Pretty short but whatever. Kind of a venting fic - I'm sick. Deals with bullying.
Dash's bullying was annoying, but Danny could deal with it. He could deal with getting pushed around and shoved into things. It was just his body, after all. He healed quickly and received worse on a daily basis. He could deal with Dash.
This was different.
At first, when Paulina and Star giggled at what he said when Lancer picked on him to answer in class, he'd given them a weird, confused look and hadn't thought much of it. It kept happening. He wasn't saying anything funny or witty. He just gave his opinion. Lancer never said anything about it or asked them to quiet down, so it couldn't be a big deal. Maybe it didn't have anything to do with him. He pushed it away.
Until a couple weeks later at the Nasty Burger, Danny said something and they giggled at it from behind him in line with a whispered 'really?'. It was at that moment he realized they weren't laughing because of each other or because of what he'd said. They were laughing because he'd said it. Was it because of him? Or did they think it was funny he'd been stupid enough to say that? Maybe Tucker and Sam had heard their whispering and giggles and didn't say anything because they agreed. They wouldn't do that, though. Right? Or maybe they agreed that it was stupid and were just too nice to tell him. Maybe they hoped he'd get the hint. No, they wouldn't do that. They were his friends. But they'd never said anything before in class. Lancer never did either. Maybe he was wrong. He had to be, right?
He didn't say much the rest of the night.
The next day at school, it happened over again. Every time he said something, whether it was in the hall or in class, they'd laugh. No one did anything. No one said anything. Did they all agree? Was everyone just too polite to laugh at how stupid everything he said sounded and just kept it inside?
He didn't feel like talking anymore.
When Lancer called on him in class now, he'd just shrug. No one laughed at shrugging. He didn't say much in fights with ghosts either. Suddenly, all Vlad's insults of Danny's quips and one-liners were making sense. Did he sound so stupid all the time? He guessed so. He still talked with Sam and Tucker, but didn't say much anymore. They asked him the first week what was wrong and he told them he was fine. They didn't ask after that. No one even seemed to notice. Maybe they all liked him better this way. Maybe no one ever liked him in the first place. Lancer stopped calling on him. Tucker and Sam didn't ask him questions. Ghost attacks weren't so frequent. And he stopped opening his idiotic mouth. After all, no one wanted to hear it. Everyone was happier like this.
In fact, why should he bother doing anything? Everyone was happier when he didn't talk. Maybe they'd be happier if he stopped showing up. Maybe it would be better if he stopped bothering everyone. He stopped going to the Nasty Burger. Sam and Tuck didn't ask. His homework improved. That made Lancer and his parents happy. He still went to school, but that was all he did. He didn't have to talk anymore to get laughs from Paulina and Star about how stupid he was. Everything he did, he just screwed up. Why should he bother trying anymore? He was done trying. He was done talking. He was done.
He was just done.
Let me know what you think =)