I know Vlad doesn't have his PhD. He didn't even manage his MS degree before the accident stole that from him too. But who's gonna tell him no? Besides, how many people know what commencement regalia really means?
This chapter is rated K+ for implications.
-00000-
His graduation photos were going to be an embarrassment.
Danny knew this as he stood in his cap and gown, the rest of his classmates towering over him. Tucker was tall enough to use Danny's head as an armrest and he took advantage of that fact by doing it as often as possible. Sam had filled out in all sorts of interesting places. But Danny hadn't grown. He hadn't changed since entering high school.
Not since the accident.
He sighed as he looked up and down the line of high school seniors on the cusp of adulthood. Curved women wearing heels and pearls, dolled up for the graduation ceremony. Broad-shouldered men standing straight and proud that they'd made it this far. Even Dash was proud of himself and somehow even more huge than he used to be.
A hand clapped onto his shoulder. "Cheer up, Danny."
Danny turned then looked up to see his friend Tucker. The technogeek had grown tall and lanky over past two years. His voice had changed as well, falling down the abyss of puberty into something deep and reverberating. It took time but he was finally able to grow into the sad attempts at seduction he'd abandoned back in freshman year.
Danny shrugged. In his classes it didn't seem so bad. There were always freshmen in the halls so he never felt small. But here in a graduation gown that had to be altered so it didn't drag on the floor, in a hat held around his head with safety pins, a tassel that hung down far enough to tickle his nose...
He hadn't grown up. Four years and he hadn't changed a bit.
-00000-
Danny felt like a little kid as he walked across the stage to receive his diploma. It didn't matter that Mr. Lancer leaned in to whisper "I knew you could do it" while beaming at him. All he noticed was how the man had to bend down to make a good scene for the photographer. The applause of the families in the audience seemed hollow in his ears as his name was called and he was sent back to the field to sit with the rest of his class.
His feet barely touched the grass. There was no reason for all these chairs to be so big. No reason other than they fit everyone else.
But he wasn't everyone else. He was Danny Phantom the ghost boy. Ghost child. Like Peter Pan, never to grow up.
A familiar voice drew him from his musings. He looked up at the speaker before realizing he could ignore the speech. It was just Vlad going on some lecture about power and grasping destiny and never taking 'no' for an answer, not even from fate herself.
Danny sighed in boredom. They were seated alphabetically so he was stuck between some red-headed guy named Finnegan and a blond girl named Dyson. He picked at the hem of one of his sleeves.
Thankfully it ended. Parents armed with flowers and cameras flooded the field. Danny stood on his chair to try and see over the sea of heads. No, even that wasn't enough. He floated above the field.
"Quite a nice commencement ceremony," came a voice from behind him. Danny turned around to see Vlad leaning on his cane in the aisle. The black robe with velvet bars seemed to fit his demeanor particularly well as did the science-gold hood draped down his back. "I particularly enjoyed shooting the beach ball your classmates had introduced during my speech. It made a rather satisfying pop, don't you think?"
"I preferred when they 'boo'ed you at the beginning," Danny said. The snark was missing as he looked around for the expected big ball of orange. Surely his dad shouldn't be this hard to find...
"Although I thought there was supposed to be security at this event," Vlad mused. "They must not have been doing their jobs. How else did so many airhorns get in? You could hardly hear half the names over the shrieking."
"I was surprised by the lack of ectoweapons," Danny mused, sparing Vlad an annoyed glare. "Given you were the speaker."
"There's a reason I had my presence here kept a secret," Vlad said. "And a reason your friend Valerie was thoroughly searched before allowed to take her place in line. It's a good thing her father has her well-occupied on the other end of the field."
Danny followed Vlad's gesture. There she was being doted on by her father. She was taller than him now, and built. Her black hair was cut short and had been allowed to curl naturally before being twisted into rows. It was just the two of them as he draped a flower lei around her neck and kept hugging her. Danny's heart ached a bit when he felt the wind whip around him, almost stealing his cap. He couldn't find his own parents. Where were they? He'd seen his father's giant orange jumpsuit in the crowd, hadn't he?
"It hurts, doesn't it," Vlad purred. "They've changed. All your friends have grown up but you haven't."
Danny glared at Vlad.
"It doesn't have to be this way," he offered. "Even ghosts grow and change. If the conditions are right."
Danny dropped onto the chair. He gave Vlad a long look as the man smirked and left. Danny was about to follow him when a pair of black-gloved hands lifted him off the chair and enveloped him in a bright orange hug.