Childhood Memories
Characters: Vlad and Jack
Note: Vlad and Jack are around nine.
Disclaimer: Danny Phantom is a product of Nickelodeon. All characters in this story are imaginary.
Summary: Vlad feels out of place until he makes a new friend.
Originally Written: April 2013-?
The Haunted Castle
He grew up not having very many friends. No, he needed to correct that statement. He grew up having no friends. The other children around his age didn't like him. He was the weirdo that the other children liked to tease. He wasn't interested in sports like the other boys, not playing them anyway. He loved football. The Green Bay Packers were his favorite team. But he wasn't much of an athlete, and the other boys never let him forget it.
He liked books, a reason for which the other children liked to call him nerdy. And perhaps his glasses didn't exactly help break him away from the nerdy image. He hugged his latest book from the library to his chest as he quickly made his way home, taking the long way around to avoid the bullies of his neighborhood from spotting him and deciding to play a game of picking on him. Yet again.
His head was bowed, watching the little stone that he kept kicking down the sidewalk. When he ran into something larger than he, he stumbled back, tripping over his feet and falling to the ground. His book fell from his arms, thumping as it landed on the sidewalk, and his glasses fell partly askew.
"You okay?" With hands on his knees, the other boy bent over to stare down at him. He had short raven hair that was swept to one side, his bangs barely reaching to his blue eyes.
"Fine," he grumbled as he snatched up his book. He kept his gaze away from the other boy as he stood, fixing his glasses. Reaching up a hand, he smoothed down his dark grayish hair, some of which slipped free of his ponytail. He didn't want anything to do with this other boy who looked exactly like the other bullies of the neighborhood with his large body giving him the look of a football player.
"I'm Jack." He had a wide grin on his face with a gap in front where he recently lost a tooth.
The name rolled around in his head, but he couldn't remember a boy in the neighborhood named Jack. He eyed the other boy curiously. "Vlad." Right after offering his name, he walked past the other boy. His dark blue eyes flicked to his side when he noticed Jack fell into step next to him.
"Vlad," Jack repeated like he was trying out the name. "What's fun to do here?" He shoved his hands into his pockets. "I just got here this afternoon, and I'm bored out of my mind while my parents chat with my aunt and uncle." He rolled his eyes with a face that showed how dull he thought adults were.
Vlad shrugged, feeling weird about having the other boy speaking so friendly toward him. He was tense, waiting for Jack to start teasing him for one reason or another. "You could probably ask the other boys."
"They didn't seem all that - Hey! What's that?" Jack halted, staring in astonishment at something on the other side of the boy.
Vlad turned his head to see what caught Jack's attention. "Oh, you mean the Dairy King's castle?" A wistful look passed through his eyes when he saw the tall castle with turrets reaching for the sky. "I'm gonna live there one day." He nodded his head firmly, and he didn't care if Jack laughed at him for the declaration. He decided it long ago when his mother first walked him past the castle, telling him stories about how they were distantly related to the current Dairy King. He was determined to make that dream come true one day.
"What's so special about the Dairy King?" Jack's brow wrinkled in obvious confusion, and if he really only just moved there, he wouldn't know anything about the Dairy King.
"Maybe nothing to you," Vlad muttered, looking away with his nose upturned in the air. "But it means something to me. Besides, I read once that the place was haunted. I always wanted to go in and see if I could find the ghost."
"Really?" Jack asked in excitement that surprised the other boy. "That sounds awesome! Let's sneak in!"
"You can't just-" Vlad started as he turned back to Jack only to find the other boy gone. With a jerk, he turned around to see Jack already trying to climb the wrought iron gate in front of the castle. "You're going to get in trouble!" Vlad abandoned his book, letting it fall to the ground, as he rushed to grab hold of the back of Jack's shirt before he could try to climb over the top of the gate.
"Uh oh," Jack mumbled, giving no more warning when his hold on the gate suddenly slipped. He fell to the ground, knocking Vlad over in the process.
Vlad grunted, the wind forced out of him when Jack's larger body landed on top of him. "What were you thinking?" he questioned in a wheeze.
"But I really wanted to see the ghost," Jack said, pouting as he climbed off Vlad. "I keep trying to find them, but they never want to show up for me." He stuck out a hand to help the other boy to his feet.
Vlad blinked in surprise at the hand before he accepted it, getting easily dragged to his feet by Jack. "You," his mind spun at Jack's statement, "like ghosts?"
"They're only the most fascinating thing ever!" Jack shouted excitedly. "If only I could meet one!"
"I thought I was the only one," Vlad mumbled, stunned. The rest of the children in the neighborhood thought he was some sort of freak for having such interest in ghosts and paranormal activities. He couldn't help that he found the subject completely fascinating, easily getting absorbed by stories about ghosts. A smile pulled at his mouth. For the first time, he thought maybe he could make a real friend.