Compromise
Danny followed the roar of the motorcycle engine with a scowl on his face, the slight ghostly echo it had giving his irritation that extra oomph. It was a Saturday morning, almost 6am, and for some reason, Johnny was riding around and causing mayhem like it was still Friday night.
He didn't really mind when the biker came to visit, but the screams and property damage sustained thus far has passed the threshold of 'tolerable' for Danny.
So now, time for Johnny to go home.
Danny hovers far above him, watching him prop his bike up in front of a run-down diner on the outskirts of Amity. It wasn't unusual for ghosts to crave human food, and Johnny usually had some amount of cash on him (where he got that, Danny wasn't sure) so instead of flying in as Phantom and kicking him out in the literal sense, he makes his way to the back of the building and transforms back into human form.
"Might as well get some breakfast while I'm here." He mumbles. "Johnny better have good taste in restaurants."
Danny walks through the front entrance with tired eyes and scans the place, finding Johnny sitting in a corner booth on the far end of the dining area. The rest of the patrons give a cursory glance at the door chime, but quickly go back to their own conversations upon seeing an unfamiliar face.
"Hey there kid, how you doin'?"
Danny's eyes shift to the short-statured woman in front of him. She wipes her hands on her olive-green apron and pushes back the incredibly curly hair that's managed to evade her headband.
Danny smiles at her, although the woman looked to be almost 60 years old, her manicured nails, bright auburn hair, and warm smile made her seem much younger than she appeared. "You want to sit at the bar? Or would you like a table?"
"I have a friend here, do you mind if I go sit at his table?" Danny nods to Johnny in the back, and the woman stands on her toes to see over the privacy walls of the other booths.
"No problem hun! Doesn't seem like he's been helped yet, so I'll send a waitress yer' way." She reaches beneath the cashier's counter to pull out two big, beat up menus. She briefly runs a rag over them before handing them over. "Meanwhile, you can take a look at what we got. Special today is corn beef hash."
Danny takes the menus and nods a thanks, swerving between tables and people to get over to Johnny. For how early it was, it was surprisingly busy.
The biker perks up once he finally notices Danny's ghostly presence, smiling as the ghost boy makes his way to the table.
"Hey sweets, never seen you working here. New in town?"
"Ha ha." Danny deadpans, taking the seat across from him and handing Johnny a menu. "No, I'm just making sure you're not destroying another billboard."
Johnny cringes for a second. "Oooh. You saw that?"
Danny rolls his eyes. "Well, when your best friend has access to the city's security footage, word gets around." He pauses, opening the menu. "What are you doing here, anyway? These guys got good pancakes?"
Johnny nods, leaning back in the booth and taking a look around. "Nah- well, yeah, the food is good. Trucker diners have some of the best food in the country, but I mostly come here to talk to the cute waitress when Kitty's got me down. Cheers me up, you know?"
Danny raises an eyebrow. "You mean the wrinkly lady at the front? I'm pretty sure she's older than my mom, if that's who you're talking about."
Johnny points a finger at Danny before opening his own menu. "Hey, don't shit-talk Deanne. But, no, there's another one. Pretty sure the place only has three waitresses." He rests his chin in his hand and runs his eyes across the dining room. "Think she's in the back or taking an order on the other half of the place, the big one's taking a smoke break."
Danny looks around the room again, taking note of the number of customers. It seemed like way too many for 3 waitresses to handle, but he's not an expert. He sees Deanne tending to the bar patrons, laughing with them.
"So, you're not going to destroy this place with your pet?" He asks.
"No." He stresses, and rolls his eyes. "Shadow's out by the bike. The only people he's going to bother are the kids that like to tip over all the rides in the front, but hey, the little shits deserve it anyways."
His eyes glance over to the kitchen door, where a brunette emerges holding 5 plates of food.
"And that's her. Only pretty girl in the place."
Danny tears his eyes from his menu to observe the waitress Johnny mentioned. A young brunette (she had to only be about Danny's age, 16 or 17) with mid-length, wavy hair, her bangs pulled back onto the top of her head in a small clip, smiles at the customers as she hands them their food. She looks around the rest of the dining room, taking note of any patrons she hasn't attended to yet, including Danny and Johnny. She smiles and waves at them before heading over to take the order of an older couple that came in before them.
"Alright, she's noticed us."
"Are you sure she likes to be bothered when she's working like this? And, man, she's like my age. Isn't that a little creepy?"
Johnny scoffs. "First of all, I died when I was 21, I'm not that old. Second of all, I've got Kitty. I'm not looking to snag her, I just like chatting with this one." He shrugs. "I give her a good tip, so she probably doesn't mind it."
Danny raises a skeptical eyebrow. "Uh huh, just like how you talk to all those girls I find on your bike."
"They only get on my bike if they're 18, man."
"Um, Jazz was 17?"
"That was to get Kitty back! Special circumstances."
"Whatever. Just please don't kidnap this girl. Do you even know her name?"
"Good morning Johnny!" The two ghosts jump as the young waitress steps beside them, looking rather flustered. "Sorry about the wait, can I get your drink orders quick?"
Johnny smiles at her. "No problem sugar. I'll just have a black coffee."
Danny flips the pages of the menu, searching for the drink section (to no avail). "Uhh… a Pepsi?"
"Um, we have Coke, is that okay?" She scribbles down Johnny's order.
"Yeah, sorry. Coke is fine!"
The waitress nods and wanders off to get their drinks, and Danny gives Johnny a look.
"Sugar? Do you have a pet name for all of your interests?"
"What? It's like, a term of endearment or... whatever. And I told you, she's not an interest. I know you won't understand since you're still a kid who doesn't have any sort of girlfriend, but-"
"Yeah, well at least I don't have a girlfriend that kicks me out of my own place."
"You little-"
"Okay! One Coke and one black coffee." The waitress returns with their drinks and sets them in front of them. "You boys ready to order?"
They both nod and go about getting their food, Johnny's aggressive demeanor flipping like a switch. While they're ordering, Danny decides to take a closer look at this girl. Dark brown hair, average height, tan skin. Her cheeks are dusted in enough pink that he can tell she's wearing makeup, but not enough to be impractical or distracting. She wears a regular grey t-shirt tucked into her apron, large, round, wire glasses, and a pair of dark blue jeans and Converse. Her smile while she works seems genuine, but the bags under her eyes that are all too similar to his and Valerie's tell Danny she probably works many a long night.
She seemed to be… not really Johnny's type. Almost exactly opposite to Kitty, anyway.
The contrast of her singsong laugh paired with Johnny's rough cackle pulls Danny out of his thoughts.
"Lori's on break, so I can't chat right now, but once she gets back I can take mine and pop over for a sec, is that okay?"
"Sure, sure, sugar, we'll be here. Go ahead and do whatever you need to do."
She nods and smiles wider, already walking off. "Thanks! I'll put your order in, then."
Danny and Johnny watch as she walks away before reaching for their drinks.
"Speaking of Kitty, " He takes a sip of his Coke. "What'd you do this time? As far as I can tell, you've been here since at least yesterday. Usually you'd be back in the Zone by now."
Johnny leans back in the booth, taking a long drink of his coffee. "Man, I dunno. Honestly, I didn't do anything this time. She's been acting real weird, hanging around with Spectra and the other girls. I'm just gonna… give her some space, I guess. Let her cool off."
Danny really didn't buy the 'I didn't do anything' bit, but he figured if Johnny didn't know, there wasn't much he was going to be able to get out of him.
"Well, I can't have you causing more mayhem, so I'd still prefer it if you went back. Do you honestly think your shadow will be able to survive another day without causing more damage?"
"Listen, kid, I know you don't get it because you've never had a fling before, but when a girl needs her space, she needs her space." Johnny raises his hands up and shrugs. "So I ain't going back there until I hear that Kitty's all good."
"So," Danny points his paper straw across the table. "Instead of talking to your girlfriend like an adult, you're going to flirt with random girls over here." He pops his straw back into his drink, stirring it and rolling his eyes. "Great advice, I'll take note of it."
They bicker for a while longer while they wait for their food, Danny doing his best to get Johnny to head back to the Zone after breakfast and Johnny doing his best to tell Danny to mind his own business. It only stops once the waitress returns carrying a large plate of pancakes and something in what looks like a black cast iron pan.
"Alright, a cocoa short stack and an All American skillet with a side of hashbrowns." She carefully sets the plates down on the table. "You guys need any ketchup or extra syrup?"
"You mind getting me a cup of applesauce, sugar?" Johnny asks. The waitress rolls her eyes.
"I keep telling you that's for potato pancakes, Johnny. But yes you can." She points at Danny. "Just don't give your friend any ideas that this is normal around here."
She looks at Danny and briefly goes wide-eyed. "Oh, and I'm sorry, I don't think I've introduced myself due to how busy this place is." She places a hand on her chest. "My name's Rose. Useful to know if you want to let Dee know how great of a waitress I am." She winks, and Danny laughs.
"I'm Danny. I was um, in the area and I saw Johnny's bike, so I came in for some breakfast."
A bell from the kitchen rings, and Rose turns to leave.
"I'll snatch my break as soon as I can, in the meantime, enjoy the meal!"
They both say their thanks and begin to dig in, Danny being pretty surprised about how decent the food really was. Maybe he'd have to give small joints like this a better chance more often.
They eat in silence, enjoying the food enough to relax and slip into a people-watching trance. Both of them could clearly hear every conversation going on in the place, so they lazily eavesdropped on the other diners (which mostly consisted of scruffy truck drivers or older folk).
Another benefit to eating at small places like this, he didn't have to worry about anyone recognizing him as 'the Fenton kid'.
Danny pulls the melted paper straw out of his drink and puts it on his napkin, leaning back to pause a moment during his meal and think of ways he can convince Johnny to just scram. He takes a long drink of his Coke and hears the door chimes ring, turning to the side to see a tall, portly woman walk in. Sporting a green apron around her waist like the other two waitresses, he assumes that this is the Lori that's been mentioned previously.
Rose comes out of the kitchen holding a plate and chats with Lori for a second, handing her order pad over. She points to the back table where Johnny and Danny sit, and then weaves through the tables to reach them. Both Johnny and Danny slide down the booth some to give her space, the older of which flashing a quick scowl to the younger.
Rose voices her thanks, choosing to sit next to Danny, which definitely doesn't cause the ghost boy to smirk across the table. Johnny strains a smile anyways.
"Ugh, finally got that break. Lori should be able to handle the rest of the early-bird rush before the after-church crowd comes in." She piles her eggs on top of her toast and takes a large bite.
"Well, at least you'll get hella tips." Johnny laughs.
She nods, laughing some, before taking a glance at Danny beside her. She swallows and points between the two of them.
"So, how do you two know each other? No offence, but you don't really look like you'd hang around much."
Danny looks at Johnny, unsure of what to say, not wanting to mess up whatever he's told the girl previously. (Why is he covering for him?)
Johnny grabs the glass bottle of ketchup and smacks it on its side over the rest of his meal. "We work together in town. Known each other for about two years now, we get along well enough, I guess."
Danny suppresses a scoff, but notices the girl's eyes scrutinize him. He shrinks a tad under her gaze.
"Well…" she turns back to her food. "I'm glad you can have someone to eat with. The girls sometimes pity you for sitting alone, you know."
Danny releases a steady breath, happy that she fell for the lie, or at least didn't try to pry. Johnny laughs loud enough to disturb the whole diner, causing the other ghost to jump.
"They don't gotta pity me for nothin', sugar. Who comes to breakfast to socialize?" He shakes his head. "I come for good food and some time to myself. I'll go to a party if I gotta spend time with friends."
Rose giggles. "You know, some people think it's embarrassing to eat alone."
Johnny rolls his eyes. "Those people just don't have the confidence." He holds his arms out to his sides. "Look at me, I glow confidence."
She nods, salting her food. "Yeah yeah, you totally do. It's blinding." She nudges Danny and snickers. "I can't believe you have to deal with him on a daily basis. I barely can and he only stops by once a week or so."
The banter continues, it's mostly Rose and Johnny talking throughout the rest of their meal while Danny occasionally cuts in with a snarky comment. They talk about recent developments, she talks about school, the news, and jobs, and Johnny talks about his 'friends' and places he's visited recently.
"Gosh Johnny, you're pretty lucky to be able to take your bike and go literally anywhere. Just… wow." Rose looks off listfully. "One day I'll be able to get out of this shi- um... place, and go wherever I feel like. I might have to ask you for advice on getting a bike." She pauses, thinking, and smirks. "Although something a little more… sleek."
"Oh? Sugar's getting herself a ride? Looks like I have managed to rub off on you." Johnny leans forward with a sly grin.
She waves him off dismissively, pushing up her glasses. "Nothing like your archaic hunk. I was thinking of a cheaper Kawasaki or Suzuki I can spruce up a bit. Something small with good handling, easy to maintain."
"Hey, my bike may not be the popular thing these days, but she's reliable."
"Well, there's something to be said for consistency, I'll give you that."
She looks off through the dining room and sighs. Danny can feel… something emanating from her, some lonely, forlorn emotion. He looks to Johnny, and… he can't tell if the other ghost was able to feel it across the table, but he's probably picked up on something.
His eyes look back down onto the table.
"Sorry boys, I better head to the kitchen to help do dishes." She stands from the booth and pulls their receipt out of her apron pocket, setting it in front of them face-down. She picks up the ghosts' finished plates. "I'll… see you later, Johnny. And you," she looks at Danny and smiles, but it doesn't seem to reach her eyes. "Don't be a stranger, alright? This place can always use more friendly faces."
Johnny nods and waves her off. "See ya, sugar." He says quietly.
As they both quietly make to leave, the younger picks up the receipt and checks its total. Johnny puts a $10 on the table, and although the tip's almost 50% of their total, Danny leaves it be, covering the meal and taking a moment to say goodbye to Deanne.
When they get outside, Johnny immediately heads for his bike, and Danny can see the small stretch of shadow that meets him a few feet closer than it should.
"So," Danny says, "you come here every week? To see that girl?"
Johnny nods, and, sensing more questions from the younger ghost, he sighs. "More like twice a week, maybe three times depending how I feel." He looks through the windows of the diner, at his notable lack of a reflection.
(Danny realizes that the booth they were sitting in was one without a window)
"Hey, kid, you mind letting me stay a little longer? We can head someplace quiet and chat, cause I can tell you've got questions."
Danny hesitates, looking at his shoes. "You don't have to tell me, you know."
"Yeah, well…" he shrugs. "It'll get you off my back, and… it's good to talk sometimes." He throws a leg over his bike, scratching at his head. "At least, that's what your sister always told me."
Danny considers this, because yes, he was curious, and he was also concerned about his relationship to this girl. He trusted Johnny, but only to an extent. He's still the guy that basically kidnapped his sister.
And hey, if getting information helped Johnny? A bonus.
"I'll follow you." He says.
TTTTTTTTT
Johnny parks his bike at the edge of a long gravel road within a thick patch of forest, a human Danny becoming visible next to him only a few seconds later.
"Glad you can keep up, kid."
Danny laughs. "I've chased down your bike enough to be used to it." A pause. "I- um, saw you send shadow off."
Johnny nods, leaning against his bike. "Told him to go back to the zone, see how Kitty's feeling. He won't cause any trouble."
"Ah."
Danny stands beside the bike silently, hearing the gravel crunch beneath his shoes. Gods, it's only 7am and he's already met his quota of awkward silences for the next week.
Johnny huffs, clearly irritated. "Well?"
"Uh, really? You just want me to… fire away?" He rubs the back of his neck.
"Wasn't that the whole point? It's gonna bug both of us if we don't say something, dweeb."
"Well then why don't you explain?"
"I-" Johnny stutters, breaking eye contact. He crosses his arms and leans back against his bike. "It's easier to have you ask."
Damn childish- "Fine. Let me…" Danny sighs, pausing to think.
Alright, screw it.
"What's your relationship to that girl? Exactly. No lies."
He hears Johnny suck in a quick breath, and then exhale, long and drawn out.
"You're not going to believe it."
"I'm literally half dead. Try me."
He looks Danny dead in the eyes. "She's- she's my daughter."
She's… what?
"You're gonna have to run that by me again buddy, and with more detail."
Johnny sighs and kicks some gravel. "I don't know… that much. I didn't remember anything when I died. All I knew is I had my bike, and I was in the Zone."
Danny nods. "That's- that's how most ghosts form, which explains my confusion. Nobody really remembers their life."
"Yeah well, I just had this… crazy strong need to go back. I knew I had lost something, it was just a matter of finding it. Eventually, I got out of the Zone through a natural portal and got drawn back to where I died. A short enough amount of time has passed that there were still flowers on the bridge, along with a barely readable note with a name of one of my old friends. Pretended to be human, a disguise, a little bit of digging, and I figured out my name, my family, my life, everything I lost."
"But…" He hesitates. "but I didn't actually remember it. That was the worst part."
Danny looked perplexed. "You blended in that well so early?" It took him months to get any semblance of how his powers worked, and he was a half-ghost (well, he had a human 'shell' to hide behind, point is, it should have been easier for him). His ghost half was practically leaking out of him through any crack it could find, and Johnny could do it just… out of the blue?
Johnny shrugs. "Think it was part of my… obsession or something. Wanted my old life back, so I got the powers to do it." He holds out his hand and pulses his aura from nothing to almost blinding, before dimming it to a dull haze.
"I-" Even after the explanation, Danny was still confused. "But wouldn't she recognize you? Or, or wouldn't that be a big risk of her mom, who I assume knew you, to find out?"
Johnny shakes his head. "I died when she was pretty little, and her mother, I think her name was Jeanette, apparently kicked the bucket right before I found them. Sugar was in the system in Chicago, then."
Danny slightly questions the callousness towards the girl's mom, but doesn't voice it. "So… you've been watching over her?"
He nods again. "Basically, but I can't usually stay for long, melting and all that. I managed to pull a few strings in the background to get her moved to a foster home closer to my natural portals, but I didn't directly speak to her or anything. Just made sure she was alright." Johnny looks towards Danny, raising up his hands in defense again. "I didn't hurt them or anything, just overshadowed them to change some paperwork."
Danny waves him off, he didn't really care about that. He'd be a hypocrite, since he hangs out with Vlad who's done… much worse, he assumes. "But now you talk to her? At the diner?"
"Ahh- yeah…" he scratches his head. "I… just really wanted to talk to her, and I knew she was having a bad time. She was a little hell-raiser as a kid, got that from me, so she bounced around some pretty shitty homes for a while." He chuckles. "She's... Okay now, and a good kid overall. Just needs… someone to talk to and some help, sometimes."
Danny looks at Johnny with a face subtlety contorted in a mixture of fading confusion, sadness, and understanding. He worries his bottom lip silently, trying to take note of the hope, the fondness in his voice. Focus on the positive.
But it was all too easy to sympathize. Feeling lost, feeling disconnected from your family, alone, confused, wishing, just wishing for a chance to go back, take it all back.
Return to normal.
Except, Danny could go back. Have a semblance of normal. He didn't have to hover over his family to figure out if they were okay, he didn't have to hide, pretend he was a stranger just to talk with them. Didn't have to watch years of their lives fly by without him. Sometimes it felt that way, yeah, but Johnny…
Johnny lived it.
Johnny's rough voice cuts through the noise in Danny's brain- was he getting choked up?
"Thanks for letting me stay, kid. It… helps. Getting to see her."
He absentmindedly wonders if Johnny can detect the mishmash of emotions rolling off Danny's shoulders. He was half human, it wouldn't be far-fetched for the other ghost to be able to feel them.
Danny rolls his eyes, but wears a warm smile, trying to lighten the mood. "Kind of a… necessary compromise. You know I don't care if you hang out as long as I don't have to clean up your messes, and you'd throw a fit if I sucked you into a thermos."
Johnny laughs, and it's relieving. The strain in his voice is lifted. "Man, can you blame me? That thing sucks and you know it."
They lean against the bike, laughing.
It was… kind of nice, to spend time with someone like this. Someone that you had a mutual understanding with.
"Are you…" Danny hesitates. "Are you gonna be okay?" He asks, barely above a whisper. He looks up at him.
He sees Johnny's lips turn up in a small smile.
"I have been, and I will be." He sighs. "This is enough, for me."
A pause.
"More than enough." He corrects himself.
