SEQUEL IS NOW UP!
This is just a one-shot I have had stuck in my head for a while... Enjoy.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Danny Phantom, sadly.
The doorbell rang, and I rushed to the door, already knowing who it was. I opened it to find Danny and Sam waiting for me. They had just graduated from college and had been here a couple of days. They were visiting for the last time before they left for New York, where they had recently gotten jobs and rented an apartment. I didn't like the thought of them moving in with each other at such a young age, fresh out of college. Despite my being uncomfortable with it, he was a grown man now, able to make his own decisions. They were getting married this winter so it only made sense.
They looked so grown-up standing side by side, Danny easily a foot taller than me, just like his Dad. He had grown out of his old shirt and now wore a white tank top with a red jacket. Well, the colors were still the same, but still they looked so different to me. It was hard to get used too. I can still see him now in my mind, fourteen years old, regular clothes, Sam and Tucker laughing by his side. Sam looked different now too. She still wore black, just not as much as she used to. She was also taller and her hair was longer.
I was going to miss Danny once he moved, and even though he promised to call often, I couldn't help but worry about him being so far away. In my eyes he still seemed like a kid, dependent on his mother, but I knew those days were long gone. He could take care of himself. They came in and followed me into the living room. Suddenly, Danny shivered and his breath came out blue. He said he was going to use the bathroom, and as Sam and I sat down he left the room. "Is he getting a cold?" I asked Sam.
"Um, yeah… he is getting a cold, nothing bad enough to worry about though," she said.
I heard a crash outside and saw Danny Phantom slam into a car, setting off the alarm. A ghost came into view through the living room window, about to hit Phantom again. Phantom pulled out a thermos and captured the ghost. He flew away after, the car alarm the only sign anyone had been there. One thing had caught my eye during that fight; Phantom looked older. Ghosts didn't age. As I puzzled over that, Danny came back and sat beside Sam. They talked to me about what their jobs were and where they were going to live in New York. They talked to me for a long time, but my mind was in a different place, their words buzzing in my ears with no meaning to them. I was thinking about Phantom.
I hadn't seen him for years, and suddenly he's back and looked years older, almost like… Danny. I quickly pushed that thought away. That was impossible, Phantom was a completely different person… well in this case ghost. As much as I disliked the thought, they looked a lot alike. The only difference being that their clothes, hair, and eye color were different. Hadn't Phantom just appeared when Danny came to Amity Park? Didn't Danny disappear when Phantom appeared? Danny Fenton… Danny Phantom. It suddenly all made sense. Danny always used to disappear suddenly, and fall behind in school. He would come home late, and make terrible excuses. But how was he Danny Phantom? That wasn't possible. But the evidence was right in front of me. I tried to think of how it could happen, when did Danny Phantom show up. When Danny was fourteen? That sounds about right. What happened when Danny was fourteen? The portal… oh my God. He got electrocuted. It hadn't seemed that bad at the time, but Sam, Tucker and Danny could've been down there for an hour before Jack and I knew anything about the electrocution. The amount of energy it must have taken to form Danny Phantom, and the pain Danny had to have gone through was too much to think about.
Danny and Sam got up and said good-bye, jolting me out of my thoughts. They turned away from me towards the door, and went through it. I reached out to grab Danny by the arm, to ask how Danny Phantom came to exist, to ask why he didn't tell me. In that moment I reached my hand out, I looked at them. They looked so happy, walking outside, leaves falling around them. They were holding hands, laughing at something Danny just said. It was like looking at a painting, everything in that moment was perfect. I stopped, knowing that I couldn't ruin this moment. I hated not knowing the full story about Danny Phantom… about Danny Fenton, but sometimes you just have to let go.
I really enjoyed writing and I hope you enjoyed it, too. Look for the sequel, Second Chances!