Attention Bait

o.O.o.O.o.O.o

Previously: Mikey nodded. "I will!" he reassured.

The next morning the paper reported him missing.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o

"Danny, beating yourself up over this isn't going to help anyone," Sam whispered, leaning far enough forward to place a hand against his back.

Danny's shoulders moved to shake her hand, but Sam was persistent. Only when the tense muscles of his back finally relaxed did she remove her form of comfort and support.

"I know," he muttered back, still facing forward. His best friends didn't need to see his face to know he was glaring holes into the blackboard. "But Mikey was right there with me, Sam. Just yesterday we were talking about these kidnappings and now he's the one taken?"

Tucker risked leaning sideways to whisper, "That is pretty weird, but it has nothing to do with you, dude."

This time Danny looked at the other male out of the corner of his eyes. "How could you possibly know that? Casper High is one of the biggest targets because I go here."

"But you don't even know the first kids that went missing," Tucker explained, holding out a notebook with writing on it. "Look, after class we can-"

"FENTON. FOLEY. Eyes front and center!" the teacher shouted, noticing that two of her students were whispering to each other in the back. The teenagers jumped at the shout, but reluctantly faced the blackboard.

Normally the class would have laughed at their misfortune- it was practically Dash's favorite pastime to humiliate Danny- but a somber mood had settled over everyone since Mikey was kidnapped. The previous students hadn't been in their grade, but every sophomore in Casper High knew Mikey either because he was extremely smart or just one of the A-listers favorite targets.

To them, the danger was finally starting to hit home.

Once the class settled, several students went back to whispering amongst themselves, thankful that only Fenton and Foley had been caught.

Dash turned his head slightly to catch Kwan's eyes. His best friend had circles under them and a tired scowl on his face. "My folks are really spooked about this," Dash whispered.

Kwan rubbed a hand down his face. "I couldn't sleep last night," he admitted, looking to see if the teacher was watching. "I-I couldn't help imagining waking up and my sister not being there."

All the A-listers knew how much Kwan adored his little sister. She was only one year younger than him, a freshman, but the girl had a way of making everyone think she was a lot younger than she looked. Dash sent him a look of sympathy. "Oh man, I'm real sorry, dude. Do you want to sleep over at my house tonight?"

Kwan shook his head. "And leave my sis by herself? Sorry Dash, but I'll pass."

Next to the football players, two cheerleaders were sharing their worries. Star bit her lip as she thought of her family. "My mom wouldn't be able to take care of herself without me there," she confessed to Paulina. "My brother's in college out of state so I'm all she has right now."

Paulina, though she loved her best friend, could hardly sympathize. "My Papa will be alright, but he'd stop at nothing to help get me back from this guy's evil clutches!" she exclaimed, voice still a whisper.

"How do you know it's a guy?" Star asked, eyebrows raised.

Paulina gave her the most 'duh' look she could manage. "Because this is how the fairytale always goes. The princess, me, is captured by the evil mastermind, the kidnapper, then the prince, Phantom, comes to rescue me and we get married as we fly off into the sunset!"

Star shook her head as her friend got lost in her fantasy. Sure, Phantom was the coolest person- er, ghost- in Amity Park, but she would never understand Paulina's obsession with him. Although the girl did claim to be the first person who ever knew he was good. Maybe she felt special because she knew before everyone else?

"Just please be careful, Paulina," Star urged, grabbing her friend's hand. "And don't you dare get kidnapped on purpose because I swear if you leave me alone with these losers," she pointed to the two jocks, the nerds, and Fenton's group, "I will hauntyou."

Paulina mock gasped. "I would never." Glad the tension had been broken, the two girls giggled, annoying the teenager sitting next to them.

"Could you guys stay quiet for more than five seconds?" Valerie hissed, writing frantically in her notebook.

Star and Paulina glared at their old friend. "Oh like you're actually taking notes," Star said, leaning over enough to see Valerie's list of times, names, and possible suspects of the kidnappings.

Valerie quickly jerked towards the window and covered her notes with her arm. "Watch it."

The two A-listers rolled their eyes. "Chill, Val, there's no need to snap at us," Paulina said. "Why are you writing all that anyways? It's not like you can help find them. Well, unless your dad's a police officer or something."

"You leave my dad out of this," Valerie snapped, recalling how they'd made fun of her family's transition into a lower social class. "And what I do is none of your business."

By now the girls were bored of talking to her so they just shrugged, passing off her aggression as the worry everyone was experiencing since the disappearances, and faced forward again.

The entire class was able to keep their whispers quiet enough that their teacher was none-the-wiser, but a certain half ghost with superhuman hearing was able to pick up everything. Danny, already frustrated enough, tried to cover his ears to block out the A-listers.

Of course Sam and Tucker knew immediately what was wrong. "Danny, whatever they're saying just ignore it," Sam said.

"I can't," Danny responded, hands curling around his ears as he pressed his forehead against his desk. "Everyone's panicking and I'm sitting at a freaking desk rather than out there," he pointed to the window, "catching whoever is doing this!"

Before they could respond, Danny turned around to face them. "Do you know what the news said the other day?"

Tucker winced. "Uh, well, it's nothing they haven't said before."

"They're blaming all of this on me because I'm not out there trying to help."

"They just haven't seen you catch a ghost in a while," Sam explained, trying to calm him down before they got yelled at again. "Phantom staying quiet around the same time kids start disappearing is bound to catch their attention."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Oh great, because I'm finally starting to get better at catching ghosts before anyone notices or gets hurt, I'm suddenly the bad guy. Thanks, Amity Park. Real nice."

His best friends shared a look, but had nothing positive to say about that. Thankfully the teacher took that moment to turn around and sigh loudly. The students noticed his change in focus, but were too slow to pretend they were listening.

"Look, I know pre-calculus isn't the biggest thing on your mind right now, but can we all just focus for ten more minutes before the bell?" Mr. Denzberger asked, exasperated. They could easily see how tired the teacher looked.

The students couldn't do anything but nod.

When the bell finally rang to signal the end of 7th period, every student raced to get to their lockers before the mandatory pick up by their parents. Danny, Sam, and Tucker walked slowly to theirs.

"Did you find anything, Tuck?" Danny asked, taking the notebook from him as they dodged running students.

"Not much," the techno geek answered. "Whoever took them removed the batteries and the sim cards from their phones. I figured since none of their cells had been found then I might be able to track them, but this guy really knows what he's doing."

"Either that or they're in the Ghost Zone somewhere," Sam reminded. The two boys stared at her. "What? It's not like I think a ghost did it, but we shouldn't leave out the possibility."

Danny groaned as he used his intangibility to reach through his locker, knowing everyone in the hallway was distracted enough. "I checked with everyone and no one knew any ghost that would want to kidnap humans," he snapped, pulling out his books. "I believe their words were 'ew, who would want to keep one of those?'"

Tucker laughed at Danny's imitation of his ghost enemies. "At least that crosses off a lot of suspects."

"But it just opens the door to all the others!" Danny cried, slamming his locker shut. "Specifically the human ones."

The Trio, finished with their lockers, walked out the front door to their waiting parents. "It'll be easier for you to take down a human," Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, but harder to find, though," Tucker observed, wincing when Sam punched him in the arm. "Hey!"

Danny smiled at their antics, taking a deep breath. "I'll talk to Jazz tonight," he said, tone a tad lighter than before. "If anyone knows the psychology of criminals, it's her. Want to meet up around nine?"

Tucker and Sam grinned. "Nasty Burger?"

"Nasty Burger."

A loud, booming voice, followed by a crash and a car alarm, suddenly shouted, "DANNY-BOY! Over here!"

Obviously, Jack Fenton couldn't read the somber mood that overwhelmed the teenagers of Casper High, but surprisingly more than a handful of them were thankful for it. All conversations about the missing kids were cut off when Jack accidently pressed his foot on the peddle and slammed into a light post in his excitement. "Hey! DANNY! JAZZY-PANTS! WE'RE HERE TO PICK YOU UP!"

The students waiting for their parents broke into laughter, thankful for the tension-breaking action. Danny, embarrassed and making sure to keep his head down, quickly followed his sister to their family RV. Greatly amused, his friends waved goodbye.

Jazz frowned at her mom in the passenger seat. "I thought you were going to drive?"

Maddie smiled at her daughter. "Oh, but sweetie, you know how your father loves to help you kids."

Danny and Jazz groaned as they buckled up in the backseat. "Why is mom so weak to Dad's smile?" Danny asked, rolling his eyes.

"Honestly, their love would be cute if it wasn't so gross," Jazz said.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o

It was almost 8:30 when the two siblings finally stopped their research. Jazz had shared thousands of notes on criminal psychology with her little brother- who had to be woken up several times and told to pay attention- before Danny gave up.

"Jazz, none of this will help me find him," he complained, falling backwards dramatically to sprawl across his floor.

The female bit her lip and was silent far too long for Danny's liking. Disturbed, Danny slowly raised himself to his elbows. "You don't think I'm going to find him, do you?"

Jazz loved her little brother, and she would gladly admit to being extremely overprotective of him, but even she had to consider all the possibilities. "Danny, they're taking teenagers," she said.

"And?"

"You're a teenager."

Danny's eyebrows raised as he flung himself forward to face Jazz. "Wait, you think I'm going to get kidnapped?" he whispered, horrified. "Jazz, I'm half ghost, there's absolutely no way someone would be able to get me, and I highly doubt this guy is going to be concerned about making things ghost proof."

"I get that, Danny, I really do, but there are a lot of ways to make sure someone can't fight back," she explained, handing him a list.

Danny quickly read through it. "Hostages? Drugs? Sleeping gas?" He lowered the paper. "Seriously, Jazz?"

Jazz rolled her eyes. Why must fourteen-year-olds be so difficult? "I know, but I just want you to be prepared, okay?"

"Fine," Danny said, waving her off. "I'll be careful." He looked at the time and quickly dove for his cellphone.

"Crap! I have to go meet Sam and Tuck," he yelled over his shoulder. Ignoring the other occupant in his room, he raced for the door before stopping just outside. "Uh, you're fine with cleaning up, right?"

Jazz smiled fondly. "Go."

"I have the best sister ever," Danny shouted as he raced down the stairs.

"And don't you forget it!"

o.O.o.O.o.O.o

"Actually, Jazz might be on to something here," Tucker commented in between bites.

The minute Danny arrived, the group moved to a secluded corner near the back and shared their theories. Although Danny could hardly remember all the psychological information Jazz shoved at him, he remembered enough to explain her thoughts.

Sam gave Tucker a disgusted look as some of the Nasty Sauce spilled over his chin. "Would you please stop acting like an animal," she snapped.

Tucker grinned through his meat-covered teeth. "Come on, Sam. Who doesn't love animals?"

Ignoring Sam's obvious distaste for meat and Tucker's eating habits, Danny asked Tucker, "You think we might get kidnapped?"

Thankfully Tucker swallowed before he spoke again. "I mean, she has a point. Teenagers are the ones disappearing, but that's not what I meant," he explained. "You even said so yourself, finding this guy could be impossible if he's human, so what if you got captured on purpose?"

Sam glared at him. "I cannot believe you just suggested our best friend should try to get kidnapped."

"No, actually that's a pretty good idea," Danny said, smiling as he thought it over. "If he's human, then I can just fight him off once he takes me, find the other kids, and fly out safe and sound. It's perfect!"

"And what if he's not human?" Sam asked, hands on her hips. "And secret identity, remember?"

"That's true also, dude," Tucker commented, shoving fries into his mouth in between words. "If this is a ghost, then he probably knows who you are and would have ghost proof stuff to prevent you from escaping; and if this is some human guy, you kind of need to worry about the whole Halfa thing."

"This guy could also just be using this as a distraction to get to you," Sam brought up, quietly stealing one of Tucker's fries. Both boys saw her crime but decided not to mention it. "Maybe he's got a bigger plan going on and wants you to focus on this instead."

Not a second after she spoke, the Nasty Burger doors were thrown open. Normally hungry teenagers don't realize their own strength and tend to make a scene as they enter the restaurant, but when Star raced inside with tears running down her face, people payed attention.

Through her choked sobs, she screamed, "I can't find Paulina!"

Sam and Tucker turned to Danny at the sight of bright green in the corner of their eyes.

"If this ghost is using my classmates to bait me," Danny growled angrily amongst the panic, eyes glowing a toxic green, "then he's certainly got my attention."

o.O.o.O.o.O.o

A/N: Has anyone read "And Then There Were None?" I love that book/movie.

I still can't give too much away until the plot thickens. Hope everyone likes it so far! The beginning is relaxed, but the pace picks up pretty quickly soon.