A/N: Hey guys! sorry for the long wait... Teachers are trying to cram everything in before break plus I have auditions for school and work... Check the A/N at the end for some info about the story. If you have any questions please PM me and I will be glad to answer them!
The three sat down in a suffocating silence. Danny was dreading what would come next. It was always the same. They would ask where he was and he would say he couldn't tell them. Depending on their mood, they would either be angry and ground him, or get him to talk, which he obviously wouldn't do, and he would be grounded anyway. He would always feel guilty for not telling them and he would always regret not telling them when it first happened. He was tired of this same routine but he didn't trust his parent yet. He couldn't tell them. They would try to keep him from what he was doing and he couldn't let that happen. Or they would do the complete opposite and hate him. They wouldn't accept him and try to catch him to do test after test and rip him apart molecule by molecule. There was too high a risk that one of them would happen. He couldn't take that risk, the stakes were too high. He couldn't tell them. Not yet.
"Danny, hun, please open up to us. I don't know what you're hiding but it's not good for you. It used to be just coming home late, and then missing for the day. Now you went missing for a week. And, on top of that, you're pulling Sam and Tucker into it too. Please Danny, let us help."
Danny just kept looking at his hands, his long black hair covering his face and the tears he was trying to hold in. He saw the look on his mother's eyes. He was hurting them. He knew his mother was right too. He was pulling Sam and Tucker into it. That wasn't his choice though. They wouldn't leave no matter how much he begged them to. He saw their faces though, they were exhausted. He couldn't keep letting himself do that to them. He needed to do something about it. He couldn't keep letting them suffer because of him. He wasn't that selfish.
"You're not going to tell us are you?" Jack asked with a sign.
Danny just shook his head no. He didn't trust his voice yet. Tears still pricked at his eyes.
"Well, we don't know what to do for a punishment anymore. We can't ground you because you don't follow it. So what we are going to do is not ground you but check in on you constantly by calling you every half hour. We have already cleared it with the school. We will also be getting a record of all the times you skip class or 'go to the bathroom'. We are going to try to stop whatever you have gotten yourself into." Maddie said in her authoritatively.
Danny looked up at his parents in fear.
"You can't do that. What happens if I don't answer?"
"We will come look for you. You're not getting out of this Daniel. We have no other choice."
Danny just sighed. He had no idea how he would get out of this one.
"Can I go?" He asked. He needed to go see Tucker and Sam and find out how they made out with their parents. They also needed to come up with a plan to deal with this new situation.
"Yeah, make sure you have your phone on, though you should be going to bed. We will be checking on you in a little bit."
"Great." Danny mumbled as he walked up the stairs into his room. This is a problem. A big problem. Unfortunately, no sooner had he walked into his room, his ghost sense went off.
"Of course. I can't even get 15 minutes to follow the punishment. Nooooo let's get in trouble again right away." He growled as two rings appeared around his waist and he flew out his window as Phantom.
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He got down the block when he came face to face with Vlad.
"You? Really? What do you want now Plasmius? I don't have time and no you can't have my mother." Danny was so not in the mood.
"Ah, Daniel, I was just coming to check on up on you. I wanted to check on your healing and how you made out with your parents."
Danny stood floating with his arms crossed. "I'm fine. And I would be fine with my parents if 1. Val didn't shoot me in the first place and 2. If I wasn't out here with you when I should be in bed since my parents are going to be checking on me any minute now."
"I'll let you go then. And don't worry about the ghosts tonight. I want to help because I feel bad that she shot you. Let me handle the ghosts for you." Vlad said with a smirk.
Danny scoffed. He didn't believe it. "Please, you don't feel bad. You are happy about it on the inside. You don't have to lie to me. I know, I see the smirk."
"Oh Daniel, you are still a child, how could I expect you to understand?" Vlad shook his head. "I'm not all bad. I can be… civil and… assist those in need." He stuttered out the words he knew were far from the truth. "If you were smart, you would take the offer and get home before your parents look in your room and see it empty."
"Fine." Danny grumbled. He was not happy. "I'm smart enough to know this is a bad idea." He said to himself as he flew away. He just wanted to see how this would play out. He didn't trust Vlad at all but he knew if it came down to it, he would rather fight Vlad than his parents. Against his parents he was defenseless. He couldn't say anything or do anything without exposing himself. At least against Vlad he could fight and have a much better chance of winning. He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn't see Vlad's evil smile grow as the wheels spun in his head. Danny was nearing his window when he heard his parents climbing the stairs.
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"We should check on him." Jack said.
"Yah, I know. I just don't know what else to do. Something is up. There's clearly something he's not telling us. I could see it in his eyes. Whatever it is, it's killing him not to tell us. I can see the guilt eating away at him. Every time we have one of these talks, I see him almost open up like he's going to tell us. Then he closes back up and shuts down. We are so close to finding it out. Jack, he's asking for help. His silence is a plea. We need to do something. Don't you see the bruises and cuts he has every day. What could that be from? We can't let that keep going on. What if it gets worse? Then what? I mean keeping a close eye on him is the best way. Right?"
"I hope so. I guess we will see in time."
They both looked at each other and sighed. They were at a loss with what to do with their troubled son.
Danny flew to his bedroom as his parents were talking outside his door. He mentally smacked his forehead as he phased under his sheets and changed back. He pretended to be sleeping as his parents opened the door and peered in.
"Look at him. He's so peaceful when he's asleep."
"That's my boy. Maybe we are over thinking this Mads. Maybe it's just a rebellious stage. Maybe it's normal. We can't go by Jazz because her behavior wasn't exactly normal. Who knows maybe after a little bit of time, this will all go away."
"I hope." Maddie sighed as she Jack walked away. "But I know it's not." She whispered with one last glance at Danny before she shut the door and walked away.
A/N: I know this is shorter but I wanted to get something out to all those reading this. Thank you for the reviews and to all those who favorite or followed! The more I get the more motivated I am to keep writing. Also, I know this is slow, the next few chapters will be like this in order for me to set up the ending of the story. I don't think it's too bad though. Please check the pole on my profile page so I can tell where the story should go :) Thanks to all of you reading! I will try to make more time in my crazy chaotic schedule! Hopefully Christmas Break will give me some time! Bye for now!
