"Danny," a voice called, causing the boy to shift in his slumber. A blue fog escaped from his lips as he soon realized that there was another supernatural being near him. "Daniel, wake up," the voice caused again, his voice getting more commanding.
Danny, not ignoring the voice this time, sat up in his bed, looking around his room to see a hooded figure standing in the corner of his room. "Clockwork?" he questioned as he balled his hands into a fist, rubbing his eyes. "Why are you in my room?" He looked at the alarm clock sitting on his nightstand, 4:20 flashing in a bright red color. "Especially at this hour?" It's been four years since Danny was confronted by Clockwork, so what could he possibly want now?
Clockwork stepped out of the shadows, his older self coming face to face with Danny. "I need your help Daniel, well more like I need you to complete a quest that has been in the making for many years, before you were even born," Clockwork stated as he floated closer to the boy, "I know that nothing makes sense at the moment, but I need you to go back in time and I need you to keep your father from making the mistake of creating the ghost portal. He used the blue prints from his first try, but ended up creating a version of it that is more dangerous than the first." Clockwork was slowly pacing the floor. "I need you to go back in time and I need you to keep him from making the same mistake or both our worlds will be in danger. The portal is unstable and all the energy within it is slowly gathering in the middle of the ghost zone, the pressure will get to be so strong that it will end up expanding, creating chaos in the ghost zone and maybe even causing permanent damage to your world."
The young man let out a sigh. His life had been so peaceful the last few years. He finished his high school year quickly and was heading off to college in a short amount of time. He shifted in his bed and couldn't help but stare up at Clockwork. "I don't know how I can be any help? Why don't you just go back yourself and keep my father from doing it? You are probably much more capable for the job."
"I will be sending you back to the past, I myself can't go back. I need to keep watch over the timeline while you are in the past and you know I couldn't dare leave my spot to go spend what could be months in a different time. Please Danny, I trust you enough to carry out this mission and I know that you have the ability to do it." Clockwork looked down at the now young adult, turning into his child version.
Danny scratched at his chin, still feeling groggy from just waking up. "Why are you asking me now? It's been three years since we've last spoke and wouldn't it have been better to fix the mistake sooner rather than now?" he questioned, staring up at the ghost.
"No, you weren't prepared for the task when you were younger, but now is the right time. I have been observing your abilities for the past three years, so I know that you are ready," Clockwork explained to the young half ghost. "Danny, please you're the only one who I can ask to preform this task."
And that is how Danny Fenton, ended up back in time to his fathers college years, to stop the same man from creating a machine that would end up destroying the world. Great. Danny didn't even have the chance to tell Clockwork that he needed to prepare for his college exams, so he didn't have any extra time to be fixing his father's mistakes.
"How should I even know where to begin looking for my parents? This campus is huge and I don't even know the layout," Danny asked himself, staring up at the large building.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many students passed by Danny, none offering to help the lost boy. Most of them were in their own clichés and stared at him when they noticed that his clothes weren't in any way relating to the trends that were considered to be 'cool.' Danny just continued to wander around the campus, looking for any sign of were his parents could be. He looked around, not really sure which building consisted of the science departments, that would be his most logical guess to where his parents would be. They were most likely using the lab provided in the classrooms to create some new type of ghost hunting equipment or maybe they were actually working on the prototype portal. This job might have been easier than he planned on.
"Excuse me," a petit brunette asked as she tapped lightly on the wandering boy's shoulder. She pulled her hand away when Danny turned to look at her and gave him a small smile, her green eyes glowing. "You seem lost, is there a building I can help you find?"
Danny smiled back at the girl, happy that someone had actually decided to assist him in finding his parents. "Yeah, I think I am actually looking for the science department, but honestly I'm not exactly sure if it's the right building. I'm looking for the department that specializes in creating ghost technology," Danny stated, quickly regretting his openness as the girl's face fell. "I mean, if you don't know where it is that's fine. I'm sure I can find it by myself."
She quickly shook her head and her smile soon returned. "No, it's not that I don't have any idea where the building is, it's just that you don't seem to be the type interested in something so odd. I thought there were only three goons that were actually interested in making those types of scientific instruments," she said, lifting her finger to a building to the north. "If you are looking for the science room it's located in that building over there. We don't exactly have any room that specializes in ghost hunting, but the professors of are school are highly impressed with the three students I mentioned before and allow them to use the room in their spare time, as long as they clean up after themselves and don't destroy everything. What was it you were looking for?"
This girl seemed to be interested in something that had nothing to do with her. "I'm actually interested in meeting the students who are so highly talked about."
The brunette just nodded her head and wished the boy luck in getting a chance to talk with the small group. They tended to be only involved with each other than a few more select few students who had the same interests as them. Danny thanked the girl as she started to walk off and as Danny went in the other direction, heading to the large building that the girl had pointed to.
As he entered the building, he was welcomed with a cool breeze of air and an empty hallway with multiple steel doors on each side of the wall. Danny walked down the hallway slowly, glancing through the small glass square that was located near the top of every door. Each room looked fairly similar to the other he had looked through, there were groups of students surrounding lab tables, with a professor at the front of the room explaining what the significance to the experiment. Some rooms were empty, indicating that there weren't any lectures going on. Though he continued to look at every student in each room, Danny still wasn't lucky enough to find any sign of his mother or father.
He approached the second to last door on his left side before he saw a head of curly, dark red hair looming over one of the tables. Then a much taller figure came closer to the girl, his black hair and mullet making Danny cringe. Though he was sent back to the eighties, he was still shocked to see that the mullet was actually considered 'cool'. The one with orange hair turned, writing down notes in her journal.
"Jack," the girl called out to the taller man, grabbing his attention quickly. "These numbers don't look right, are you sure you did the calculations correctly?" Danny's mom questioned as she looked over her notes again.
Urgency filled the young half ghost as he realized his parents were talking about the ghost portal demo. As his father tried to calm Danny's mom, Danny had quickly grabbed the door knob and busted into the room, catching the attention of his two parents and someone else he hadn't seen at first.
"Wait!" Danny called out as he stood in the middle of the room, his blue eyes staring at his parents.
The third figure walked over to Danny, his eyes looked down at the boy, yet he seemed to be grinding his teeth. "I was told that we wouldn't be interrupted during our study time," he said as he simply turned away from the ghost boy, instead going over to Jack and Maddie. "Do you have an explanation to why you decided to intrude on our experiment and keep us from creating our ghost vacuum?"
Their what? Danny questioned as he spotted a small, portable vacuum laying on the stainless steel top. Danny soon felt that the situation had taken a turn for the worse. He shifted and wrapped his left arm around his right shoulder, rubbing it softly. "Well, I was actually wanting to see your weapon in action. I heard about your experiments and I myself am interested in furthering my knowledge in the paranormal and I thought you three would be the ones to meet with." Danny offered a smile at the three of them, quickly getting on Jack's good side.
"Well why didn't you say so sooner?" Jack's voice echoed in the nearly empty room and the larger man quickly waltzed over to Danny, putting his arm easily around Danny's shoulders. "Anyone interested in ghosts is a friend of mine. Right now we are working on a vacuum where the inside is laced with ectoplasmic goo..."
"Jack!" the other male had yelled out, stopping him from explaining their experiment. "What do you think you are doing? This stranger just interrupts on our free time, he's probably just here to make fun of us like all the other idiotic students that infest this school."
"Aw, come on Vladdie!" Jack exclaimed. "He obviously seems interested enough and it's our chance to finally expand our group of friends!"
Danny looked up at the man, his jaw dropping. The tall, slender boy standing in front of his was none other than his greatest foe. He gave Danny the same scowl he would at the beginning of every battle they had. "I don't see why we need someone as simple as him to be involved in our group of friends, we are fine how we are."
Maddie finally stepped between the bickering of the two boys, flashing both of them a soft smile. "Now boys, it's not polite to talk about someone as if they aren't here," she scolded, pointing a figure to each one as she spoke. "Jack, one of your best traits is that you are trusting, but sometimes you are too trusting and speak before you think. Even though this boy could be someone who is truly interested, it's still not right for you to give away our secrets before asking Vlad or I." Vlad had a superior smirk on his face, crossing his arms across his chest. "And Vlad," Maddie started, turning her attention to him. "It was rude of you to accuse this boy of something when you know nothing about him. Maybe he is truly curious about what we are creating and he could grow to be a very good friend."
Both boys looked down in defeat, realizing that they were in no way ready to fight with Maddie. Though Danny felt uncomfortable in the position, he continued to stand in the same spot he had been. He wasn't sure one what else he should do, until his mother addressed him herself.
"I'm sorry for the rude words that Vlad said, but we aren't exactly the coolest kid," she began as she turned to the closet in the far corner of her room, so she could put her lab oat and goggles away. "We get made fun of daily and it's hard for us to actually believe that there is someone else who's interested in ghosts. You'll have to forgive us if we are a little cautious, but still that's no excuse." Maddie smiled as she walked over to Danny and clasped her palms onto his shoulders, offering a big smile. "But if you truly are interested it would be nice to get to know you and we can make it up to you by buying you lunch. Besides, it would be a great way for us to all get acquainted."
Vlad quietly watched Danny, his eyes never leaving the boy. Something seemed off about him, but Vlad wasn't able to put his finger on what it could possibly be. That didn't mean he wouldn't find out.
~~~
The group of four arrived at a pizza parlor, the three scientist finally out of the gaudy lab coats and goggles. Jack had quickly befriended Danny, talking to the boy about college life and complaining about the classes that he found difficult. Maddie would occasionally join in on the conversation, making a small joke that would cause the two boys to burst out laughing. Vlad still was unsure of Danny and continued to observe the boy, taking mental notes on the boys behavior. Though he wasn't interested in humans, he still liked to be able to read their every move.
"So after finally staying all night to finish my thirty page project, I noticed that I was late to class. When I burst through the classroom door I was drenched with rain and I was finally told that all classes were canceled because of a tornado threat. I stayed up all night for no reason, man I was so bummed. I couldn't even do anything because all the electricity went out," Jack said as he finished his story.
A low laugh was heard and Danny turned to see Vlad had a hand over his mouth and was chuckling quietly to himself. "Well, that is what you get for procrastinating. I told you that you need to quit wasting your time with those stupid games of yours and you need to take your school work more seriously. If you don't get a good education while you can, you'll never get a job doing what you love," Vlad told Jack, smiling at his best friend.
Danny had to admit, while Vlad was still cold and intimidating from time to time, he did seem to treasure Jack as a friend and he did seem to have a soft side around him. Danny grew sad as he compared future Vlad's life with the life he had before the accident. He seemed to truly care for the friendship he shared with both Danny's mother and father.
"Are you okay?" Maddie called softly, her hand swiftly waving in front of his face. The young boy blinked and turned to stare into her eyes. "We got a table in the corner, so hopefully nobody will over hear us discussing ghosts. We don't need people butting into our business, right?"
The four headed over to the table Jack had picked out, quickly order a medium pizza for all of them to share and eat while they talked.
Jack spoke first, his usual goofy expression turning serious. "So, not that we haven't had great conversations already, but I think it's finally time we asked more about who you are. We don't even know your name or where you come from? You just randomly ran into the science room we use for experimenting, it's actually a little odd."
The awkward atmosphere slowly returned as all eyes were on Danny. "Yeah, I really can't apologize enough for that. My name is Danny and I come from Amityville. I didn't mean to intrude on the experiment you were all working on, I was just really interested in what you were working on. I had no intention of making fun of any of you You see, my parents are ghost hunters, so that in turn made me grow an interest in the paranormal. I heard about you three from them, I think they read about the gadgets you create in a magazine. They talked about three talented college students for weeks straight, so of course I would wonder about who they were. Once high school let out, I decided on taking a trip to the university you all attended to see if I could possibly get some advice from you guys and to see if this was a decent college, which it seems to be. I'm so excited I finally got to meet you guys finally and it's great to find others who are interested in ghost hunting," Danny explained, looking over to Vlad who was sitting on to his right. "I think I owe you an apology personally, I understand what it's like to be made fun of for what you believe, but please do understand that I wouldn't ever think of speaking ill of any of you."
Danny needed to play it safe around Vlad, he had no intention of getting him as an enemy so quickly. Hopefully if he gained Vlad's trust, he would be trusted by the other two students and then he could help them to create the prototype portal and keep his parents portal from blowing up in the future.
"I knew you couldn't have been a bad person!" Jack stated as he held his hands up in victory. He was sitting beside Maddie and they both seemed to be sitting awfully close to one another. Maybe they were already dating? They always told Jazz and Danny that they didn't start dating until after the accident. They never really explained why the accident was the final push for them to finally get together, maybe after spending so much time working on the project together it brought them closer, but then again they always seem to be working on different types of projects together. "I can't believe that we found someone who's parents hunt ghosts! You need to tell us all about the crazy adventures you've went on. Have you ever seen any ghosts before?"
Both Vlad and Maddie seemed to be interested in what Danny could tell them, the young girl even had her journal out. Danny let out a sigh and looked up at the ceiling, crossing his arms. How much could he tell them? He had to keep his stories simple though and he couldn't tell them about the inventions that his parents end up creating in the future or maybe he was the reason they ended up creating them. "Yeah, I have seen ghosts before, some are tougher than others. I've met really weak ghosts that my parents finish off quickly, but then I have met some that are tougher to capture and my parents end up losing the chance to get them. It's hard to describe how my parents fight against them, they have so many different types of equipment, it would take too long to tell you guys. Besides, we didn't go out just for me to talk, I would really like to learn about you three as well."
Their eyes opened in shock as Danny told them he did indeed see a ghost. They were flabbergasted, seeing as none of them have laid eyes upon a ghost. They were all curious to know more about the experience he encountered, but it was obvious that Danny himself was uncomfortable talking about it.
"Won't your parents miss you?" Maddie questioned, giving him a sad look.
"My parents probably haven't even noticed I'm missing yet and I am already eighteen, so it's not like they could force me to stay home. They are wonderful parents and I know that they love me, but sometimes it seems that they are way too preoccupied in hunting ghosts to spend time with me. Even though that's true, I know that I am loved and always will be. They have watched over me my whole life and have always made sure I never went without anything, no matter how much they embarrassed me on a daily basis. They always assumed that my school was haunted and would constantly try to hunt for the ghost that were 'haunting' my school. They were correct in assuming that my school was haunted. A ghost that was obsessed with keeping our lunch menu the same came back to haunt the whole place after my friend wanted to try a week of eating vegan friendly food. The ghost ended up controlling all the meat within the school and tried attacking all the students who wouldn't eat her food," Danny answered, recalling the time that same got the school to feed everyone bread with grass growing out of it. He didn't think he ever saw Sam and Tucker get into a bigger argument since that time.
That was right, since Danny was stuck in the past, he couldn't see his friends for a long time. He already missed them and he just saw them yesterday, but maybe it was just the fact that he wouldn't be seeing them in awhile was making him lonely. He also wouldn't be able to rely on his parents or Jazz for anything, nor could he see them or he should say his version of them. He was stuck in the past, with no idea on how he would return home. Would Clockwork come to get him after he had finished his job? What if he ended up messing something up in the past and that affected the future? He could lose his ghost powers or maybe Vlad would lose his if he fixed the machine correctly. He was confused and unsure about what he could do and what he shouldn't do. Maybe he needed to do something for the future to be how it was.
Maddie frowned, not able to comprehend how his parents could just so easily ignore him. He must be lonely without his parents being there for him. She never experienced that, she grew up in a very loving and close family who supported her through everything, though they weren't too fond of the fact that she was going to get a major in technology just so she could create ghost hunting equipment. "I'm sorry to hear about your parents being busy, but it's nice to know that you don't hold a grudge or anything against them. I'm sure the reason they are so focused on capturing and destroying ghosts is to keep you safe."
Nodding, Danny smiled at his mother from the past and took a piece of pizza from off the plate as soon as it was dropped off at their table.
"So, since you just came here without your parents knowledge I'm guessing that you don't have a place to stay. I'm sure Vladdie will let you stay with him seeing as he has his own door and its bigger than the average ones. His parents are loaded and has made sure that Vlad is living in luxury while he's attending college," Jack offered, taking a piece of pizza and shoving it into his mouth.
Vlad nearly chocked on his food as Jack was once again forcing another burden on him. He was always trying to push stray cats onto him whenever he found one, which ended in him hating the fickle felines. He couldn't stand the fact that they would constantly shed and try to scratch his skin up whenever he went to pet them or feed them. "Jack, why must he stay with me? He is a stranger we just met and not to mention, I know little to nothing about him. Could you please think before you make me do something?"
The table got quiet as Vlad once again said too much. He didn't dance around the truth and he was very blunt. Danny just scratched his head, noting that earning Vlad's trust wouldn't be as easy as he thought it would be. It would probably take him months to earn it, which was time he didn't have to waste. "It's okay, I can always try to find somewhere else to stay. I don't want to be a burden to you." Danny looked up at Vlad, jutting his lower lip over his top, giving him his signature puppy dog face. It always worked on Jazz and Sam, two of the must stubborn people on the entire earth.
"Please Vlad, he's got nowhere else to stay," Maddie pleaded, Jack nodding his head vigorously beside her.
The dusty haired boy sighed and placed his elbow on the table, holding his chin up in his hand. "Very well, I guess he can stay with me in my dorm, but we will be making rules once we get to my dorm and you can bet that I will be enforcing them greatly."
The other three cheered in excitement, then continued to enjoy the pizza they ordered, creating small talk throughout the entire meal.
Maddie, Vlad, Jack, and Danny walked back to the dorms, but the Jack and Maddie parted ways with Vlad and Danny. Jack planned on walking Maddie back to her dorm, making sure she was safetly there before he would head back to his own. Vlad was going to show Danny to the new dorm they were going to share and then they were going to establish rules once they got there. Vlad wasn't excited by the fact that he was being forced to babysit the younger boy, but he had no choice. He could never say no do a request by Maddie.
"Bye Vlad, thanks for taking Danny in since none of us can," Maddie called, waving to her dear friend as she walked beside Jack. "And Danny, try not to bother Vlad too much, he enjoys to be alone on occasion, but he's not a mean guy."
Vlad waved back to Maddie, rolling his eyes as she warned Danny in advance of his short temper. He didn't think that it was necessarily a bad thing. He just tended to enjoy studying and doing hobbies instead of goofing off and messing around, though he wasn't sure if he would be able to study as often with Danny around.
Both Maddie and Jack soon disappeared past the horizon, leaving Vlad alone with Danny. He glanced down at the boy, the other staring off in the direction that his parents walked off in. Danny felt Vlad gazing at him and looked up at him, meeting his eyes. He smiled up at the older man.
"I guess it's time for us to leave as well, I have a lot of homework to catch up on and I plan on acing the exams next week," Vlad mentioned as he turned away and started to walk towards his dorm house.
The walk was quiet, neither of them saying anything, there was honestly nothing to say. Vlad was uninterested in talking to Danny at the moment, he still wasn't too trusting of the boy yet. Danny on the other hand was worried that he may annoy the other male, not sure if he wanted to strike up a conversation with him. Before Danny knew it, they were both standing at Vlad's door.
Vlad fished out his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door, opening it to allow Danny in first, there was no way he trusted his back turned to him. "Now, I think we need to establish some rules, especially if you have any desire to stay here. Disobey any of them and there will be a punishment," Vlad warned, walking further into the room, stepping into a separate room that branched off the hallway.
Danny followed, seeing that they were standing in the living room. There was a television and a VCR, but they were both covered with dust. A couch was placed against the back wall, a matching recliner beside the couch. Vlad walked over the recliner, allowing himself to relax against the soft cushion. He sat up though, realizing the importance of the situation.
"Now, know I only agreed to this because my two friends asked me to. If it were up to me, I wouldn't allow you to stay here," Vlad stated, looking down at Danny. "Now onto the rules, which you have no right to deny. Rule one, while you are staying here, I would like you to attend some of the free classes here. While you are only visiting to see if this school is compatible, it will help you to see if the professors teach in a way that is right for you, so I will be taking you to some of my larger classes."
Danny tried to intervene and argue with Vlad, but a hand was put up, forcing Danny to shut his mouth.
Vlad continued to speak, slowly putting his hand down. "Rule two, when we get back from our classes we are going to do the homework before going out with friends or watching movies. I will not allow my grades to slip just because I have someone staying in the same dorm as me. With that being said, you are not to disturb me while I am doing my work or while I am studying. Rule three, you are never to go out without notifying me first. I am in charge and I need to watch you to make sure that you don't end up causing any trouble on campus. Rule four, you are not to bring anyone of the opposite gender into this house. I don't need anybody else intruding on my space, you are not to bring any male you have any intention in sleeping with either. Rule five, we are both in bed by ten, seeing as I have early classes and I get aggravated easily if I don't get sleep. Now for the most important rule, you are not allowed in my room. It is my space and I will not have you invading it. I would like for you to clean while I am away at classes you are unable to attend and if you have time to cook, that would be nice as well."
The rules seemed to be unfair to Danny, especially since it seemed that Vlad expected him to clean while he was gone and the young half ghost would probably be scolded if he didn't make the room look presentable. He was forcing himself on Vlad though by living with him, but he had no idea on where else he could go, so he would just need to follow the rules.
An evil smirk presented itself on Vlad's face, his white teeth showing. "Now, do you have any complaints?"
"No, I understand and I am grateful that you allowed me to live here," Danny said. "I can't thank you enough and I will try my hardest to make you proud!" Danny pledged, turning Vlad's smirk into an actual smile.
Maybe this wouldn't be too bad.
The sunlight was shinning through the window, falling on Danny's face. The young adult lightly wiped against his nose, the warm heat causing his eyes to open slightly. He stretched his arm, feeling the rough exterior of the couch. He sat up, throwing his arms in the air as he felt his back crack. It was unfair of Vlad to force him to sleep on the couch, seeing as it was still stiff from never being used.
Vlad walked into the living room, his hair dripping with water as he continued to dry it off with a towel, looking down at Danny. "I see you are finally awake, but it's already noon." He took a sip of his water bottle as he went over to sit on his recliner, still keeping his eye on Danny. "My next class doesn't start till two, so I was thinking we could go out and get some groceries so you could make me dinner later tonight when I get home." He smiled at Danny, removing the towel from his hair."
Danny sighed before falling back on the couch. He covered his face with the pillow Vlad had provided, ignoring Vlad's offer. "Ugh, I'm tired and I just want to sleep."
Taking the pillow away from Danny, holding it out of his reach. "We had an agreement and if you don't want any punishment, I suggest you wake up."
With a sigh, Danny sat up once more and looked up at Vlad who was on his way to putting his used towel in the pile he had claimed as the 'dirty' pile. "I don't see why I need to cook for you, I'm not a house spouse," Danny called to Vlad, pushing himself off the couch. "Besides, how do you even know that I can cook?"
"I'm just guessing that you can, seeing as you said your parents never really pay any attention to you, I was just
thinking you taught yourself how to cook so you wouldn't get hungry," Vlad explained, walking back into the living room. "Now, don't yell at me from another room. To begin with I can't hear you and it's annoying. If you want to speak with me, get up, and go into the room that I am currently in."
"Alright," Danny agreed as he grabbed his blanket, folding it before he placed it on the pillow he had used. "I know that you've done enough for me, but I don't have any other clothing. Could you possibly let me borrow a few shirts and maybe a pair of pants?"
Vlad had already left the room, one step ahead of Danny. "I already laid out an outfit for you today, though the pants may be a bit too long. I guess you will just need to roll them up if you don't want to trip." Vlad walked back into the living room, handing the neatly folded clothing to Danny. "You know where the bathroom is so you can go change in there. If the pants are too big around the waist, I can let you borrow one of my belts."
Danny happily took the clothing, happy that Vlad had willingly given him the clothing instead of striking up a deal with him. Danny was at a lost though, the Vlad from before the accident seemed so caring towards others, though he was a bit untrustworthy. He did lose a lot because of the accident, so he wasn't completely to blame, but he seemed to have done a complete 180. "Thank you, this means a lot to me. You make a very good parent."
The small comment elicited a small laugh from the older man. "You need someone to watch after you seeing as you are unable to watch after yourself. Now hurry up, we do have a tight schedule at the moment." Vlad pressed his palms against Danny's back, pushing the boy to the bathroom. "Hurry, hurry."
The half ghost followed Vlad's orders, quickly changing into the simple white tee and grey jeans that his make-shift tenet had provided him. As soon as he walked out of the bathroom, Danny saw that Vlad already had his shoes on and was holding up Danny's red converse.
"I guess that teenage boys are used to getting ready quickly, a skill that you will need once you start attending college," Vlad commented as he threw the shoes at Danny. "If you see any clothing that catches your eye I'll buy it for you, but it will cost you in the future.:
Danny rolled his eyes and slipped his feet into the shoes, stepping closer to Vlad. "I'm ready whenever you are."
"Please Daniel, I was born ready. You need to remember I was the one who was waiting for you," Vlad reminded as he held the door opened for Danny.
They both walked out, Vlad locking his dorm before they both made their way across the large campus. The other students seemed to be staring at Vlad, which in turn made them study Danny as well. Most would just turn to their friends and laugh, most likely discussing the fact that Vlad believed in ghosts.
"Does it ever bother you?" Danny asked quietly. He didn't want the others to over hear him, mostly because he didn't want to draw anymore attention. "I don't understand how you just can walk past them as they continue to talk badly about you."
Vlad smiled down at Danny, placing his hand on the younger boys shoulder. "It's sweet of you to get mad for me, but there's no use in it. They will continue to talk poorly about me. I just ignore what they say because of the fact that I know I don't need to stoop down to their level. I know that ghosts are real, no matter if I have never seen one in real life and nothing will keep me from believing it."
It was weird how Vlad didn't mind that he was the one being laughed at by many of the students. The Vlad he knew was cocky and arrogant, never would he allow others to speak ill of him. He would get revenge on those who ever dared to laugh at him. Maybe the accident had caused Vlad more pain than Danny could imagine.
"Vladdie!" A voice yelled, getting closer to the two strolling boys. "I knew that you would and Danny would get along!"
The two boys turned to see Jack running towards them. The amount of students looking at them increased as Jack continued to yell loudly across the courtyard. Vlad simply shrugged it off and continued to walk forward, leaving Danny to stand in place and debate on if he should wait or follow after Vlad. He decided to wait, allowing Jack to catch up to him.
Jack finally was standing beside Danny, pulling the boy into a tight hug. "Did you get new clothing? Don't tell me Vlad actually allowed you to borrow his clothing. He rarely ever lets anyone borrow anything of his. I have to beg him for practically a week if I want to use his notes or to borrow his tools to build some new invention."
"I allow others to use my stuff, I just don't trust you because of the fact that the last time I allowed you copy my notes, you handed them to me with drool stains all over them," Vlad explained, backtracking to where Jack and Danny were standing. "Now if you'll please let him go, I need to take him shopping so he can get ingredients for my meals." Vlad pulled Danny from out of Jack's hands and side stepped away from Jack, not allowing Jack to pull him into a hug. "You also know I've told you countless times that you are not allowed to hug me. I don't need any other rumors floating around this school."
Jack looked away from Vlad, staring at the ground. "Sorry Vladdie, I didn't mean to make you mad and you know that I only hug you because I care about you."
Sighing, Vlad nodded his head and smiled at Jack. "I know you do and you know that I am not the type to show affection. I only allow physical contact on special occasions or when I finally find the one I love, but until then I like to keep physical affections to a minimum."
That sounded a lot like something that the Vlad Danny knew would say. He never seemed to be the type to flaunt his affections for someone. The only one he ever wanted to physically touch was his mother and he rarely ever did try to grab her. Maybe the only reason that he wanted Maddie was because of the fact that Jack had her and he didn't.
"Now, I know that you have a class you need to get to. I told you that you weren't allowed to skip physics, no matter how much homework piled up because of your inability to do your work on time," Vlad scolded.
Jack frowned, sad he wasn't able to join his friends in shopping. "Alright, I'll stop by at your dorm later. I know you won't be back till around seven, so I'll help Danny spruce up the place. Have fun shopping. Remember Danny, let Vlad buy whatever he wants."
Danny raised his eyebrow and looked up at Vlad, "Do we have a spending problem?" Danny asked.
"Let's go," Vlad simply demanded.
As they were leaving the store, Danny was carrying at least four bags of groceries and Vlad was carrying two. It seemed a bit unfair for Danny to be carrying more, but he felt bad that Vlad was the only one with money and not only bought food, but he also ended up buying Danny some clothing that was actually his size. Danny had changed his mind about Vlad, finally accepting that before the accident he was actually a very kind person. He couldn't believe that he was actually walking down the street, laughing as Danny told him another silly story about Danny's high school years.
"It seems as if your teachers weren't very wise. I can't believe that they allowed you to go to the zoo after hours and that you got up close to a purple back gorilla. He even only gave you a C after the fact that you found out that it was a female instead of a male," Vlad said, still laughing.
Danny was smiling brightly as he finished the story, Vlad seemed to be enjoying himself and it was nice to see him drop the serious attitude he had. "Yeah, I was mad that he gave me such a low grade after I risked my life, but it wasn't an F at least."
The two boys continued to walk down the street, Vlad checking his watch to make sure that he wasn't running late for his class. It only took them about forty-five minutes for them to gather up all the groceries they needed, Vlad even treated Danny to a small lunch, but Danny had agreed to do the laundry for Vlad as well as organize his bookshelf while he was in classes. Though the half ghost had already told himself he would do that, but Vlad didn't need to know that.
"Thanks for everything Vlad, I know that you didn't really want to look after me, but it means a lot to me that you are allowing me to stay with you. You even bought me new clothing and I have no way of repaying you for all that you've done," Danny said.
Vlad looked down at the boy, his laughing ceasing as he realized how serious Danny was being. "You don't need to thank me." Vlad was silent for a moment, looking away from Danny. He spoke his next words quietly, only allowing him and Danny to hear them. "I am the one who owes you an apology. I was rude to you and misjudged you. I feared that you would speak badly about me or my friends and that caused my defenses to go up, which just ended up in me acting like the bad guy."
There was a moment of silence as Vlad's words sunk in. Danny was slightly shocked to hear the older man apologize, but he himself understood that it wasn't easy to trust others so quickly.
"It's okay," Danny found himself saying, turning to look at Vlad. "We both could have done things differently. I could have entered in a more respectful manner instead of barging in and ruining your experiment."
Vlad smiled, not his usual smirk that he used whenever he was picking on Danny or when he was right and another person was wrong, but a smile that lit up his entire face. It was pretty contagious and the younger boy smiled back. "Thank you Daniel."
They walked the rest of the distance in silence, occasionally Vlad would point out something of interest to Danny, promising to take him out when he didn't have to attend any classes. Danny never imagined he would be able to befriend the younger version of his archenemy, much less have a decent conversation, but he was proved wrong. When they would actually talk, conversation flowed easily and there was never a moment in which the conversation was forced. When the moments were quiet, it wasn't as if it was awkward, it was rather peaceful.
Before the young half ghost knew it, they were already crossing the campus yard back to Vlad's dorm. His shoulders began to ache as he remembered that he had been carrying so many shopping bags for a distance that his body was not used to. Vlad, noticing the boy shifting, grabbed one of heavier bags from the boy and readjusting his own so he could carry them comfortably.
"You didn't have to take one," Danny commented as he already felt his muscles relaxing. "We are really close, so it wouldn't have hurt to allow me to carry them."
"I don't need you collapsing from exhaustion before you finish my laundry," Vlad joked, laughing as he watched Danny's eyes open wide in surprise. "My cleaning has been a bit neglected seeing as I'm preparing for exams."
"You're so smart though, exams should he easy enough for you to pass without trying too hard."
"Not that I need to study too hard, but I do like to keep my grades above average, so I continue to study for tests and exams," Vlad stated, ceasing from walking as he stared down at Danny. "How did you know I was smart?"
"Hmm, just a simple guess," Danny answered, stopping to look up at Vlad
The older male allowed Danny to carry the other two bags, especially since his classes would be beginning soon. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a brightly polished, gold key. "I need to get to class now if I don't want to be late, so I'm trusting you with my dorm key. I know that you won't be leaving the room, but if you do just leave the key under the door mat. We have cameras all around the campus, so I'm not that worried about someone breaking into my room. I just would feel safer knowing that I at least tried to keep a robber out," Vlad explained as he placed the small metal key into Danny's opened hand. He then handed over the two shopping he had been carrying. "Sorry that I can't help you to take back the groceries, but I'm not the type to be late."
Danny shook his head and smiled at Vlad, "It's okay. I think I can handle carrying two more bags, besides you ended up grabbing the two lightest bags."
The older man seemed to be thankful that Danny was able to carry the bags on his own. "Thank you, Daniel." Vlad said as he turned away from Danny, walking away from the ghost boy.
As Danny readjusted himself, putting all the bags in a more comfortable position so he could hopefully make it back to the dorm room he shared with Vlad, without any problems. Once he began walking though, he was stopped, another student stepping in front of him. Before Danny was aware of it, two of the larger grocery bags were pulled from his hands and were now being held by another man.
"Sorry for suddenly grabbing the two bags from you, but you were holding them in a pose that would have tired your arms out easily and you probably would have dropped them and as college students, we all know how little money we have. We have to make the most of it," the sandy blonde haired boy explained quickly, his black rimmed glasses falling slightly down his pointed nose.
"N..No," Danny stuttered, surprised that someone had come to help a stranger with such a simple duty as carrying groceries. "Thank you, I didn't really think about how I was carrying them. I just wanted to get them to my dorm as quickly as possibly."
A smile spread across the boys head as he let out a small laugh. His voice was deep, yet it added a certain charm to the man. Though he didn't need much help with that, he was wearing a pretty stylish outfit and his hair was nearly trimmed and pushed back against his head. "Yeah? That's good, I'm glad you didn't start yelling at me or anything. I'm working in the medical field, mainly to help with muscle relaxation and physical therapy. I couldn't just allow one of my fellow classmates to hurt themselves, especially since exams are coming up soon." The boy seemed to get caught up in the conversation and he stopped talking, mentally disciplining himself. "I'm so sorry, I haven't even introduced myself yet. I'm Johnathan Marcus, but I'm okay with being called John or any other nickname. Johnathan is a mouthful and it would suck to have to continuously say it."
"Danny," the young ghost boy introduced, allowing Johnathan to grab one more bag, both of them holding three bags each. "It's really cool of you to help with carrying all these bags. My dorm mate had to hurry off to class, so I was left to carry them all by myself. I think he would have been fuming if I wasted his money by dropping all our food on the ground, especially since I need to make dinner for the both of us."
John nodded in agreement as they both started walking through the grass, some of the students stopping to wave at Johnathan. "Understandable. It's not easy to be finically set for college, but you and your dorm mate seemed to have bought a lot of groceries, especially compared to what I can afford. It must be nice having so much money to spend. It's hard, but hopefully it will be worth all the stress."
Danny wanted to offer Johnathan a chance to eat dinner with him and Vlad, but he wasn't sure how the two males would interact. Though there was a good chance that they wouldn't know each other seeing as they were
both studying different courses. "Since you helped me carry the bags and everything, why don't you join me and roommate for dinner? I'm sure he won't matter and we do have a lot of food. I can make something that will feed all of us and if there are leftovers, I'm sure you can take them with you."
"You can't be serious!" Johnathan exclaimed happily as he looked down at Danny. "I haven't had a home cooked meal in who knows how long! I would love to come have dinner with you two, but I have another class today that I need to attend. Would six be too late for me to come over?"
A gentle breeze blew across the campus, ruffling the leaves. The half ghost wasn't sure how late Vlad would be out, but he didn't think he would be home by six. Danny had about four hours to clean up Vlad's little apartment before Johnathan would be done with his classes, so he didn't see a problem with it at all. "That should be fine, I need to clean our room a bit more anyways. I was hoping to get our laundry done and maybe some dusting."
As Johnathan continued to smile, letting Danny know what time he would most likely arrive, they had both made it to Vlad's apartment. Daniel fished the key he had been give from his pocket and unlocked the door, pushing it open for him and John to enter.
A low whistle escaped from Johnathan as he looked around the room, the room being much more spacious than any of the dorms he had lived in. "This is nice, well nicer than my shit hole at least and I don't see you needing to clean very much."
Danny carried the groceries into the kitchen, setting them on the countertop that was built in the middle of the room. Johnathan followed Danny's actions, placing his three bags down. "I just need to do some dusting and I need to reorganize a few things. I'm glad that Vlad keeps it clean mainly by himself," Danny explained, grabbing a bottle of water from one of the grocery bags, offering one to Johnathan.
Johnathan obliged, taking the water bottle, swiftly taking a sip from it. "Wait, are you roommates with Vlad Masters? The one who's y'know interested in ghost hunting?"
The room became quiet as Danny looked up at Johnathan, was this person the same as the others? Would he judge Vlad and his parents just because of the fact they all believe in the paranormal? "Yes, that is who my roommate is." It was tense, Danny didn't know what he should do. It's not like he could uninvite Johnathan and Danny had hoped he had found a new friend.
"That's so cool," was the excited remark that Danny wasn't expecting. "I've heard a lot about him, like how he's a super genius, but we both are taking different courses, so I haven't got the chance to meet him yet."
"You don't think he's weird for believing in ghosts?" Danny questioned, as he left the kitchen with Johnathan following behind him. They both sat down on the couch, Danny thinking it would be better than one of them sitting on the recliner that Vlad resides in.
"I mean, I myself don't personally believe in ghosts, but there are weirder things to have an interest in. I think it's awesome that he has something he can chase after and pursue while putting his whole heart into it. You don't need to worry, I'm not going to judge him or label him before I get the chance to meet him."
Excitement filled Danny, he had found someone he could hopefully befriend and maybe have someone to help him pass the time with. "I'm glad you didn't judge him, it would suck to have lost a friend."
"Glad to hear you call us friends, man," The other male replies, as he playfully messed up Danny's hair, causing the young half ghost to pull away and try to fix all the fly strays. "I have a hard time making friends at this college too, so it's nice to know that you're giving me the chance."
Danny's brow arched, how could someone like Johnathan not have friends? He was such a friendly person and he was so open-minded. "Well you can always come to me when you need anything. Though Vlad has demanded that we are both in bed early, seeing as he needs his beauty sleep."
They continued to talk, Danny learning about Johnathan's hometown and his passion in sports. It was weird, Danny never thought he would be able to discuss sports with anyone. His sister thought there were better things to do than purposely hurting others to get a ball and his two best friends had no interest in them either. He talked a little about himself, trying hard not to give out any information that could hint he was from the future. Johnathan had to leave soon after their discussion about Vlad. He needed to get to classes, which bummed Danny out, but he had the chance to get around to keeping his promise to Vlad. The young half ghost started by organizing Vlad's collection of books, noticing that most of them consisted of ghost hunting articles or on scientific theories, but among the educational books, there were a few of the classics. He moved on from the books and headed to the bathroom, gathering up the clothing in the bin for the next task at hand.
Two hours later, Danny had cleaned the apartment and the laundry was currently being cleaned at the laundry house on campus. He fell against the side of the house, a sudden wave of exhaustion falling over him as realized that the house was as spotless as it could be. Danny couldn't remember the last time he actually cleaned something so thoroughly, but he was trying to make a better impression with Vlad. He relaxed for a few moments, but soon after he had a moment to catch his breath, he was already getting back up and going to the kitchen to start fixing dinner for tonight.