in. From there, he was also struggling to boost his already low grade point average.
At least I can say I was never good at math… or English….
Downing another shot of liquor, he again asked for another refill, even though he knew it wasn't doing him any good, both physically and mentally. But he didn't care. He stopped caring what felt like ages ago. His life was slowly dripping down the drain, and he was at a loss for what he was supposed to do anymore. The only people that would support him were his friends, but he hadn't seen them in a while thanks to busy schedules. He hadn't gotten together with Tucker and Sam since a few months before the accident. Other than that, no other option seemed available to him… so he drank. Right at that moment, it was the only thing he could do.
"Goddamn Paulina…." Sam grumbled to herself, her steps heavy with anger. "Bitch won't quit being as shallow as a puddle…."
Recently, an encounter with the Hispanic female made Sam's blood boil to baking temperature. Even at nineteen, Paulina still felt like she was at the top of the totem pole, not realizing that high school was over, and life would begin from there. She had been asking Sam about Danny constantly, and not because she was curious of his depressed state, but because she wanted the dirt on her ex-boyfriend. Sam had caught wind of Danny and Valerie's breakup from Paulina stalking his and her Facebooks. She so badly wanted to call Danny and make sure he was okay, but she knew the consequences of jumping the gun, and didn't want to cause problems if it was only temporary. They had broken up and gotten back together a few times during their relationship with Sam always biting her tongue to not start trouble.
Sam continued to stroll down the road, walking home after a long day at work. Thanks to her parents, she was able to get a one-bedroom apartment relatively close to her school. Her parents couldn't understand why she wanted a job, seeing that they could hand her an apartment, but Sam insisted that it felt rewarding. After her days were over, she was still tired and wanted to get home before the street would get too dark. Her encounter with Paulina didn't make her sleepy mood any better, but at least she had an apartment to go back to… and a bed.
Her job was only down the street from her apartment, so a short walk was all that was needed. She didn't mind though; she needed the fresh air after she sat in the office building all day with the awful stench of dusty air conditioning and compressed air.
She walked by a nearby bar, rolling her eyes at the racket inside the beat-up building. Despite her distain for drinking and partying, Sam couldn't help but feel a little wary of the place. She passed by the building hundreds of times before, but somehow it felt so alien.
Danny's been so depressed since the accident, and has been acting strange lately…. She glanced through the windows of the bar as she slowly walked past. What if he's -?
She wanted to slap herself for even thinking of him like that. She couldn't imagine Danny being unpredictable enough to turn to drugs due to his suffering. Try as she might, she couldn't picture it. He had always been a genuinely good kid, save for a few reckless mistakes here and there that he would quickly amend. But that…?
His behavior had been a bit off, but that didn't mean that he's been out drinking. She'd seen him go to the bar once before on the day after the accident – which wasn't the best of decisions, but it was understandable that he needed time alone so she let it slide – but has he been going more often? He never spoke about it to her – which was strange – so she'd been suspicious of him. She had tried texting and calling but to little avail. He would give her one word replies or say he was too busy to talk on the phone, and when she would offer to stop by, he'd immediately shut her down. The worst part was that he hadn't seemed to be talking to anyone since the accident followed by the breakup. Sam would at least rather him talk to someone, even if it wasn't her that he turned to.
She shook her head. No, Sam. Just walk away from the bar… go home… get some rest…. She told herself to stay calm, to just relax. If she had to deal with the realization that Danny might become addicted, she knew she'd fall apart with him.
Sam passed the bar, back into the threshold of the night. The bar was the only somewhat lively place in the area, and its lights were the brightest on the street. Once she passed it, she was again in darkness… just the way she liked it. She tried to focus on the bliss she felt when the moonlight kissed any area left uncovered, including her face. Sam didn't want to think about the awful events that Danny had went through, or his behavior, or his possible drinking habits for that matter. All she wanted was some sleep.
Suddenly, the sounds of footsteps were heard behind her. They seemed faint, but Sam grew cautious. If it was some weirdo trying to stalk her for sex or money or whatever the hell they wanted, she have to make a run for it. She saw a nearby parked car and decided to slip behind it, away from the sidewalk so that she could see the person who followed her when they crossed into the glow of the streetlamp.
The person's footsteps were still faint, but they seemed uneven. Normally when a person walked, the steps were in sync and made some sort of pattern. This person had a completely different footing altogether, almost as if he or she was stumbling half way down the street.
"Hello-o-o-o-o-o-o…?" The voice was male, sounding a bit boisterous from where she was. "Ca-can somebody tell me where… where my house is…?" He started saying things to himself but was still loud enough to be heard. "Where's that… lady… person…?"
Oh great. A drunkard. Looking for me.
Sam could tell from the footsteps to the voice that this person was clearly intoxicated. His slurring made it hard to tell how old they might be, but it was definitely male and definitely had consumed alcohol. Sam mentally flinched, remembering her previous thoughts about Danny. It would kill her to ever see him like that.
Sam pulled out her cell phone from her pocket in one hand and had her hand on a pocket knife in the other, just in case the man tried to attack her. Slowly, she stepped out onto the sidewalk to find out who was following her home – and scaring the crap out of her. The footsteps grew louder until finally, he can into the light of the streetlamp Sam stood under. He managed to lean his arm against a nearby tree to hold himself up, eventually lifting his head with a stupid grin on his face.
Sam sucked in air. "Danny…?"
Danny, seeing an actual person in front of him, decided to ask the question he was hoping to get an answer to. "Hey! Um… hi…. Do you know where my house… might be? I-I kind of forgot… an' stuff… I swear I knew where… but… I don't." He giggled to himself at his own stupidity, while Sam stepped forward and grabbed his free arm, trying to keep him balanced.
Sam realized how serious the whole situation was. Danny was drunk, all on his own, while any random person could pick him up, or he could get into a car or even be run over by one. She knew she couldn't bring him home to his mom, with his being underage, drunk, and her having to deal with her own grief and the Danny's.
"Hey!" Danny screamed too loudly in Sam's ear. "I know… you…. Sam, right?"
"Yes, Danny. It's Sam." she grunted in response, struggling to get him upright. "I'm going to have to take you back to my place since you're smashed," she tried to explain.
"Smashed? Who was smashed?" Danny asked.
"You." Sam replied dryly as they started down the street.
"Cool!" shouted a goofily grinning Danny. He sounded even more boisterous than before.
"Shush!" Sam snapped. "Keep it down, will you? People are trying to sleep."
"But shouting is fun!" He started getting further away from Sam, trying to prove his point.
Sam caught up to him and grabbed his arm, tears on the brim of her eyes. "Danny, please…. Try to be quiet and come with me, okay?" she coaxed. "You're not looking too good, and it's getting late; you need a place to stay."
Danny's expression turned a bit stern and shook her hand off of his arm. He crossed his arms. "I can lead myself there, you know! Geez!"
Danny tried walking on his own down the sidewalk despite Sam's protesting, but found himself going from one end of the path to the other. He failed walking a straight line, making it more obvious that he needed her. "See? I'm doin' jus' fine!" To prove his point, he would up meeting a tree face-first with a whack. His body then met the ground.
"You won't survive ten minutes on your own," Sam replied to his ridiculousness. Getting annoyed, she walked over to where he feel and looked down at him, crossing her arms over her chest, leaning on one hip.
Danny's face was surprisingly calm with his lips curled into a big grin – despite the cut on them from the tree – as if was about to burst out laughing. "I got knocked down by a tree…."
Sam frowned. She would have laughed at Danny's obvious statement, but more apprehensiveness began to cloud her thoughts. They weren't very far from the bar, and who knows what could happen if another drunkard would walk by.
"Danny, seriously, knock it off," she said. "Try to stand up."
With her help, Danny managed to get his body off the ground with Sam letting one of his arms drape over her shoulders. It was better to keep him balanced so she could get a better grip on him.
With his face so close, she could smell the rancid odor of alcohol on his breath, making her cringe, both from the consumption of the drug and of his discretion to do so in the first place. The realization that he was doing such a stupid act was making her nervous for his safety, yet it did make her more persistent to help out with his depression. Although she was one of his best friends for years, she knew that when it came to a distressed and angry Danny Fenton, stay away and let him burn some steam. She didn't want to make his losses any more painful than they already were. But because of that, it led him down a road that could lead straight to alcoholism. She needed to monitor him more often than what he would want normally.
"I still dun get why you have ta hold me up," Danny interrupted her thoughts. "I was doin' fine without you."
She glanced at him, his head less than a foot away from hers. Even in this state and in the darkness of the night, his eyes were still that alluring shade soft blue. She obliged, "Sure, of course you were. Keep telling yourself that." The least she could do was cheer herself up with some good old sarcasm.
"Don't worry, girly, I will," he told her, finding that he was getting drowsy. He rested his head on Sam's shoulder.
In spite of everything, Sam couldn't help but crack a small smile at the sentiment and the memories, even if she hated him calling her "girly".
"Danny… you're a hopeless drunk."
[A/N 3-8-17]: Hi everyone! So I know this story seems to have come from out of nowhere for me, but here's what happened. I was going through some older stories I favorited and remembered this one and found that it had been discontinued. So I contacted the author, Draco09 on fanfiction, and asked if I could adopt it, to which he was happy someone wanted to finish it!
Ultimately, the first four chapters completely and totally are Draco09's. I just touched them up and edited some errors.
I plan on continuing and finishing this story after posting the first four. There's just a few notes here for continuity sake:
There is no Phantom Planet for this
They're about 19 or 20, sophomores in college
Danny has dated Sam, then Paulina, then Valerie
Maddie Fenton lives with Danny at Fenton Works; Jasmine is away at school (Harvard)
Danny, Sam, and Tucker are all in different colleges; Danny is at a small public university that Valerie also attends, Sam is at a larger, private university that Paulina also attends, and Tucker is at a community college. They're all still in the city or outskirts of Amity Park.
Danny's major is Physics… he still wants to become an astronaut; Sam's is environmental science with a business minor, and Tucker's is political science
Other details will be revealed as the story progresses.
Please review the story here or tell Draco09 how much you love it too! I will be posting this story between chapters for my other (original) story, Pokemon Ashen. Stay tuned for more!
