"Danny! Time for lunch!" Maddie was standing in the kitchen, fixing a peanut-butter sandwich for her four-year-old.
"Coming, Mommy!" Danny was hungry, but he was reluctant to leave his friend.
At least, that's what he thought he had.
While Danny's Mom worked on her computer all day, she usually left Danny with a few choice toys, checking on him every so often. Needless to say, the raven-haired boy got bored easily.
Until he met him.
Danny was just lucky his new friend could disappear in the blink of an eye, because Maddie wouldn't be too happy to see her son with a freckled, green-haired boy donning the silliest costumes.
Even if they seemed to amuse Danny.
"I can brush my own hair, Jazzy!" Danny said impatiently as he raked a brush through his dark locks, only messing it up more.
His nine-year-old sister was pounding on his bedroom door, not bothering to listen. "Mom said I need to help you!"
"I don't care!" Danny shot back.
Youngblood had never liked Jazz. So why should Danny? She was bossy, and rude, and annoying anyway.
"Danny, would you like some help?" A girl appeared behind him, a blonde braid on her shoulder.
The young boy grinned in response. He never needed anyone's help getting ready, except hers. He plopped down onto the ground, and Dora floated over, beginning to comb her fingers through his hair.
"You really should be nicer to your sister, Danny." She remarked in her soft voice.
"Why?" Danny whined. "She isn't nice to me."
Dora laughed. It sounded like wind chimes, the music floating into his ears. "Someday you'll realize how special the bond between siblings can be. For better, or for worse."
"Tell me about your brother, Dora!" Her stories had always fascinated him.
"Once upon a time..."
Danny knew it was bad, but he felt like Dora was the sister he'd never have.
"Danny, what are you looking for?" Jack noticed his son alone in the backyard, feeling around in the grass.
The boy in question whipped his neck. "Uh, nothing? I'm just playing with Cujo." He smiled, pointing to the empty space next to him.
"Son, there isn't anything there." Normally Jack dismissed Danny's mentions of his imaginary friends, but at eleven, he should have real ones.
"What? Yeah, there is." Danny's blue eyes stared into his with confusion.
Jack walked over, sitting next to his son, and took a deep breath. "They're not real. You need to know that. All your friends, they don't exist."
"Yes they do!" Danny shot back with more vigor.
"No, they don't." Jack sounded firmer, putting his hands on Danny's shoulders.
Tears began to well up in the boy's eyes. "You don't believe me! Nobody ever believes anything I say except for them!"
It was then Danny realized having family with bright skin and red eyes was better than family that didn't love him.
"Since when do you like playing guitar?" Jazz quipped at the sight of her fourteen-year-old brother lugging a black case up the stairs.
"Since when do you care?" Danny's voice was snarky at best.
"I was just asking." The redhead visibly deflated. As the years went on, Danny seemed to hate her more and more.
Danny ran upstairs, and a girl with bright blue hair was sitting on his bed.
"Hey, Baby-Pop." She grinned. "You'll like the guitar, just watch."
She played a tune that Danny didn't recognize, but it sounded like a lullaby. Her voice wasn't as soft as Dora's, but it had emotion. Passion. All the things Danny wished he could have.
"How do you play like that?" He asked in wonder.
"I could teach you. You and I, we'd be great together." Ember smiled.
He didn't notice the wicked glint in her eyes as he leaned in closer, touching her pale face.
Danny figured she was perfect. After all, what was the worst she could do?
"Danny, we need to talk." Jazz's voice made him stop in his tracks. He'd been planning to go up on the roof. Johnny was always there, on account that he messed up everything he touched.
"What?" He rolled his eyes. His sister wasn't controlling, more so annoying.
"I know you think I'm an overbearing know-it-all," She sighed, "but you shouldn't be against me. Whatever friends you have, they're giving you the wrong idea."
"No, they aren't." Danny turned around to face his sister. "And how would you know what they're like, anyway? Every time we 'talk', it's just you yelling at me!" His voice was dripping with venom, fists clenched. Who was she to talk about them? Nobody said anything bad about any of them.
"Honestly, Danny." Jazz's eyebrows furrowed. "You talk about them like you see them all the time. I haven't even met your girlfriend."
"So? Maybe she doesn't want to meet you." Danny crossed his arms stubbornly. He wasn't really sure why nobody else could see Ember. Or Kitty. Or Pointdexter. Or anyone. Whenever he asked, she just ignored the question.
Jazz stared at her little brother with concern. He was becoming an introvert. Never leaving his room, never talking to guests. She knew all his friends were imaginary, but what kind of sister would she be if she told him that? So she simply pressed her lips together. He'll come around soon enough. "Alright, but if you ever need to talk about something, I'm here."
"That's great." Danny muttered sarcastically before climbing upstairs, and then he pushed open the door to which was technically a spare room, but it was on the roof, so Danny went there when he wanted to clear his mind. Which was most of the time.
Sure enough, a black-clad figure was sitting, or rather floating, on the ledge of the roof. Danny didn't think he'd made any noise, but his best friend turned around and grinned.
"Hey, Man. I thought you'd come up here tonight."
Danny walked over and sat down, his face blank. After a minute, he finally responded. "Johnny, how come nobody else can see you?"
"Er..." He turned to face the younger boy, rubbing the back of his neck. "I ain't really sure. Think it's some kinda power, or curse or somethin'. You can see the dead. Anyway, why do ya ask?"
"I don't know." Danny shrugged. "I guess I just get kinda lonely. I mean, nobody else really cares about me."
"Well, we care about you." The blonde smiled nervously. He knew exactly how this conversation would end. And it wouldn't be pretty. But really, it wasn't his fault that ghosts sucked energy from people to be around them. After hanging out with the deceased so much, it was a wonder Danny wasn't already dead.
"Yeah...yeah!" Danny's eyes lit up. He had an idea. "I'll be right back."
"See ya, kid." Johnny's smile faded as soon as Danny disappeared inside. It took a second for a girl to materialize next to him.
"Johnny, do you really think he's going to...?"
"Yeah, Kitten, maybe he is. If we're dead, I guess we have to bring a couple others down with us."
Danny rummaged through the kitchen drawers in the dark until his finger pressed something sharp. He pulled the knife out and stared at it questioningly.
They did say it doesn't hurt that much...
And if I get to leave here, how bad could it be?
Danny shook the fear out of his system. "Whatever, Fenton, it's not like you have that much to live for anyway."
"1..." He brought the knife closer to his chest.
"2..." Closer.
"3." And then he felt every possible pain, and then nothing at all.
Yeah, so idrk where this came from haha. I was just kinda messing around with headcannons, and it's believed that ghosts take energy from something to be seen. So this was kinda an AU, if Danny's family was totally normal, but for some reason all the ghosts took a liking to him, and hanging out with them drove him insane or something.
Man, I need to stop writing weird stuff at night.