A/N: I can honestly say I have no idea where this came from. I was trying to write something else and...well, here we have this little drabble type thing. I wrote the first sentence and went from there. I had no particular direction in mind for where I wanted to take this. So...feel free to give me constructive criticism, because I've no doubt you guys can spot any continuity errors I might have missed in the revision stage. Read and review and let me know how you found this story to be, please. Thanks. Enjoy.
Good Enough
"I'm sorry I can't be everything you want me to be!" Danny yelled, extremely sarcastically, to his parents as he slammed the front door shut.
He realized with remorse that it was freezing cold outside and he shivered as a dry breeze wafted toward him. He should have brought his coat. He should have gone back inside and retrieved it. But he didn't because that would have meant facing them again.
So far his future was not looking too bright. It seemed to everyone else that Danny was just playing a game; seeing how many more tests he could fail before his parents got so irked that they wound up blowing themselves to Hades. But in reality, he was just not that smart. Well, maybe he had street smarts, but…when it came to schoolwork, Danny's brain was about as useful as a rock. It would only do good if you threw it at someone. And seeing as how he couldn't exactly pull his brain out and toss it, a rock was probably all kinds more useful.
He reached his hand in his pocket to try to warm up, but was filled with regret when he realized that meant fingering his latest failure. He traced the solid, smooth metal in his pocket, placing his finger through the small, delicate hole that'd been carved into it. A tear might have slipped from his eyes, but he would never admit to such an occurrence. So it shall never truly be known if he showed any sign of sadness, but it is safe to say that he was feeling it burning him on the inside as his body froze on his exterior.
Jazz had already moved out, gone to college. She'd left Danny to handle the burden of what it means to be a Fenton all by his lonesome. Tucker had always tried to be a true friend; he still stuck up for him and fought along side him when the really tough ghouls came out to play. Though it was hard to carry out a decent, serious, intelligent conversation with the guy. But Tucker seemed to understand him to a degree, and that was more than he could say for most people.
There was someone else who still helped him. She was always by his side when he needed her. In fact, today he was prepared to make it a permanent deal. By accepting his offer, she would always be able to be by his side. However, something had happened before he could get to her, and Danny stood on the porch of his home remembering with a bitter look the unfortunate event that had transpired.
His heart had fluttered as he stared at the ring in his hand. He would make Sam his girl. They would get together and be happy. Maybe his family didn't understand him, but Sam did and he knew it. She alone had the power to make him happy.
Unfortunately, she alone also had the power to crush him like a sour grape.
He had been heading to English class that day, his palms sweating as though there wasn't enough water in the world and only he had the power to refill its oceans. The ring had become slick between his fingers and he had been forced to, still holding it, pocket the object to ensure that it would not fall. He came to a halt when he reached the door to the classroom. Her voice made something inside of him do a flip, and then he heard Tucker speak. He listened in on the conversation.
"I'm telling you, Sam. He likes you. I just know it. I wouldn't be surprised if he asked you out today," Tucker said.
Way to spoil my plan, Tuck, Danny thought, but smiled nonetheless.
"I don't think so, Tucker. He knows we're just friends and I want to keep it that way. I just…don't feel it with him. I hope Danny doesn't ask me out. I would hate to break his heart…"
Danny's insides stopped flipping and crashed to the floor. His heart stopped beating and he forgot to breathe.
"You're not telling me you'd actually say no if he asked you? I thought you had it bad for him," he heard Tucker say, surprised.
"Maybe I did when we were freshmen, Tuck, but that was a long time ago. That was before I really knew what was going on. I was just…I don't know, confused. He was the only boy I had ever really talked to, not to mention I sort of felt like it was my responsibility to take care of him since it was my idea to go into the Ghost Portal. I felt like those ghost powers were my fault, and if I liked him, I would always want to be near him and I could help him all the time. Now I know that just being really good friends with him is fine. I still help him and I still want to hang out with him."
"So…if he asked, you would say no?"
Sam hesitated and Danny kept holding his breath. "No…I guess I would say yes, but…I just don't know, Tuck. All I know is that I don't like him like that. I don't want to date him for a week or whatever and have to break it to him that I just don't think we were meant to be. But it's the truth. We're not."
Danny's heart plummeted through the floor and he hung his head in bitter disappointment. He scrunched his eyes shut, willing the tears that were welling up inside of them to stay there. He grasped the ring tighter, wishing the metal would break in his grasp, but, as expected, it stayed unharmed, taunting him with its indestructibility. Using every ounce of his conscious effort, Danny picked up one foot and willed it to move forward. The bell rang just as he started moving…which meant that, on top of all the heartache, he would get a detention for tardiness.
Mr. Lancer glanced at Danny as he entered the classroom. "So nice of you to join us, Mr. Fenton. I'll see you after school."
To everyone's surprise, Danny did not put up the usual protest. He merely shrugged, his head still hanging, and took his seat between Sam and Tucker.
"Hey, Danny, are you okay?" Sam asked, concern laced in her words.
"I'm good," Danny said quietly, making sure before he took his hand out of his pocket that he had shoved the object in it as deep as it would go into the fabric.
Tucker eyed him suspiciously, but he and Sam just looked at each other and shrugged, no doubt thinking it had just been another ghost attack.
Arriving home from detention had been what set off his parents this time. They'd inquired him angrily regarding his whereabouts and he had submissively told them the truth. They had yelled and screamed and lectured, but Danny paid no mind until they came up with their excuse for his behavior.
"You NEVER pay attention in school, and this is your fifth detention this week, Daniel Fenton," his mother had scolded.
"I know it's hard to concentrate when you're a teenager, but you can't let a silly little crush on a silly little girl affect your life so much," his dad had said.
That's when he'd exploded.
And his explosion left him here. Standing on the porch in below freezing weather, wearing nothing but his usual white t-shirt and jeans. He sighed wearily.
His parents didn't think he was good enough. He should be getting straight A's like his sister did, but he didn't. He didn't because he was just plain old Danny Fenton, the boy with the ghostly alter-ego, which was usually the cause for his slipping grades. He smiled at the bitter irony. They didn't think he was good enough because he was too busy trying to be good enough; to be the hero everyone expected Danny Phantom to be. And that inhibited everything else in his life.
Jazz didn't think he was good enough. She hardly talked to him anymore, other than to tell him to drop a line to Tucker for her. She didn't outright tell him and she tried hard not to let it show, but he could hear it in her voice. The slight condescension at the fact that he would never be as good as her because, in her eyes, he should be able to multitask ghost fighting and work better. After all, she had. But she didn't have the entire ghost zone out just looking to pick a fight with her. He did.
Tucker didn't think he was good enough. He didn't "hang out" with him enough. They never played their online games together anymore. He didn't have time to talk to him. And he certainly didn't do well enough in school to be placed in the honors classes Tucker was taking. Tucker was disappointed in him, but Danny didn't have time to have a best friend anymore. Ghosts were constantly on the prowl, which meant that the hunter had to constantly be on the lookout.
Sam didn't think he was good enough. Obviously, he wasn't good enough to be her boyfriend. He was only good enough to date for maybe one week, and even then, he was still nothing to her. "Friends" she had said. "Just friends". He realized he should be thankful to have at least one ally in all this, but when you want that one friend to be so much more, somehow, it doesn't come out looking on the positive side. He was the town hero. He saved people's lives. He'd saved her life on several occasions. If that wasn't good enough for Sam, he would never be good enough for Sam.
He removed his hand from his pocket, now completely numb thanks to the extreme temperature. He scrutinized the ring carefully, looking at it from all angles. It was the object of his torture. Keeping it was like forcing himself to admit he was worthless. No one would ever take this ring from him because no one wanted a ring from Danny Fenton.
He built up power in his hand and watched in mild fascination and triumph as the ring melted between his fingers. It wasn't so indestructible after all. His ghost half could destroy. It could kill.
It was then that Danny decided that, if he couldn't be good enough because he was half ghost, then…maybe…just maybe…he could be bad enough. His eyes gleamed with an evil tint and the corners of his mouth lifted into a malicious smile. Nothing would stand in his way again. He built up more destructive power, went ghost and flew into his former home, searching for the inhabitants.
No one would say he wasn't good enough ever again. And if they did, he would most certainly prove them wrong.
If you didn't catch it, Danny turned evil. He's tired of not being looked up to and not being good enough, so...he's sort of bad now. :) I, personally, like him that way. But let me know what you think. Did you understand this? Does it make sense? Did you like it? Did you not like it so much? Why? Please let me know, guys. Thanks so much. It's nice to be able to write for Danny Phantom again. I sort of missed it.