Click.
That's the last one, the girl thought as she placed her hands on her hips. Turquoise colored eyes looked around the small, empty room. Shelves that used to hold books were cleared, the books either in boxes in her car or in storage. A desk sat by the window, clean and clear of all paper and pens she had used to jot down notes for school or other things.
This had been her room for the past nineteen years.
It had gone from being a fairy princess room, with fairy stickers, drawings, and posters covering the pink walls, but over the years, especially the last few, the princess things were replaced with simpler things. Flower curtains were switched out for a plain set with trim, the bed covers dark magenta instead of bubble gum pink, and the posters replaced with pictures from around the world, or sayings by famous scientists and scholars.
It'd been her room. Jasmine Fenton's room.
Now it was empty, and would most likely be another storage place for her parent's ghost hunting gear, or turned into a guest room.
Looking around the bare, silent room, Jazz couldn't help but sigh. She'd been waiting forever to move out, away from her parents crazy ghost antics and start pursuing her studies in psychiatry.
Now, that day had finally come.
She'd graduated from Casper High, a prized pupil with the best grades in Casper High history, waited a year to save enough money to buy herself a used car, been accepted into Harvard University, and now she was putting the last of her things into her car to leave and go to the airport to board her flight.
So why wasn't she as happy as she thought she'd be?
Rubbing her arms, Jazz sat down on her bed, striped of its blankets and sheets, and starred at the wall. She should be thrilled, ecstatic, relived that this day had come. She thought she'd be bouncing off the walls with excitement when this day came!
But she wasn't.
She felt an odd, unsettling feeling. It was like some strange mixture of nerves, fear, and dread, all rolled into one and making her stomach churn.
Why was she feeling like this?
"Hey Jazz, you got that last box ready? I'll take it down for—Jazz?"
The nineteen year old looked up at the seventeen year old boy with unkempt, jet black hair that stood in the doorway. His brow furrowed and his soft blue eyes filled with concern when he saw his sister sitting on the bed, looking upset.
Quickly, Jazz wiped her eyes and gave her younger brother a small smile. "Uh, yeah, it's right here," she placed her hand on the box on the floor at her feet. Beside it sat a small suitcase which she had packed for her drive to Massachusetts.
Danny frowned slightly as he watched Jazz turn away to look out the window. The Fenton siblings had always been close. Even during his awkward freshman year, she'd been the one he turned to when confused or worried, and after she learned his ghostly secret, she covered for him until he revealed himself to their parents.
She couldn't hide the fact she was upset. Not from him.
Danny sat down on the bed beside his big sister. For a few minutes, the two sat in silence, starring at the wall. Then Danny gave a small chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Jazz asked, looking at him.
"I was just thinking. Remember when we were little, and you made me play doctor with you?" the boy smiled and leaned back, looking up at the ceiling as he remised. "You'd have me pretend to be sick with poliosis or have a broken bone that needed an x-ray. Then, you'd find a miracle cure and give me a cookie or candy bar from Dad's stash."
Jazz smiled and chuckled. "Until Mom caught me giving you all those sweets and I had to give you toast instead."
Danny grinned. "And we played it so much I got sick of toast and now refuse to eat it." His blue eyes softened as he looked at her. "You remember what you used to tell me when I would start taking it seriously and get scared?"
Jazz slowly blinked. "I'm right here. Don't be scared, I promise I'll always be here for you," she said quietly.
Danny smiled. "You know, I used to tell myself that every time I got scared?" Jazz looked at him in surprise, and he nodded. "I'd always say to myself, 'Jazz will be right there, there's no need to be scared, she'll be there when it's over."
"Really?" his sister asked softly.
He nodded. "Sometimes…I still do," he admitted quietly.
Jazz starred at him in silence. Danny tilted his head and smiled gently at her. "I know you're not as calm about leaving as you've let on, Jazz."
Jazz sighed and unfolded her arms, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. "I thought I'd be. I mean, I've been waiting for this practically my whole life. To gain some freedom, to get away from all," she waved her hand in the air, "this ghost hunting." She sighed. "Kinda ironic, since my thesis on ghost envy helped me get into Harvard in the first place."
Danny chuckled.
"But now that the day's here, I feel…alone," Jazz said slowly. "When I was waiting for this day to come, it just seemed to take forever, but now it's here and…it seems like just yesterday we were little and playing doctor. Then Mom would come in and tell us dinner was ready, and Dad would come up from the lab and start telling us ghost stories." She smiled softly. "They always freaked you out, but they made me laugh. I thought it was funny how Dad would act them out with his silverware and food until Mom told him that food was for eating, not playing."
Danny chuckled as he remembered those nights. Jazz had always smiled and laughed, her eyes lighting up as she watched with rapt attention as their Dad would have the fork attack the bread roll with its "Fenton Fizzleray". Danny had always coward in his seat while watching with wide eyes.
"I feel like I blinked and missed something," Jazz continued. "I used to be able to go to Mom and Dad if I needed anything, but now….Now I'm nineteen, going to college, and I have to start relying on myself. I won't be able to run to Mom and Dad if I need something. I'm on my own as soon as I leave," she added in a whisper.
Danny frowned with concern at seeing his sister so distressed. Gently, he took one of her hands in his and gave it a squeeze. "That's not true, you know," he said softly. "Mom and Dad will always be here for you, and so will I. No matter where you go. All you have to do is say the word and we'll be there, with Dad kicking down the front door with the Fenton Bazooka aimed at the first person who steps in front of him."
Jazz giggled and Danny grinned. The siblings gazes met and both smiled. "You always said it to me, now it's my turn," Danny said softly. "I'm right here. Don't be scared, I promise I'll always be here for you."
Tears welling up, Jazz leaned forward and hugged her little brother. A hug he gladly returned.
Wiping her eyes, Jazz leaned back with a playful grin. "Save me a ghost fight for when I come back?"
Danny grinned. "Only if I get your room."
Jazz laughed and smacked him over the head. Danny chuckled and held up his arms in defense. "Hey! It's bigger than mine!" he protested.
"Because I'm Dad's favorite," she teased.
"You're his princess, of course you are!"
"Exactly! And you're his Danny boy, so you get the smaller room," Jazz said matter o factly.
"But I'll be the only kid now, so why shouldn't my smaller room become the guest room? Or storage closet or whatever."
"You might not always be you know," Jazz said slyly.
Danny blinked and stared blankly at her before recoiling. "Ew! Jazz! Mom and Dad, gross!" he exclaimed, his face turning red as it always did whenever that kind of topic was mentioned.
Jazz laughed and wrapped and arm around his neck, giving her little brother a noogie. "You are so much fun to tease!"
"So Tucker tells me," Danny replied, but he grinned sheepishly.