Danny shook his head, raising a hand to his temple, confused. "My...conscience?" he said tentatively. "I thought your conscience was a little voice in the back of your head and reminded you what was right and wrong, not to interrupt a kid while he's walking home from school." He let out a bit of a shiver, pulling his arms close, clutching his shoulders. Winter's definitely coming, he thought as a little puff of mist appeared in the cool air from his mouth.
Brianne was even more surprise when she could hear his thoughts. Whoa...she thought, eyes wide. Frowning, she again tried to break free from the mental prison, but couldn't. She sighed and slumped down behind his brain. "Well YOU were the one who asked," she retorted. "Maybe if you kept your eyes in front of you instead of on the concrete, you'd notice more than that dirt spot on your sneakers."
She could almost feel the anger swelling in him. It was kind of scary to experience. Everything his mind interpreted, saw, and thought, she could feel, too. It's like I'm tapped into his mind, she thought, careful not to say anything out loud yet.
Without a word's reply, Danny let out a bit of a huff, walking again, if not a bit brisker now. Brianne smiled and whispered, "You can't escape me Danny. I'm inside you. I'm part of you."
"Then shut it," the raven-haired boy said flatly, shifting the weight of his backpack again. "Can you at least just wait until we--I-- get home? I'm getting weird looks, talking to myself," he snapped, glancing warily at a mother and child who walked by, hand-in-hand. Brianne shrugged.
"As you wish, Daniel." It was hard being formal, and Brianne prayed silently that she wouldn't need to for very long.
When Danny got home, he sighed and slumped his shoulder, letting the purple bag fall off him with ease. "I'm home," he called into the house, waiting for a response. He frowned, not hearing anything. He shook his head, walking into the kitchen. He felt┘nostalgic for some reason, and he couldn't place it. Little did he know that he was as tapped into Brianne's emotions right now as Brianne was with his own.
Danny glanced around the kitchen. Jazz was sitting at the table, nose practically buried into her Physics book. Again, he felt an odd, nostalgic feeling, only this time it was accompanied by a sadness and bliss that confused the snot out of him. Brianne was staring out his eyes avidly, a sad grin crossing her features as she looked at her old friend. She desperately wished for a moment that she could get out, to go talk to her, as if they were still in third grade. But alas, even if she could go fully intangible now, Clockwork had forbid her to go near Jasmine.
Ignoring the strange emotion, Danny went to the refrigerator, opening it up and hoping to find an apple or something. Just something small to snack on. Lunch hadn't been all that great today. "Where's Mom and Dad?" he asked Jazz as he pulled open one of the fridge drawers.
"I don't know," Jazz replied distractedly, scribbling down a few equations from her notes. "Something about ghosts." Danny repressed a chuckle. Typical, he thought, emerging from the fridge with a crisp red apple in hand. He walked away from it, shutting it with a light kick from his foot.
"Well, if you need me, I'll be upstairs," he said, taking a big, crunching bite out of the apple.
"Okay..." Jazz muttered, pulling out her calculator and going back to her homework.
Danny sighed deeply as he opened the door to his room, shutting it lazily and flopping onto his bed. He lay there, his blue eyes scanning all the things decorating his room, half of it NASA items. Spaceship models, posters, it was a room that didn't seem to fit in with the rest of his family, and he liked that. Because honestly, he didn't think he fit in his family that well sometimes either. How two ghost hunters give birth to a genius, ghost-skeptic, psychologist-in-the-making daughter and a NASA-obsessed, C-average student of a son was beyond him.
"You really like NASA, don't you?" Brianne's voice echoed in Danny's mind. Danny nodded a bit, not really thinking about it before answering.
"Yeah, I have since I was little..." He paused, looking down at his own shoes again. His eyes were only half-open now and he looked like he was asking the wall a question. "Are you really my...'conscience'?" he asked quietly.
Brianne hesitated, biting her lip. Danny felt that moment's hesitation, but then it cleared and he felt certain as her voice said , "Yeah. I am."
"But I thought your conscience was your OWN voice in the back of your head. No offense, but you sound like a girl."
"I AM a girl!" Brianne snapped. "And don't assume so much! I'm your conscience, and I admit I've been on a bit of a break. You've made some cruddy decisions in the past few years, and I'm sorry I wasn't there to talk you away from them. I never said I was the best," she shrugged.
"Whatever," Danny yawned, stretching his arms behind him as he felt himself drifting off. He took one last bite of the apple, then chucked it half-heartedly at the trash can in the corner of his room. A satisfying thunk let him know he hit his target as his eyes shut. "As long as I know I'm not going crazy..."
No, you're not Danny, but I may go crazy yet! I'm claustrophobic! She thought with a sigh. She looked down at him, sleeping and smiled, shutting her own eyes for now. A little nap couldn't hurt, right? She just wished at that moment that it wasn't so cramped in there.
