Chapter Two
"Danny?" Valerie's voice said. "Can you hear me?"
Danny lifted his heavy eye lids a crack. Everything was blurry. The haziness was giving him a headache. He blinked rapidly a few times and everything came into clearer view.
He was in his room, lying on his bed. Valerie was standing over him, worried look upon her face.
"Valerie?" Danny rasped as he tried to sit up.
Valerie quickly put a hand on his shoulder, making him fall back onto the mattress. "Take it easy, Danny," she said. "You've been through a lot."
Danny relaxed a bit, although he didn't know how he could. With everything that had happened, he was lucky to not have died from frustration. "Valerie, did you see-?"
"I saw what happened, yeah," Valerie said. "But you don't have to worry about that right now."
"No," Danny said. "I do."
Valerie paused, looking the worst Danny had ever seen her. Her hair was a mess. She had dark circles under her eyes. She looked tired. Even more tired than Danny. She sighed and then asked, "Danny, do you know what happened?"
Danny was silent. Of course he did. He knew more than anyone. Because he was the cause of it. But he couldn't tell Valerie that. Among his human enemies, Valerie was one of them. Danny Phantom had caused her dad to lose his job, leaving them in a financial pothole. And he hadn't meant to, either. But Valerie Gray wasn't about to let Danny Phantom fly another day without an attempt to obliterate him. If Danny Fenton told her that he was also Danny Phantom, how would she react?
"Yes," Danny said. "I know what happened."
Valerie's eyes were filled with sorrow. "Danny…" she whispered. "I'm sorry."
Danny just looked at her. Should I tell her? Danny wondered. She doesn't mind Danny Fenton, and if I explain to her that Danny Phantom didn't mean to do what he did, she might be okay with the whole thing.
Then again, he thought. Danny Phantom tried explaining before and she wasn't that forgiving.
"It's not your fault," he said, finally. "It's mine."
Valerie looked at him, confused, for a moment. But then up the stairs, Danny heard someone call, "Valerie!"
"Coming, dad!" Valerie leapt up and sprinted to the door. But before she walked out, she took one last, sad look at Danny. Then she turned and left.
Danny just sat there, lying on his bed, scraped and bruised and completely miserable. Apart from Valerie, who else did he have? No one. He was completely alone. And he knew what was going to happen next.
No, he thought. I promised them I wouldn't turn into that. And I won't…
I can't.