Hello again :D I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. Like I said before, it was more of a prologue. This is where the story really starts.
Anyways, I really love reading reviews so don't hesitate to comment ;D
Enjoy!
I plopped down on my friend's couch. "Hey," Tucker called from his kitchen, "Are you in the mood for Brazilian or Kenya blend?"
"Neither, thanks. I don't really want coffee right now," I replied.
"Hey, all the better," he decided, coming into the living room. "I don't even know how to make those weird coffee blends, anyways. I only have them because of Valerie."
I wasn't really paying attention to what Tucker was saying- I was still in complete shock over what had happened with Mrs. Manson. How on earth was I supposed to defend my client against myself? How was I supposed to show up to the hearings as Fenton AND Phantom? On the other hand, it was probably safer for me to be Mrs. Manson's lawyer- at least that way I could make sure Phantom stayed safe.
I was interrupted from my conflicting thoughts by Tucker's hand, which was waving in front of my face. "Dude, what's with you? You've been dazed all through the movie and the ride back here. Are you okay?" he asked.
"Ah, just work stuff…" I answered, trying sound casual. It was eating me up inside that I couldn't tell Tucker what the problem was- he was the only one who knew about my alter ego; he was the only one who could help. Stupid client confidentiality rules, I thought, irritated.
"Aw, cheer up, dude. Whatever it is, I'm sure it can't be that bad…" I threw him a look that said 'You have no idea…'
"Come on!" he continued. "Just think, in two days, you and I will be hitting the slopes in Switzerland for seven days- no work, no girlfriend, no strings," he winked.
I rolled my eyes. "Come on, Tucker, you're crazy about Val. I know you're not really thinking about hooking up with someone else."
"Not for me, moron. I'm talking about you!"
"Oh no!" I said, panicked. "NO way! I've had enough of you and Valerie trying to hook me up with girls who 'have great personalities'! It always ends up being the worst night of my life. Every single time!"
"Come on, man! You work until nine in the evening every night and then spend the early morning fighting off ghosts. You'll never meet a girl this way! And I'm not getting married until I know you're, at the very least, engaged," Tucker pointed out.
I shot him a death glare. How did he get marriage from Switzerland? He's like my parents. "Why?"
"Because we promised each other, in grade school, that I'd be your best man at your wedding and vice-versa. You aren't denying me the pleasure of making a speech that people will actually be forced to listen to, Danny."
I couldn't help but smile a little. As if he remembered that promise. "Yea, but if I remember correctly, Tuck, we only made that promise in order to give us something to look forward to on a day that would otherwise be the beginning of a miserable life."
Apparently deciding it was time to change the subject, he asked, "Are you packed yet?"
"Yeah, I'm working on it," I sighed. "You?"
"Nah," he said with a careless, throwaway attitude. "I pack the morning of." I shook my head and my smile grew. What would I do without Tucker…?
Ding dong!
Tucker checked his watch. "Oh yeah," he said as he got up to answer the door, "Val said she'd be over around now to chill with us." He opened the door and was greeted by a kiss from a young woman clad in a light pink sundress and wearing her curly hair in a ponytail.
"Hey Val," I said, leaning towards the door and waving.
"Hey, Danny," she echoed my greeting as she entered the living room and took a seat near me, (Tucker was still standing at the door- dazed by Val's kiss). "So," she said as she put down her purse, "How's the life of a high-end, high-profile lawyer treatin' ya? Those paparazzis still watching your every move?"
I nodded. "Unfortunately." Ever since I'd taken the case against the mayor last year (and won), I'd been the feature of more tabloids than Britney and Lindsay combined (I'd even been featured in Hunk Weekly…not that I like to brag about it or anything…). I'd also been more in demand than ever, especially from the richer citizens of Amityville.
She headed to the kitchen to make some coffee. "Aw, well don't worry about it, hun. It'll stop eventually," she sympathized.
I was about to follow her into the kitchen to get a snack from Tucker's ever-junk-food-filled fridge when I heard a loud crash outside the apartment.
Oh no… I waited with baited breath until I heard, "I am the BOX-GHOST! Fear me and my cubic ghostliness!" I let out a sigh of annoyance. Tucker had left the room, so I took the liberty of transforming on the balcony, where Valerie couldn't see me. I ran out to the balcony and concentrated on my ghost half, the way I always did when I wanted to tranform. Right away, two blue rings appeared around my waist and then parted, each one making its way to one end of my body. Replacing my usual jeans and t-shirt was a black HAZMAT suit. My hair was silvery white, as were my gloves, belt and boots. I could almost feel the glow of my green eyes as I blinked. I heard another crash and hurriedly flew up to the top of Tuck's building.
"Hey, box-freak!" I called, getting the ghost's attention, who was building some sort of a fort with the moving boxes around him. "I've been fighting you since I was fourteen! When are you gonna let up?"
"Are you mad, child? You think a mere seven years of fighting will discourage me, the ultimate ghost of FEAR?" he laughed in his annoying, shrill voice.
"Apparently not," I whispered under my breath before shooting an ecto-ray in his direction.
The fight lasted for all of three minutes- I managed to corner the ghost and suck him into the Fenton Thermos, which Tucker had managed to rig so that it would appear with my suit whenever I transformed.
I flew back to Tuck's balcony and transformed back into my human self. Thankfully, Valerie was still in the kitchen and hadn't noticed anything.
As I settled back into the couch, Tucker, who had returned from the washroom, whispered, "Box Ghost?"
I nodded.
He rolled his eyes. "What a pain," he said. "Well, all we need is some good entertainment to relax," he decided cheerfully. Tuck picked up the remote and opened the television to his favorite show, Law and Order. Thanks to this unwelcome reminder of my profession, my thoughts, against my will, drifted back to my appointment with Mrs. Manson. I was pondering how the detective could have possibly determined that it was Phantom who'd caused the damage at Manson's house. Unless…
Realization hit me like a ton of cement. Duh! It must have happened yesterday while I was fighting off Plasmius. But then, that would mean that Plasmius must've kidnapped her daughter…that's impossible. He left the scene before I did. Well, maybe he went back to get her…
But why?
As Val brought out the coffee, I realized that maybe Tucker was right. All I really needed was to relax. Some time away from work, away from ghosts and I'd be able to clear my mind long enough to worry about this whole Phantom situation.
