Phantom Dreams
Pairing: Kwan x Danny
Warnings: Homosexual relationships. Main DP characters of the story are in their senior year of high school and are 18 years of age. Violence. Foul language.
Disclaimer: Danny Phantom is a product of Nickelodeon. All characters in this story are imaginary.
Summary: Life was finally on track for Danny Fenton. He was doing well in school. He had great friends. Bullying was at an all time low. Ghost threats were at a minimum. Everything seemed perfect. Until a new threat arrived in Amity Park.
Originally Written: January 2013-November 2013
Chapter 01
It was one of those days where he just knew something would go wrong. His alarm clock rung an hour earlier than usual. His hand shot out to shut off the obnoxious noise, but in his groggy state, he lost control of his powers, and his hand turned intangible and sank through the clock. The noise faded, thankfully, but the clock was busted and flashed a random series of numbers. Danny groaned as he rolled onto his back and rubbed at his tired eyes. Even as he wished to return to the realm of dreams, he knew it was hopeless to even attempt going back to sleep. He remained in bed as he felt too tired and too lazy to get up right then, so he laid there with his arm thrown over his eyes.
Twenty minutes of blessed blankness with no troubling thoughts or worries passed before Danny finally decided to climb out of bed. Scratching a hand through his messy mop of raven hair, he made his way over to his closet. When he stubbed his toe, he released a shout and hopped about on one foot for a good five minutes as the pain throbbed through his big toe. He hobbled the rest of the way to the closet, muttering under his breath. After throwing open the door, he began his usual routine of searching for clean clothes, making a mental note to remember to do his laundry over the coming weekend since his mother forced him to start doing it himself as a way to prepare him for the wonderfully independent life at college.
With a sigh, Danny rubbed the back of his neck before he sifted through the growing pile of clothes. He pulled out a white shirt and discovered a large hole in it. Frowning, he tried to remember how the hole got there, but coming up with no answer, he tossed it aside and sought out another shirt. After ten minutes of searching, he had an outfit ready. With that done, he headed for the bathroom, deciding to take a shower before school with the extra time he had. When he turned on the water, he frowned at the green slime that oozed out of the shower head and splattered upon the shiny white porcelain of the tub.
"Mom!" Danny shouted as he jogged out of the bathroom and down the stairs. He found his mother in the kitchen where she was making breakfast. "Mom, what's wrong with the water? It's green!"
"Oh, that," Maddie said as she turned off the stove. "We were working on a new invention. Unfortunately, there was a small miscalculation." She winced as she squeezed forefinger to thumb together. "So we won't have running water for about a day." She tilted her head as she stared at Danny. "You're up early today."
"I guess I set my alarm wrong last night. And I guess I won't be taking a shower." Danny sighed, thinking it was strange that whatever invention his parents were working on caused ectoplasm to fill their pipes. For a brief moment, he wondered what sort of invention it could be then decided it was best not to know.
After leaving the kitchen, Danny climbed the stairs and returned to his bedroom to change for school. He tore off his blue pajamas and pulled on a pair of blue jeans that hugged his hips. He chose a white shirt with the image of a cartoon monkey hitting its head with a wooden mallet. Danny ran a brush through his hair as he walked over to his desk. At the sight of the scattered books and papers, he groaned.
"I meant to organize this all last night," Danny muttered. After setting down the brush, he gathered the papers into a pile. Last night was a blur in his mind, and he couldn't recall half the work he did. He stuffed the papers into a textbook and shoved that into his already full book bag, cramming the thick book into the bag with all his force.
With the book bag slung over his shoulder, Danny jogged back down the stairs. He sat at the kitchen table for the breakfast that his mother already set before his seat at the table. Picking up a fork, he prepared to dig in, but his appetite left him when he noticed bits of his eggs attempting to wander off the plate.
"Actually," Danny said as he set his fork back on the table, "I should get to school early. I still have a few assignments to finish." He stood up and snatched his keys from the hook by the door. He fled from the room before his mother had the chance to protest his departure without eating first. Danny jogged down the walkway to where his car was parked at the end of it. Jack was eager to buy Danny a nice, brand new car, but Maddie gave them a budget so small that all they could find was a used white Volkswagen Beetle. Danny complained for many months after getting the car, but now he was happy to have one that actually ran. Tucker's parents wouldn't buy him a car until after graduation.
When he arrived at Casper High, Danny headed first for the student store since the cafeteria was only open during lunch. The student store mostly sold snack items: candy bars, chips, bagels and sometimes they had hot dogs. In the winter, they even sold hot chocolate. Danny was early enough to get there before a line formed and had time to look over his options. After a few minutes, he paid for a chocolate muffin. With food in hand, Danny trotted off toward his locker. He plopped down on the floor and pulled out his textbook with the crumpled papers sticking out at odd angles.
"It's the first sign of the apocalypse! Danny's at school early!" Tucker exclaimed when he spotted his friend.
"Ha, ha! Very funny," Danny muttered before he began sorting his papers again. "I can't believe I fell asleep before finishing all of this."
"Man, you should just tell Lancer to stop forcing all this extra work on you," Tucker told him as he opened his locker.
"Are you really going to eat that for breakfast?" Sam asked, pointing at the chocolate muffin.
"It's better than eggs that move on their own." Danny took a large bite from the muffin, enjoying the chocolaty taste. "So why are you two here so early?"
"That's what I want to know." Tucker turned toward Sam with a grumpy expression on his bespectacled face. "You woke me up way too early!"
"I have a meeting I need to go to," Sam explained with a wicked smirk on her face. Tucker and Danny exchanged looks, neither liking Sam's expression as they wondered what she was planning. "I'll see you later!" With a wave, she walked down the hall.
"Do you have any idea what she could be planning?" Danny looked up at Tucker as he nibbled at his muffin.
"Not the slightest clue." Tucker sighed as he took a seat next to Danny on the floor and drew his trench coat around his body. Winter was long over, and the summer heat was creeping up on them, making Danny wonder what possessed his friend to wear such a heavy coat.
"Hm, Sam planning something," Danny mumbled then pursed his mouth to one side as he thought. "That's hardly ever a good thing." He set the muffin down so that he could finish sorting the papers into separate piles.
"It could be nothing of consequence," Tucker offered with a shrug, though doubt lingered in his eyes. Sam loved to protest things that usually ended with dragging her best friends into the situation as well. "Anyway, why do you take on so much homework all the time? It's unfair that you have so much more work than the rest of the class."
"It's not a big deal." Danny remained focused on his task. "I just can't believe I fell asleep," he repeated in a mumble, mostly to himself.
"It's because you're overworking yourself," Tucker pointed out as he reached over Danny to steal his muffin. "You're lucky there haven't been too many ghosts lately."
"There have been quite a few," Danny corrected, glaring at Tucker for taking the muffin. "I just thought it would be better if I did the ghost hunting on my own. You and Sam need time to study and do homework, too. I can handle the ghost hunting and studying. I've been handling it all year long."
"What?" Tucker exclaimed, and his brow shot up as a hint of betrayal flashed in his green eyes. "And I got this nice trench coat with all these pockets so that I could hide the Thermos and some of your parents' other inventions."
"Oh? And I thought it was for easy keeping of your PDA and stuff." Danny smirked as Tucker gave him a shove. They fell silent for a time as Danny continued sorting his papers and Tucker ate the muffin. "So," Danny said slowly, glancing briefly at the other man, "have you made a move on Sam yet?"
Tucker choked on the bite of muffin he was about to swallow. With a chuckle, Danny gave him a hard slap on the back as Tucker coughed.
"Made a move on Sam?" Tucker stuttered in a panicky manner as he glanced around the hall in fear of their conversation being overheard. "I – I don't know what you're talking about." Unable to meet eyes with Danny, he kept his gaze turned away.
"Oh, come on, Tuck!" Danny grinned. "We're best buds, right? You should be able to talk to me about this kind of stuff."
"Am-" Tucker started hesitantly. "Am I really that obvious?"
"To a keen observer such as myself," Danny replied, puffing out his chest and trying to look important. That was until a football slammed into the locker and missed his head by mere inches, making Danny flinch and duck. His hands shot up to cover his head as his papers scattered again.
"So much for a keen observer." Dash snickered as he and Kwan approached the two friends. He bent down and snatched the ball from the floor. He tapped Danny on the head with the football before he righted himself again. "Losers," he muttered with a snort.
"You know, Dash," Danny said, sighing as he tried to reorganize his papers, "it would be wise for you not to abuse someone that's tutoring you."
Dash's mouth thinned, and his dark blue eyes narrowed. "You promised not to breathe a word about that to anyone," he growled, his free hand clenching and unclenching.
"Yeah, well, you promised not to hit me," Danny shot back with a stern glare of his own.
"Dash, just drop it," Kwan said, laying a hand on the blond man's shoulder. "You need his tutoring in order to graduate." He pushed his teammate down the hallway. Dash glared at Danny before he turned away in a huff and stomped off. Kwan glanced over his shoulder as he gave the pair a weak smile. Then he hurried after his friend.
"Since when do you tutor Dash?" Tucker demanded after getting over his shock.
"We started around sophomore year," Danny explained with a shrug. "The three of us all had classes we weren't doing well in, and it seemed to make sense to work together to help each other out."
"So you've been ghost hunting on your own, doing tons of extra work, and tutoring with Dash?" Tucker gaped at his friend. "How do you even have time to sleep?"
"Sometimes I wonder about that too," Danny mumbled before he looked up and grinned. "But it's not as horrible as it sounds. Oh, and you forgot about filling out applications." He snatched the muffin out of Tucker's hand and ate the leftover chunk.
"Wow, you're-" Tucker said, amazed. "You've changed a lot. When did this happen? Why am I only seeing this change now?"
Danny shrugged as he finally got all his papers organized. "I guess you don't really notice subtle changes right away. I mean, I didn't notice right away that you stopped wearing that hat or when you started wearing a trench coat or Sam's sudden dislike of chocolate. How did that happen anyway?"
"I-" Tucker started and paused to think. "I actually have no clue. She just kind of woke up and decided to swear off chocolate, I guess." His brow furrowed, trying to recall the first time Sam refused something with chocolate in it.
"But see? Change happens all the time," Danny said as he stored his completed papers in his textbook. "You won't notice all of them all of the time. Sometimes you won't notice them at all. Minor things, really. Did you even notice when I stopped wearing baggy clothes?"
Tucker looked his friend up and down. "Dude! When did that happen?"
"I bet you noticed when Sam started growing her hair out and when she stopped wearing so much black." Danny smirked knowingly at his friend.
"You're not going to say anything to her about that, are you?" Tucker gave Danny a pleading look.
"I would never betray your confidence in matters of the heart," Danny replied, almost offended that Tucker had to ask. He stood up and opened his locker to put away the textbook, along with a few other items from his book bag.
"Matters of the heart?" Sam questioned as she approached them, causing Tucker let out a squeak.
"Yeah," Danny answered, thinking quickly, "guy talk, you know." He grinned weakly as Sam eyed him.
"I guess I'll have to respect that." Sam sighed. "It's not like I talk to you two about my crushes."
"What crushes?" Tucker asked before he thought, and he cringed at how quickly he jumped to ask that question.
"If your crushes are none of my business, then my crushes are none of your business," Sam answered as she folded her arms.
"So what was that meeting about?" Danny hoped to divert the conversation toward a new topic.
"Just a little project," Sam replied vaguely with a smirk that didn't give Danny a good feeling about this "project."
Author's Note: I'm still kind of debating the title. =( Good title? Bad title?