I'm still working on chapter two of Nerd With a Notebook, but I did this one as a request on tumblr a while back, and I've gotten pretty attached to it. I'm thinking about continuing it as a full-fledged story all on it's own, if other people are interested, so tell me what you guys think, okay? ^^
Shattering Mirror
He was back again.
She could always tell when he was around, much like sensing a ghost nearby. Except a ghost would just give her a chill, like walking outside into the snow. With him, it felt more like someone had shoved her into a giant vat of liquid nitrogen. Naked.
"Hiya, Kiddo!" He said cheerfully as he floated into sight.
"Get lost, square." Dani responded flatly, not looking up from her fire. She knew their routine well enough by now to know that the demon wouldn't actually leave just because she told him to, but still said it regardless.
"Awww, don't be like that, Sweetcheeks!" Bill told her cheerfully, flying closer. "Come on, you know you love me!"
"Like a bullet loves a brain." Dani shot back.
"There, see! Love!" Bill would be grinning right now if he had a mouth, Dani could feel it.
"Don't you have anyone else you can bother?" Dani groused.
"No one half as interesting as you, Dollface!" Bill answered. "And no one who can see through the veil separating the physical world from the Dreamscape all on their own. Besides, us freaks of nature gotta stick together!"
"You didn't bring any still beating hearts this time, did you?" Dani asked suspiciously, glaring at the floating triangle.
"Why? Do you want one?" Bill asked, sounding almost hopeful.
"NO!" Dani said, putting as much force behind the word as she could. It echoed off the cave walls, startling some bats sleeping deeper down in the chasm.
"Ah well, your loss." Bill sighed mournfully. "So what's new, kid? Still can't find your thingymabobber?"
"Thermos." Dani sighed. "For the five hundredth time, it's a thermos. And no, I still haven't found it yet. If I did, I'd be long gone and far away from you."
"Aww, that hurts." Bill said, making a big show out of playing the wounded party. "You know, I could still-!"
"I'm not going to make a deal with you just to find a thermos!" Dani snapped before Bill could finish his offer. Every night now it had been the same routine again and again. Bill would show up, banter a bit, then try and make her agree to a deal. Any deal. Revenge against those who wronged her, wealth and power beyond her wildest dreams… every night it was something different, and every night she told him to take a hike.
Anyone who tried that hard to sell you something had to have an angle of their own, and Dani didn't want any part of whatever the demon had planned.
"Okay, okay!" Bill said in a placating tone. "Yeesh. Anyone ever tell you that you have trust issues? I mean, what'd I ever do to you, anyways?" Dani bit her lip at that, trying to crush the sudden feeling of guilt as it bloomed in her chest.
It was true, actually, that the demon really hadn't done much more then weird her out. Maybe it was unfair of her to be so suspicious of him. After all, she more than anyone knew what it was like to be judged by what you were, rather than who you are.
"Alright, so what are you going to try and offer me tonight, then?" Dani asked with a wary sigh, deciding to humor the demon. "A mountain of gold? Ravishing good looks?"
"Well if you don't like what I'm offering you, then why don't you tell me what you want?" Bill offered, throwing Dani for a loop. Bill always liked to act like he knew everything about her, which had always just put Dani more on guard when dealing with him. He'd never really asked her anything about herself before.
"Nothing you could give." Dani answered, a little more solemnly then she intended.
"Ooooh?" Bill practically purred. Dani's cheeks burned in shamed.
"Look just… just forget it, okay? You're better off finding someone else to make a deal with or whatever." Dani said defensively, crossing her arms in a weak attempt to shield herself from the demon.
"Perish the thought!" Bill responded in glee. "I like you, Doppelgänger! That's why I want to help YOU! I'm all ears, kid!" Bill conjured up ears of every shape and size to emphasize his point, making Dani cringe a bit. "Now come on, kid! Tell me what you want!"
"I just…" Sighing, Dani decided to just go for it. What did she have to lose really, in just telling him? "I wish it had been different, you know? I mean, it bothers me when I'm out and I hear other kids my age complaining about chores and being grounded when I'm just barely keeping myself alive. I just wish I could've known what it was like to have a real family. Not some creep who used me and tossed me out like yesterday's trash, and a cousin who has bigger things to worry about than me."
"Ah, family's overrated, if you ask me." Bill replied. "But hey, if that's what you want, then who am I to deny it!"
"You can't just make someone a family." Dani told the demon, rolling her eyes.
"Maybe you can't, but I could!" Bill told her. "I have powers you wouldn't believe, kid! Rearranging reality would be a piece of cake! I could make ol' Vladdy into a loving, accepting father! Or, if you wanna go down a different road, then we can put'cha right in with the Fentons! That's more bang for your buck, since it'll get you four family members instead of just one! How about it, you wanna be the little sister instead of the cousin-slash-clone?" Dani felt her breath catch in her throat at that. Danny's little sister… she did want that. She wanted that more than anything.
"How do I know you can actually even do it?" Dani asked, her voice quivering slightly. She couldn't lie and tell the demon she wasn't interested in his offer, but she still couldn't bring herself to believe that there wouldn't be some kind of catch. That she wasn't being lied to again.
"Tell you what kid, why don't we give you a trial run then, huh?" Bill offered amiably. "I'll give you a week living as little Dani Fenton, youngest daughter of Jack and Maddie Fenton and little sister of Jazz and Danny Fenton, to give you a little taste test. Then you can decide for yourself if you wanna make a deal or not. You don't have to give me anything until then. Sound good to you?"
Go for it. A voice whispered in Dani's head as she bit her lip and thought hard about the choice Bill was offering her. Even if you decide not to make a deal, you can at least see what it's like for a week. What do you have to lose?
"Alright, sure." Dani agreed, heart pounding in excitement and anxiety. A part of her still felt like she was making a horrible mistake in trusting Bill, but it was overridden by the part of her that wanted so badly to belong, to be loved and have a home.
"Great!" Bill said, looking thrilled. "See ya in a week, kid!"
That's when Dani felt a force hit her like a semi-truck.
"Whoa!" Danny laughed as Dani shot straight up like a bullet, nearly leading to an ugly collision of foreheads when he leaned over to try and shake the girl awake. "Easy there, Ellie! You're gonna give me a concussion!"
Breathing hard, Dani took in her surroundings with wide eyes, still reeling a bit from whatever had hit her.
Gone was the dark, cold cave she'd been camping out in. Instead she was lying in a bed. In a room, decorated with superhero posters and stars with photos of her life hanging on the wall. Her hanging out with her friends at the pool. Her seventh birthday party. Her with Danny and Jazz, grinning widely and completely carefree at the camera…
He did it. Dani thought, a little dazed. He really did it.
"Hey Ellie, you okay?" Danny asked, looking a little worried. "You're white as a sheet! You need me to get mom or- oof!" Danny's question was cut off with a surprised grunt as Dani tackled him with a bone-crushing hug. "Ellie? What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Dani said, laughing a little bit at the concern in Danny's tone as she discretely wiped tears from her eyes. "Nothing's wrong. Everything is perfect."
"Danny! Ellie! Are you kids up yet? You're going to be late for school!" Maddie called up to them from the bottom of the stairs.
"In a minute!" Danny shouted back before turning back to his cousin- no, sister, Dani reminded herself she was his little sister now, not his cousin. Not his clone. "Ellie, are you sure you're alright? You're acting a little odd…"
"Really Danny, I'm fine." Dani assured him again. More than that, she was better then she'd ever been in her life. "We better hurry up before Ma-Mom starts to worry." Danny studied her for a moment with his eyebrows furrowed before sighing and accepting his sister wasn't going to tell him anymore.
"Alright. Jazz is driving us to school today. We're picking up your friends on the way, so hurry up and get dressed. We'll be waiting for you downstairs."
"Sure thing, Danny." Dani agreed, watching the older boy as he turned to leave. "And… Danny?" Stopping at the door, Danny looked at her over his shoulder with a curious glance, which turned into surprise when Dani practically tackled him with another embrace. "You're the best, bro."
"Wow, two hugs in one morning?" Danny said, smiling as he hugged her back. "Are you sure you're not sick, Ellie? Or dying?"
"Nah, just happy." Dani answered as she let him go. "Tell Mom I'll be down in a minute."
"Sure thing." Danny said, still looking a little confused as he left, shutting her door behind her. Grinning ear-to-ear, Dani threw on her clothes and practically ran to the stairs, taking them three at a time in order to get to the kitchen faster.
She wasn't going to waste a single minute of this week.
It wasn't easy, but he finally got her.
Bill almost laughed as he floated above Dani's unconscious form. The ghost girl had been stubborn and kept herself well-guarded against lies and deceit, but even the best armor had its weaknesses, and he had finally found hers.
Creating a Dream where she could play house with the half-ghost boy and his family had been almost stupidly simple, and with his powers he could easily make a week pass in a matter of hours. She'd live her little happy family life with the Fentons, blissfully unaware that it was all just a dream, and then come back to him desperately wanting more. Tripping over herself to make a deal and offering him whatever he wanted to just keep living in her sad little dream.
And what a wonderful puppet she'd make when that happened…