This idea popped into my mind one day and I just HAD to write it. =3 I hope you like!
Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman!
Daniel Manson, Sam Foley, Samantha Masters, Tina Sanchez, Luke Baxter (C) Me
Tucker Foley stood in the doorway watching as his best friend, Samantha Manson, stared up at the stars. He smiled to himself when he heard her whispering. He loved Sam. With everything in him. But her heart belonged to only one person, and he wasn't about to just step in and try to take his place.
"I've been thinking about him." He snapped out of his thoughts as her voice echoed into the night.
"It's kind of hard not to." He muttered softly as he sat beside her. She nodded. "Have you chosen a name yet?" Sam looked down at the bulge underneath her shirt, shaking her head.
"Not yet…" Tucker nodded. "I was wondering if you had any suggestions." His eyes widened.
"Sam. It's not my kid… I shouldn't have any say in the name." Samantha nodded.
"I know Tuck…" She whispered, looking up at the stars again. "But you've done so much for me, you're my best friend and…" She sighed, fighting back tears. "I know he would have asked you." Tucker smiled slightly.
"Well… I was kind of thinking of one name."
"Really?"
"It is a boy right?" Sam nodded.
"Yes Tucker. You've seen the photos." Tucker smirked.
"Well… I was kind of hoping that you might name him after his father…" Sam smiled softly, a few tears slipping down her cheeks.
"I was hoping you'd say that." Tucker put an arm around her and pulled her close.
"I know you miss him Sam. I do too. But wherever he is… I know he just wants us to be happy." She nodded.
"I know Tucker." She whispered. "I've told myself the same thing over and over… But I can't bring myself to be happy without him."
"Well," Tucker started, "If you can't be happy without him, then try to be happy for the baby. He needs you, Sam. You're all he has now."
"I can't help but feel bad that he won't ever meet his father."
"Things happen. And when he's old enough to understand, we'll tell him."
"We?" Tucker nodded.
"You honestly think I'm going to let my best friend and her son leave when there's plenty of room for them here?"
"Thank you so much Tucker!" Sam exclaimed, hugging her friend. "I don't know how to show you how grateful I am!"
"You don't need to." He smiled. "What kind of friend would I be if I let you leave? You know he'd murder me if I did that." Sam chuckled. That was true. "Just promise me that you will name the boy after his father."
"I promise Tuck." Sam whispered. "I'm definitely naming him after his father."
14 years later
"Good morning class." The man standing at the front of the room smiled. "Welcome to the ninth grade!" A few students cheered happily as I glared at him. "I know you all remember me from last year." He wasn't wrong about that. I had absolutely hated last year with a passion. "And luckily, I will not be your teacher this year." I stared at him, slightly surprised. He had been teaching eighth and ninth grade since my mother went here. "Instead," he said as he opened the door, "Mr. Writer will be your teacher." A tall man walked through the door as he was introduced.
"Hello everyone." He smiled. He looked slightly familiar, but I know I had never seen him before in my life. His hair was almost as dark as mine and his eyes were the brightest blue I had ever seen. "Thank you Mr. Lancer. I can take it from here." Lancer nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.
"When did you start teaching?" A girl asked loudly. "You don't look very old." Mr. Writer chuckled.
"I've only been teaching for a few years now. And luckily, I'm not as old as Lancer." That earned a laugh from everyone, including me. "I was actually in his class a little over 16 years ago. I'm surprised he didn't recognize me."
"You went here?" A boy asked. "My dad never mentioned no Writer."
"And who might your father be?"
"Dash Baxter." Writer froze, a look of surprise flashed across his eyes.
"I do indeed remember Dash. He used to beat me up. Every. Single. Day." The boy laughed. I stared at him. He used to get bullied? I never would have guessed. "And you are?"
"Luke." Mr. Writer nodded.
"Well, Luke, why don't you start us off and introduce yourself." Luke nodded.
"As I said, my dad is Dash Baxter, the famous football star. I'm planning to try out for the football team this year." Writer nodded.
"Next." He pointed at the girl behind Luke.
"I'm Tina. Tina Sanchez. My mother is Paulina Sanchez, the super model."
"Oh yes. I distinctly remember Paulina as well. She wasn't very nice to me either." Tina laughed slightly. Writer pointed at the boy behind her.
He continued in this manner until he reached my best friend.
"And you are?" He asked. "You certainly look familiar." My friend, Sam, smiled.
"Sam Foley." He stated proudly. "My dad is Tucker Foley, the CEO of that huge new software company." Mr. Writer smiled fondly.
"I remember Tuck well." He said. "I used to stick up for his nerdiness." I had to laugh at that.
"Yea. I do the same thing for Sam." I muttered, smirking when he glared at me. "It's a blow to my reputation, but someone has to do it." Sam threw a ball of paper at me.
"Shut up!" Writer laughed.
"And who are you?" He asked me.
"Him?" Sam asked. "He's the nicest kid around here. I've been friends with him since we were born."
"And he's also a loser!" Luke yelled, getting a laugh from everyone. I crossed my arms and leaned down in my desk. Writer shot them all a warning look and they all shut up.
"Name." He said.
"Daniel Manson." I muttered. His eyes widened slightly, as though he wasn't expecting me to say that.
"Manson?" He asked. I could hear a slight tinge of nervousness in his voice.
"Yea. Samantha Manson is my mother. Although she'll kill anyone who calls her that. She's not famous or anything, but she's the best person in the world." I couldn't help but smile. I loved my mom more than anything in the world. She had sacrificed so much for me.
"Ah yes. I remember Sam." Writer smiled. "She sure was something." I raised an eyebrow as the bell rang. Everyone rushed out the door as Sam and I stayed in our seats. Writer stared at us surprised. "Don't you guys have another class?"
"We're in here." Sam smiled. "In fact, I think we're the only ones."
"Why does no one else like art?" I muttered.
"Because they don't respect it." Writer said matter-of-factly. "So you boys like art?"
"Like is an understatement." Sam said. "Especially when referring to Dan."
"I told you!" I snapped. "Don't call me that!" Writer raised an eyebrow. I sighed. "My mother can't stand hearing that name. Which I don't understand… She's the one who called me Daniel."
"Yea. I remember the other day when dad called you Danny. She flipped." I cringed as I remembered how angry she had gotten. "Why the hell did she get so mad anyway?"
"Does your dad tell you nothing?" I asked. He shook his head. "Danny was their best friend. He meant everything to the both of them." Sam nodded.
"Oh yea. I remember dad mentioned him a while ago. He said you're more like him than he ever thought possible." I glared at him.
"It's not my fault my pants won't stay up!" we both looked up as Writer began laughing loudly. I blushed slightly.
"Why not wear a belt?" He asked.
"They don't work." I shrugged.
"That isn't the only thing that makes you like him." Sam smirked.
"Don't you dare mention that!"
"Oh come on dude! Everyone knows who he is! I mean seriously! Did you not watch that news broadcast?"
"Yea I did. They've only shown it to us every single year." I muttered. "You'd think they'd forget about it by now. No one's seen him in 15 years."
"If I may ask, who are you talking about?" we both stared at Mr. Writer surprised. He didn't know?
"You've never heard of Danny Phantom?" Sam asked.
"Oh yes. I have. Wasn't he the ghost boy who saved the world when he was 15?" We both nodded.
"No one has seen him since he was 19. That was the last time our parents saw him anyway."
"Does anyone know what happened to him?"
"Dad says he's somewhere in the ghost zone, but mom says that he's just being ridiculous. She said she's asked every ghost that she's come across and they haven't seen him."
"Mom says he died." I said quietly.
"How the hell did she say that?" Sam asked. "Every time someone brings him up she bursts into tears and nobody can understand her."
"May I ask why that happens?"
"And you say you went to school here." Sam muttered. Mr. Writer smiled.
"Mom loved him. More than anything in the world. She would have given up anything to be with him. In fact, she gave up her family. Tuck, Sam and I are all she has now. Besides the Fenton's."
"Don't you mean Jazz. Jack and Maddie aren't around anymore." Sam stated.
"Right. Jazz Fenton. Why she keeps insisting that I call her auntie is beyond me." I muttered, crossing my arms.
Sam and I rushed out the door as the bell rang at the end of the day. My mom was waiting for us in the usual spot.
"Hey boys." She smiled as she rolled down the window. "Would you like a ride?"
"No thanks Miss. Manson." Sam said.
"What did I tell you?" she said to him.
"It feels weird calling you Sam!" He complained. She chuckled.
"Fine. Then just call me Manson. No miss please." He nodded.
"We're heading to the Nasty Burger." I said. She nodded.
"Alright. Call me if you need a ride later."
"Of course!" I smiled. Then I remembered what I had wanted to ask her. "Hey mom? Do you know anyone with the last name Writer?"
"Nope. Not that I can remember anyway. Why?"
"We have this new teacher. He says he knows you and uncle Tuck."
"Well, I don't remember anyone with that name. I'm pretty sure I would." She smiled. "Well, I'll see you boys later." She said as she drove off.
"Dude. Maybe he was lying." Sam suggested.
"Of course he was lying!" We turned to see Luke standing there. "No one with the last name Writer ever went here."
"Maybe he changed his name?" I suggested.
"Yea. And my dad isn't great at football." he growled. "Why are you defending the guy anyway. It's not like he means anything to you."
"Because he's a cool guy." I snapped.
"You're just saying that because he's the only teacher that likes you."
"At least I'm not a suck up."
"Wanna say that again?" He asked grabbing the front of my shirt and lifting me off the ground.
"I'm not a suck up." I smirked. He glared at me and punched me in the stomach. I coughed as I fell to the ground, clutching my stomach. "What the hell was that for?"
"Back talking."
"Jackass." I muttered.
"What did you call me?" He snapped, swiftly kicking my side.
"Luke! Back off!" Sam shouted.
"Screw off, Foley." Luke muttered, punching Sam in the eye. Sam fell down beside me from the force.
"Hey!" I looked up at the voice, to see Mr. Writer walking towards us.
"Shit!" Luke shouted as him and his friends ran off.
"Hey Dan, you ok?" Sam asked. I was in too much pain to care that he used that nickname, and continued to clutch my stomach.
"You boys ok?" I heard Writer ask.
"I'm fine." Sam muttered. "But I'll definitely have a black eye tomorrow." I tried to push myself up, only to have my arm collapse and fall back down. "Dude chill!"
"What happened?" I felt myself being pulled up.
"Luke punched and kicked him in the stomach." I felt the ground disappear from beneath me.
"We better get him to the hospital."
"No!" Sam shouted. I smiled slightly. Sam knew I couldn't go to the hospital. "He has to go home."
"With these injuries?"
"Yes. Miss Manson will know what to do."
"Alright."
"What the hell happened?" My eyes shot open at my mothers voice.
"Luke Baxter." I heard Sam's voice say.
"I always knew Dash's kid would turn out to be a bastard." I heard uncle Tuck say. I couldn't help but chuckle.
"I found them both on the ground. I tried to take them to the hospital bu-" Writer started.
"It's a good thing you didn't." Mom said quickly. "They wouldn't be able to help him."
"Mom?" I said looking over at her.
"How ya feeling?" She asked.
"Better." I muttered. She smiled.
"Good. Next time try not to say anything."
"I'm sorry. But he pissed me off." I spat, sitting up.
"And what exactly did he say that pissed you off?" Tucker asked.
"He was saying shit about Mr. Writer." Sam defended. "And then he said that nobody likes Dan." Mom shot him a look. "I mean Daniel." Mom sighed.
"Alright. You are way too nice for your own good." She told me. I couldn't help but smile.
"Well Sam," Tuck smirked, "it's to be expected. Considering who his father was."
"If you weren't my best friend." Mom threatened.
"Miss Manson?" We all looked over at Mr. Writer.
"Sam. Please." She said.
"Sam." he smiled. "I may have only met Daniel this morning, but I can tell he's a good kid."
"I know that." She snapped. Damn. I felt bad for anything else the guy said. But it didn't phase him, as if he had heard her snap like that a million times before.
"I never said you didn't. I was just stating a fact." She sighed.
"I'm sorry. But this isn't the first time Luke Baxter has done this. But does that bastard Lancer care?"
"Sam. He's never cared. You know that. He didn't care when it was Dash beating on Danny and I, and he's not going to care that Dash's son is beating on our kids."
"I know that Tuck. But it still pisses me off. And then there's that Sanchez girl."
"Tina?" Sam asked. They both nodded.
"That girls mother is the definition of priss." Writer said just before mom could. "I remember Paulina quite well. Can't say I've ever been fond of her."
"I like you." Mom smiled. "Anybody that hates Paulina and Dash are alright in my books. What about Lancer?"
"Can't stand the man. No clue why I'm working for him." He chuckled. "Guess in some twisted way, I missed him."
"Mom?" I asked knocking on the door. After Mr. Writer left, she had holed herself up in her room. "Can I come in?" I heard her mumble something and opened the door. "You ok?" She looked up and smiled, motioning for me to sit on the bed. I sat down beside her and noticed the book in her hands.
"I'm fine. Just remembering high school." She said as she turned the page.
"Who's that?" I asked pointing to a boy who looked familiar. She smiled, tears welling up in her eyes.
"That's Danny." She said, turning the page. I couldn't contain my laugh as I saw a picture of him and uncle Tuck hugging. "He was our best friend."
"How come I've never met him?" I asked carefully. She sighed, turning the page again. There was a picture of her and Danny dancing, uncle Tuck in the background, and angry look on his face.
"Nobody's heard from him in 15 years." I nodded as a few tears fell down her cheeks. "He just disappeared one day and nobody heard from him again."
"You think he's dead." I said without thinking. She nodded.
"I do."
"But wasn't he half ghost? Wouldn't he be in the ghost zone?"
"You know Valerie has asked every ghost we ever knew. Nobody has seen him." I sighed.
"Why are you showing me all this now?" I asked. "I've heard you and Uncle Tuck talking about him all the time, but you've never actually shown me any pictures of him."
"I guess… I figured it was time you knew who your father was." I stared at her for a minute before it clicked.
"Danny's my dad?" I asked. She nodded.
"He disappeared a month before I found out I was pregnant with you."
"Who knows?"
"Only Val, Tuck and Jazz." she sighed.
"No one else?"
"We didn't want to tell anyone else. They knew we were dating, it should have been obvious." She shrugged. "I'm actually quite surprised no one has asked. You're so much like him." I smiled slightly. She closed the book and looked over at me, pulling me into a hug. "I spent so long being mad at him for leaving. But he gave me you, so I can't really complain." I chuckled and hugged her back.
"I should probably go do my homework. Just because I don't have Lancer as a teacher anymore doesn't mean I should let my grades fall."
"Anymore than they already have, you mean." I shot her a look. "You are exactly like him." She chuckled as I left the room.
"Seriously though." I muttered. "What kind of school puts two kids in one class? Isn't that, like, a waste of time?" Sam and Mr. Writer chuckled.
"Sure." Writer smiled. "But at least you can get away from everyone for a little while."
"True that man. I can't tell you how much I look forward to this class." Sam smiled. "I can't stand those jerks."
"You're just saying that because you've been rejected by every girl in this school." I smirked.
"And you haven't?" He smirked back.
"Shut up Sam." I muttered.
"Victory!" He shouted throwing his arms in the air. I couldn't contain my laugh at how weird he looked.
"You boys sure are different." Writer said, shaking his head.
"That's an understatement." I smirked again.
Just as I was about to throw my book at Sam's head, the door opened. All three of us turned to find a girl standing there.
"Uh… Is this art?" she asked. Writer nodded and took the paper from her as she walked in.
"Why yes it is." He smiled. "And who might you be?"
"I'm Samantha. Samantha Masters." She said shyly. Dude. Seriously?
"It's nice to meet you Samantha." Writer said. "I'm Mr. Writer. And these two hooligans are Daniel and Samuel." Sam and I glared at him.
"Who are you calling hooligans?" I asked.
"Who are you calling Samuel?" Sam asked. I laughed and proceeded to throw my book at him.
"My apologies." Writer smirked. "This is Dan and Sam."
"It's nice to meet you." She smiled.
"So." Sam asked. "What do you go by? Samantha or Sam?"
"Usually Sam. But if it's too confusing…"
"It's no biggy. Dan's mothers name is Sam too."
"Wow." She giggled. "Confusing much?"
"You have no idea." I sighed.
"So. Where you from?" Sam asked as she sat down beside me.
"I'm from Wisconsin." She smiled. "My uncle Vlad paid for me to come here." We all looked up to see Mr. Writer on the floor. I raised an eyebrow.
"You ok?" I asked as he stood up.
"Yea. Just that name… You don't mean Vlad Masters by any chance do you?" He asked. She nodded.
"Yea. Apparently my parents went to college with him or something and when they passed away, he adopted me. Insists on me calling him uncle." She scowled. He sighed.
"I know what you mean." He muttered under his breath. What the hell did he mean by that? "My parents used to be friends with Vlad. He insisted on me calling him uncle as well. It never happened. That dude is one crazed up fruitloop."
"Fruitloop?" I asked.
"Yes. It's what I used to call him when I was fourteen." He chuckled. "It's stuck. Even my friends and family used to call him that."
"Well." Samantha smiled. "It fits. So." She said changing the subject. "Where are you guys from?"
"We were both born and raised here." Sam smiled.
"Our parents have been friends since middle school. And we just got along as well." I chuckled. "In fact, my mom and I live with him and his parents." She nodded.
"Where's your dad?" She asked. I froze. I hadn't even gotten around to telling Sam and Mr. Writer about what mom had told me.
"He… He's not around anymore." I said quietly.
"Oh. I'm sorry!" She said quickly. "I didn't know. I know how much it bugs me when people ask about my parents… But it's been about 10 years now. It's a little easier to talk about them."
"What happened to them?" Sam blurted. She blushed. "If you don't mind me asking."
"Oh no. I don't mind. They passed away when I was 4. Car accident." We both nodded.
"I've been lucky enough to not lose anybody." Sam said. "But I can't imagine how much it would hurt if I ever did."
"It's not a nice feeling." Mr. Writer said quietly. We all looked at him surprised, completely forgetting that he was even in the room.
"You know what it's like?" Samantha asked. He nodded.
"I lost my parents when I was 19. Mysterious accident. Nobody knows what happened. A few months later I lost the love of my life." Samantha looked as though she were about to cry.
"What was she like?" Writer looked at her, slightly surprised. "Was she pretty?" He smiled slightly.
"Very. The most beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on." I smirked slightly, seeing as I had just thought that about Samantha. "I had never met someone as confident about their beliefs before. She didn't let anything stand in her way."
"She sounds awesome." Sam said, paying complete attention.
"She was. Despite her sometimes obnoxious and hypocritical attitude." He chuckled. "She had the most amazing pair of eyes I had ever seen in my life."
"Were you guys in love?" Samantha asked. He nodded.
"Very much so. It took only 6 years of our lives to finally realize it though. With the help from everyone we knew."
"What happened?" I asked, completely engrossed. This girl sounded amazing! And how he had managed to lose someone like her was beyond me. He sighed.
"After the death of my parents, things got harder. I was having trouble sleeping, I couldn't eat. She was worried about me… But I didn't want her to. So I left. Haven't seen her since."
"That's so sad…" Samantha said, wiping away a few tears.
"Do you have any idea where she might be now?" Sam asked. He shook his head.
"Nobody knows I'm back here. Except your parents. But they can't remember who I am…" He looked sad about that.
"Well you know how Tucker is." I said, trying to lighten the mood. "He'd forget his head if he didn't remember to key it into that PDA of his." Mr. Writer chuckled.
"Too true." Sam muttered.
"So." Samantha smiled. "What other classes do you guys have?"
"English, Math, Bio, and Gym." I muttered. "All of which, we have together." Sam sat up straight then, as though he had just remembered something important.
"Dude!" He shouted.
"What?" I shouted back, getting a laugh from both Samantha and Writer.
"Didn't you say you wanted to tell me something?" I stiffened. I did say that. But I hadn't had a chance.
"Umm… Yea. I do. But it can wait." I said finally. Samantha looked at us, a little nervous.
"It's because I'm here isn't it?" She asked. "I can go over there." She point to the other side of the room. I shook my head.
"Nah. It's fine. Sam can wait." I said glaring at him.
"But dude! You told me that last night! I wanna know why you were talking to your mom for so long!"
"Because she's my mom?" I smirked.
"Sam." Writer warned. "Don't push."
"But! He promised he'd tell me this class!" I flinched. He was right. I did promise. And I never break a promise.
"Fine!" I shouted finally. "I'll tell you. Just stop." He smirked. Samantha rose an eyebrow at me. "He knows that I can't break promises. Plus he has blackmail." I explained to her. That got me a look from Writer.
"Blackmail?" He asked. Sam held up one of my older sketch books.
"It's all right here."
"If you open that book, I will tell Jazz." His eyes widened and he put the book down, instantly shutting up. "He's afraid of my aunt." I said.
"She'll talk my ears off!" Writer chuckled.
"Oh yes. I remember Jasmine. She wanted to be a psychologist, right?" I nodded.
"And she did." I muttered. "I swear she gives me a psycho analysis every time she sees me."
"Back on topic!" Sam demanded. "I wanna know what the big secret is!" It was now or never. He was going to keep hounding me until I told him, and I don't think I'd ever get the courage again. I just had to say it, and be done with it. I sighed.
"Daniel Fenton." I mumbled. Mr. Writer spit out his coffee.
"What?" They all said at the same time. I sighed again, knowing they had heard me, but had no clue what I was talking about.
"He's my dad." I muttered, looking down at the sketch book. The page it was currently open to had a bunch of doodles of how I imagined my father would look. It was slightly ironic that every single one had black hair and blue eyes, just like Danny.
"Seriously?" Sam asked surprised. "The dude our parents were friends with." I nodded. "Where'd he go?" He asked.
"Do you not pay attention?" I snapped. He shrugged. "He just left one day. No one's seen or heard from him since. Mom's been heartbroken ever since."
"Is that why she hasn't dated anybody? She's still hoping to see him again?" I shook my head.
"She thinks he's dead. But she can't see herself with anyone else."
"That's so romantic." Samantha smiled. "I know if I ever lost the love of my life I could never be with someone else. It would hurt to much knowing he wasn't the one I needed." I smiled slightly. That was exactly how I felt when mom told me. I wouldn't be able to see myself with anyone else.
"What about you Mr. Writer?" Sam asked. "Have you been able to be with anyone else?" He stared at us for a few minutes before shaking his head.
"Nobody has been able to take her place. I dated 2 other girls when we were younger, before I confessed my feelings for her, and they were never good enough. They just weren't her… I haven't been able to look at another woman in the same way since I left."
"You said you left because you were didn't want her to worry." Samantha said. He nodded. "But don't you think you just made her worry more by leaving?"
"I know it's messed up." He said. "But it was the only thing I could do to protect her." I snorted.
"I know for a fact that my mother wouldn't have lasted this long if it hadn't been for Tuck being there when he left. I wouldn't be here." I had been told that a hundred times now. By both Tuck and Jazz. They knew how much Danny meant to my mom, and they knew how hard she had taken him just disappearing.
"Did your dad know about you?" Samantha asked suddenly. "Do you think maybe that's why he left?" I shook my head quickly.
"Mom didn't even know until a month after he left. That can't be why."
"Did she ever get a reason?" Sam asked.
"Nope. She just woke up one morning and he was gone. She did mention that his parents had died about a month before he left."
"When exactly did his parents die?" Samantha ask.
"Umm… Probably around February. Why?"
"I was just wondering…" She said. "I heard my uncle talking about the Fenton's a few months ago. He said something about poor Jasmine being left all alone. Especially since her brother just took off like that." I nodded.
"Well." Sam said. "Nobody we know likes Vlad very much. Dad and Manson can't stand him."
"Manson?" She asked, confused.
"My mom told him to call her that." I chuckled. The bell rang just as she was about to say something.
"You guys should head to English." Writer smiled. "Don't want to keep Lancer waiting." I snorted as we headed for the door.
"Wouldn't be the first time."
"Hello?" I looked up as mom answered the phone. "Mr. Writer?" I raised an eyebrow. "What's going on? Really? Well, that's Lancer for ya." She chuckled, almost as though she were flirting. "Of course. See you tomorrow."
"What's up?" Aunt Valerie asked.
"Mr. Writer said that Lancer wants all parents to meet him. Which is weird. But I guess it's Lancer." She shrugged.
"But we've already met him." Uncle Tuck complained.
"He's an awesome guy!" Sam said. "And there's no point in pissing Lancer off."
"He's got a point." I smirked.
"Fine." Tuck muttered.
"So. We'll be there right after school tomorrow alright?" Sam and I nodded.
Sam and I stood outside Mr. Writer's classroom as we waited for our parents.
"Hey guys." I looked up to see Samantha standing there. "Waiting for your parents?" She asked. We both nodded.
"Is your uncle coming?" I asked. She nodded.
"Unfortunately." she muttered.
"Daniel!" My mother and Sam's parents came around the corner.
"Hey mom. Mr. Writer will be here soon." I said as they reached us. She nodded.
"Who's this?" She asked, looking at Samantha.
"Hi Miss Manson." She smiled. "I'm Samantha Masters."
"Masters?" Moms face paled. "As in-"
"Vlad Masters. Yes. He's my uncle."
"I didn't know Vlad had any siblings." She said suspiciously.
"Oh he doesn't. My parents knew him in college. He took me in when they passed away."
"Well I hope he's being nice." Mom smiled. Samantha nodded.
"I guess. I still don't like him though."
"That's not a very nice thing to say." We all looked up to see Mr. Masters standing there with Mr. Writer beside him. "Hello Samantha." He said to my mother. "Tucker. Valerie." He said acknowledging them with a nod. "And this must be young Daniel!" He exclaimed when he saw me.
"Hi Mr. Masters." I said as politely as I could.
"Oh please. Call me Vlad." He smirked. I shuddered. That smirk was horrible.
"Let's all go in." Mr. Writer smiled as he unlocked the door.
As we all sat down, he began to speak.
"Lancer has been kind enough to inform me that all of your schedules have been rearranged." We all stared at him surprised.
"Rearranged?" Mom asked. "How so?"
"Well, apparently, these three only have the ability to pay attention in my class. And since my class doesn't contribute to them graduating, he has decided to make sure it does." At our confused looks, he smiled. "This means that from now on, you will collect all assignments, homework and tests from your teachers in the morning and come here for the rest of the day. You have all been exempted from Phys. Ed as well."
"But why?" I asked. "What makes us so special?"
"I'm not sure. Lancer refused to tell me. But he did say that a mysterious benefactor has asked that you all be put in a separate class to prevent harm from coming to any of you. In light of 'recent' events." He smirked at the three of us.
"Vlad." I heard Samantha's voice snap. "You did this didn't you?" Vlad smiled.
"I only did it to protect you my dear."
"I don't need you to protect me!" She snapped. "I have friends that can help me if I need it!"
"Samantha." My mother smiled. "I'm sure Vlad was just doing what he thought was in your best interest. But why he involved Daniel and Sam are beyond me."
"I involved the boys because they are her friends. And I'm sure Daniel would have appreciated it." He smirked, getting a glare from our parents.
"You have no idea what Danny wanted!" Mom spat viciously, getting to her feet. "You never did! You always thought that you knew him better than us, but you didn't! He never wanted your money, which is why I didn't accept it by the way; he didn't want you anywhere near me, which is why I so politely declined the offer to live with you; he didn't want anything from you! How many times do we have to repeat ourselves before you get it through your thick skull that we want nothing to do with a fruitloop like you!" Vlad just sat there, smiling the entire time. Even when she was a few inches from him, poking him in the chest.
"We don't like you Vlad. How many times do we have to tell you?" Tucker muttered. "We didn't like you when we were fourteen, we aren't going to like you now."
"It's been 15 years." He said. "Surely you can let the past go?"
"Let it go?" Mom asked, her voice shaky. "How can I let it go when I watched you beat him within an inch of his life ever-"
"Half life." Vlad muttered.
"Every single time you guys fought? How can you expect me to forgive you for torturing him the way you did? How can you expect any of us to forgive you after what you did?"
"My dear Samantha-"
"My name is Sam." She growled. "And I am not your dear. I want you to leave. I want you to stay away from my son and his friends. And I will see to it that young Samantha here isn't left to deal with someone like you. My parents may have disowned me, but they wouldn't let an innocent child be corrupted by someone as vile as you."
"Very well." Vlad said standing up. "I will have the papers sent to you tomorrow. And Samantha?" He turned to her, stopping just outside the door. "I hope you know this means you lose everything." She nodded. "Oh. And Mr. Writer?" The teacher glared at him. "I hope you come to your senses." He muttered as he slammed the door behind him.
We all sat there in stunned silence for what must have been an hour before Samantha finally spoke.
"I'm free…" She smiled. "I'm finally free!" she jumped up and hugged my mom. "Oh thank you Miss Manson! Thank you so much!"
"It's nothing hun." Mom smiled. "I'll talk to my friend tomorrow when I receive the papers. We'll figure something out." Samantha nodded gratefully.
"What the hell was that?" I asked as everything finally registered in my mind. "What the hell were you talking about?"
"Daniel please. You have to understand. This has nothing to do with you."
"But it has everything to do with my father." I snapped. "And I deserve to know about him. I deserve to know everything about him."
"You know everything." She said. "Except for where he is. Because even I don't know that."
"We should head home." Valerie said. They nodded and headed towards the door.
"It was nice to see you again Mr. Writer." Mom said before she walked out the door. Tucker and Valerie smiled and followed her out.
"Well…" He said. "That was unexpected."
"Tell me about it." Sam muttered. "I don't think I've ever been so afraid of your mom, dude." I shrugged.
"She can be scary when she wants to."
"Scary? Dude she practically had Vlad shaking in his seat!"
"Nobody can scare Vlad." Samantha muttered. "I have no idea why he just gave in like that. He must be up to something."
"If he wasn't then I'd be scared." Mr. Writer muttered, causing us to laugh.
A few days later, just sitting in class, I suddenly remembered what Vlad had said to Mr. Writer before he left.
"Hey Mr. Writer?" I asked.
"Yes Dan?"
"What did Vlad mean when he said he 'hopes you come to your senses'?" he sighed.
"I'd love to tell you guys." He smiled. "But I'm afraid some things are better kept secret."
"Oh come on!" Sam whined. "We're the only kids who actually like you! And we've been talking to you about everything for the past 2 months!"
"Dude chill. If he doesn't wanna tell us his secret, then he doesn't have to." I said.
"Yea Sam. He's never made us tell him anything. Why should we make him?" Samantha asked, clearly amused.
"Fine." Sam muttered. "We'll wait."
"I can promise that you guys will find out soon enough." I nodded as a shiver went down my spine. Well crap. This hasn't happened in a while. In case you're wondering, I just happened to inherit my fathers half ghost side. Well, technically, I'm quarter ghost, but that's besides the point. The point was, I had ghost powers. When they first started developing, mom said that it was because of an accident that had occurred when I was a baby. I had believed her until she told me about my father. Turns out ghost DNA is passed on to kids.
"Umm…" I stood up, and rushed over to the door. "I have to go."
"Do you do that often?" Mr. Writer asked when I finally returned to class.
"No. Not usually." I muttered. At least, not in the past few months anyway. He nodded and went back to whatever it was he was doing.
"Dude. What happened?" Sam asked in a hushed voice. I gave him a look. "Who was it?"
"No one important." He glared at me, expecting an answer. "Ok fine! It was Skulker again."
"Again?" Sam asked surprised.
"Yea. He asked me about my dad." Sam raised an eyebrow.
"Why the hell would he ask about him?"
"Did you really forget that he's Danny Phantom?" I asked. He shook his head. "He used to kick Skulker's ass every day."
"Damn. That ghost sucks." I chuckled.
"Are you guys paying attention?" Writer asked.
"Uhh… Yeah." "What did I just say?" He asked, smirking. Sam and I looked at each other.
"Ok. We weren't paying attention." He muttered.
"I thought you guys could focus in my class."
"We usually can." Sam started. "It's just that there are these gh-" I quickly kicked him in the shin, causing him to scream out in pain. "Oww! Dude! What the hell?"
"There are just these guys that won't leave me alone. Calling me a coward for being taken out of normal classes." Writer nodded suspiciously. "Nothing I can't handle."
"Why the hell did you kick me?" Sam snapped angrily.
"You need to learn to keep your mouth shut." I muttered. "The last thing I need is for someone to find out my secret."
"What secret?" I fell out of my seat with a shout. I looked up to see Samantha, Writer and Sam laughing at me. "Sorry." She laughed, helping me up.
"It's fine." I muttered, blushing.
"So. What's the big secret?" She asked.
"Dude." I looked at Sam. "They know who your dad is. They figure it out sooner or later." I sighed. He was right. Everyone knew my dads secret, but only a few people knew he was my dad.
"Fine!" I shouted, exasperated. "I'm part ghost." I muttered. Samantha started laughing.
"No seriously. What's the secret?" I glared at her.
"My dad is half ghost. Apparently ghost DNA is passed on to the offspring. So I'm quarter ghost."
"Seriously?" she asked. I nodded and phased my hand through the desk as proof. "Holy! That's awesome!" She shouted, then leaned in close. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone this, but… Vlad's half ghost too."
"He is?" She nodded.
"That's why he was so interested in your dad." She continued. "He wanted him as his son, but Danny always refused."
"No wonder Dan's so stubborn." Sam smirked. "You're dad was too."
"Ok please. Stop comparing me to my father. I've never even met the man." I heard Writer chuckle as the bell rang.
"Hey Dan. Would you mind staying for a sec?" I nodded and waited for Sam and Samantha to leave. I closed the door behind them and sat back down.
"What's up? Am I in trouble?" I asked as he sat in the desk beside me.
"No. You aren't in trouble." He smiled. "You forgot this the other day." He held out my sketch book.
"I was looking for that!" I said taking it from him, completely relieved that he had been the one to find it. There were some pretty embarrassing doodles in there. I just hope he hadn't looked through it.
"There are some pretty good pictures in there. Why haven't you showed us?" Ok… So he did look through it.
"They're… Personal?" He nodded.
"If you don't mind me asking, who is that man you keep drawing?" I sighed.
"It's how I always imagined my father." I whispered. "It's kind of weird considering that I got the hair and eye color right without even knowing."
"Or maybe you just always knew." He smiled. "Maybe you've always had this unidentifiable connection to him."
"You went here. You knew him right?" I asked.
"Yes. I knew Danny quite well. Better than even Sam and Tucker." He sighed, as though something had suddenly hit him. "I hate it when Vlad's right." He muttered.
"What do you mean?"
"I just came to my senses." He said pulling out his phone and dialling a number. He held up a hand when I opened my mouth. "Hello? Yes Mr. Foley. Is Samantha there?" I raised an eyebrow. He wanted to talk to mom? Why? "Hello Samantha. No there's nothing wrong. I just wanted to tell you something." He looked at me and sighed, his voice changing slightly as he spoke again. "Sam. It's me." I heard her scream from where I was sitting. "Sam. Calm down! He's right here. Ok." he held out the phone to me. "Your mother wants to speak with you." I took the phone hesitantly and held it to my ear.
"Hello?" I said nervously.
"You get the hell away from him now!" She screamed.
"What? Why?"
"Just do it Daniel. Before I come down there and drag you out." I gulped. She would too. She actually did it before.
"Ok. Fine. But tell me why." She didn't answer. "Let me guess. You can't. I'm not moving." I handed the phone back to Writer and crossed my arms. I wasn't going anywhere. I didn't care if she came down here. She couldn't do much if I used my powers.
"Yes he's still here. You're coming here?" He said surprised. "Oh… Ok." He sighed and hung up the phone.
"What the hell was that about?" I asked angrily. "Why does she not want me near you?" He sighed, but didn't answer.
We sat there, staring at each other until the door flew open. My mother and uncle Tucker were standing there.
"You." She spat at him. "Where the hell do you get the nerve to pull something like that?"
"I put up with you, I think I can handle it." Her eyes widened.
"Excuse me?" She asked, seething. "You don't know me! You aren't who you say you are! He's dead!" He stood up and grabbed her arms. Uncle Tuck sat beside me.
"What's going on?" I whispered.
"You'll see." He smiled.
"Sammy. I know you better than anyone else. You've been an ultra-recyclo vegetarian since third grade when Tucker threw up on you after eating 10 hamburgers. You're the reason I have my powers, and yet you were the only person who loved me before I got them. I broke you Sam. I never should have left. I missed out on so much." I was waiting for mom to kick him. But she never did. She just stared at him, her eyes full of anger and hatred.
"You think you can trick me? Anybody could have known those things." she muttered.
"But can anybody do this?" He asked, pressing his lips to hers. My eyes widened and I clenched my fists. I was about to go punch him when Tucker put a hand on my shoulder.
"Look closely." He whispered. I looked back at Mr. Writer. And for the first time in the last 4 months, I finally saw what I should have in the beginning. His black hair that was pulled back into a short pony tail, his clear blue eyes that were brighter than any I had ever seen, just the way he held himself.
"D-Danny?" I heard my mom utter as he pulled away.
"In the flesh." he whispered. Mom smiled, then frowned. "What's wrong?" He asked. She hauled off and slapped him in the back of the head. "Ok oww!" He shouted. "What the hell was that for?"
"Disappearing off the face of the Earth and the ghost zone for 15 years!" She said hitting him again.
"I'm sorry." He said pulling her close. "I didn't know what else to do. I had to protect you. And the only way to do that, was to leave." She nodded. "If I had known…" He looked over at me, smiling.
"So." I said, finally breaking the silence. "I guess I finally get to meet my dad." They both nodded as I walked over to them. Mom pulled me close.
"Daniel. This is your father." she chuckled. "My best friend in the entire world-" Tucker coughed. "-Danny Fenton." I smiled as he held out a hand, completely ignoring it and throwing my arms around him. Yea. It's weird to hug a man who you didn't know was your father, but give me a break. It's been 14 years. I felt his arms wrap around me and hold me close.
"I'm sorry." he whispered. "I'm so sorry I missed everything." I nodded.
"It's ok." I said when we finally pulled apart. "There's still the rest of my life." He chuckled. "And now, maybe you can help me control my powers." I said hopefully. Mom chuckled.
"Like father, like son."