Chapter 2
2 Years Later
Danny muttered darkly to himself, choosing to walk to school instead of fly. He needed the fresh air and time to sort through his thoughts. The break up with Sam was quick, but not quite as painless as he had hoped. It had only been a few days and he already missed her company. Though they were still friends, there was just an off feeling between them. And all because of some stupid argument they had over her being in danger. He shook his head as the school came into view. Whatever.
He barely gave a glance at the lists posted in the hallway, only paying enough attention to find his name. His eyes fell on it soon enough, but out of reflex, they shot down the list to see where Sam and Tucker were, and froze a second after. Something like a cold flame stirred in his stomach, and quickly forgetting about his friends, he shot down the hall and up the stairs. A few minutes later, he stood in the back of the classroom, and inwardly, he always wondered why he always got the same homeroom every year. But that wasn't important right now.
He scanned the room, looking for the telltale sign of her presence, but after a minute or so, gave up. "She must not be here yet," He grumbled softly, walking toward his usual desk. He hadn't noticed before but someone else was sitting there. Not in the mood to beat around the bush, he reached out and touched their shoulder. "Would you mind ponying up that seat? It's the only thing I've had for 4 years straight here."
Without looking up, the person nodded and stood, keeping their gaze down as they stood and moved their items to the seat behind. It was a girl, almost his height, with shoulder length dark curls, a bang falling over her eyes. She was wearing a rich gold top and black jean skirt, with matching flip flops. She wasn't wearing any make up as far as he could tell, except for a bit of lip gloss, and she wore simple topaz studs with a matching necklace. What caught his eyes the most were the teal irises under the bangs, that lifted to meet his own after a moment. Realization struck. "Valerie?"
She seemed to be as surprised as he was, and a friendly smile broke out on her face. "Danny? Look who grew up!" Unable to resist, a cheesy grin broke out and he half shrugged, setting his back pack down. "Well ya know, ghost fighting does have its advantages." He made a muscle, which couldn't even be seen under the jean jacket he wore. She grinned and shook her head, sliding into her seat. "Sit down silly; you're drawing attention to us."
The grin only grew wider as he did as he was told, turned so he could talk to her without breaking his neck in the process. "And what about you? I'm honestly surprised you're not as buff as I am." The smile fell off of his face as it did hers, before she smiled again, though it seemed different. "I don't hunt ghosts anymore, Danny."