A/N: Well, you may have already seen the AO3 update, but here it is on FFN! Are you guys enjoying the chapters, so far? Everything is clear as mud, but don't worry, this next chapter will be a blast! It's okay if it doesn't make sense. It reads like there's a few loose pages, but you'll get the full picture, soon. Maybe you'll be able to see what I mean. If you do, I hope you don't feel any...


Timely Woes

"I dunno, I guess he's not totally bad. I mean, he doesn't want to hurt people." Danny shrugged as he walked along side his two friends. Sure, the new kid was hiding something, but that didn't mean he was evil. Everyone around them was talking to their own friends, making plans for after school, since it had just ended.

Tucker punched his shoulder lightly with a bright smile, "That's the spirit, Danny! Well, um, not like ghost spirit, but, uh, you know what I mean." As they passed one of the hall windows, Danny looked out, a wide grin crossing his face at seeing the rain splattering against the windows.

Sam saw his reaction and, shaking her head, sighed, "Danny, no, last time you did it you nearly broke your arm."

Not caring what his friend had to say, Danny got a running start, towards the doors of the school entrance, whooping out as he ran. He laughed at the dual groans from his friends as they followed after him.

Outside, Andrew grumbled as he hurriedly set his journal down to rearrange the things in his messenger back. Thankfully, he had set it down on the banister of the stairs outside, so it wouldn't get too wet. Better than putting it on the ground, at least. And the rain was starting to let up a bit. It had been absolutely pouring last period. When he heard a loud call of "GERONIMO," he looked up with confusion.

Danny jumped up onto the banister, feet solid underneath him as he slid down. In a moment, he had thrown his bag off to land safely in the grass. With no more banister to slide on, he hopped off, doing a spin as he landed. Taking a quick glance at his bag, he sighed with relief that it hadn't ended up in a mud puddle. With his electronic goggles in there, it wouldn't have ended well. "NO!" At the shout that had so much pain in it, he turned towards the source.

Andrew felt his heart sink to his feet as he stared. All his hard work. His memories, his hopes. He gingerly picked up the muddied leather book, and flipped to a page he knew by heart. He felt a lump in his throat grow as he looked down at the once white page. Mud was splattered all across, browning the brilliant white smiles of the photograph. His brother's bleached blonde hair was brown, his mother's white shirt was ruined, and his father... He looked through each page, but not one was left untouched. Mud managed to get on each page, making the pages entirely unusable. His writing for years, the happiness of his memories. They were all destroyed.

Danny stepped closer, rubbing the back of his neck. It looked like there was mud all over the book. "Wow, Andrew. I… I am really sorry. I didn't see it there."

Andrew nearly glared up at the boy. Nearly. But no, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the hunter's backpack. Well, if he had to have a book destroyed, so did this boy. In one quick motion, he had picked up the backpack nearby, and thrown it into a nearby mud puddle. He smirked viciously at the horror-struck expression he saw, the pain that was in the younger's eyes that he was sure reflected his own. "Whoops. My bad," he said, no apology whatsoever in his tone. He turned on his heel, picking up his backpack, and went towards the small white car waiting for him. There was nothing that kept him here.

Danny watched as thick black smoke slowly began to rise from the backpack. His eyes widened, and he tugged on Sam and Tucker's shirts, diving towards the ground. "GET DOWN!" Not five seconds later did the backpack explode into a small ball of orange and red, which was immediately put out by the rain, and his papers came fluttering down, being pelted by the rain. He slowly got up, and looked back to the disaster that was his backpack. He fell to his knees, ripping it open and rummaging through it until he pulled out a blackened, sparking pair of goggles. He stared, unsure what else to do with the scorched, dysfunctional invention. He was going to show them to his parents, after school today. Now what did he do?

Andrew turned away completely, smirk growing. Good. That good-for-nothing had been hurt by loss just as much as he had. That made revenge so much sweeter. He climbed into the passenger seat without saying a word. His mother gave a tired smile, "Andrew, dear, how was sch- Andrew? Dear, are you okay?" She turned towards her son fully, worry showing.

He scrubbed at his eyes stubbornly, ignoring the small sniffs he gave out, "Yes, mother, I'm fine." He looked back at the ghost hunter, who was clutching the ruined goggles closely. They had both lost something precious.

A seven-year-old Andrew looked up at his mother curiously as she handed him a large leatherbound book. He flipped it open, but was greeted by blank pages upon blank pages. Looking back up at her, his mother gave him a smile. "It's for you to write in, mon petite. But you have to promise to only write your most precious thoughts in it, yes?" He nodded, looking back down at the journal in his hands with a grin. He would write about things that made him happy. Or times he was happy. A great way to remember things.

"Danny? What's that?"

A 12 year old Danny grinned up at his sister, before looking back down at the blue paper he wrote on. "It's the blueprint for my first invention! They're goggles like mom and dad's, but you can see ghost signatures!"

"Alright, you sure you don't need any help?" his sister asked with a smile.

He quickly shook his head, sticking his lip out and pouting at the mere thought, "No, I gotta do it myself! Then mom and dad will see I'm an awesome ghost hunter like them. They'll see. I'll be great, someday... Yeah..."

Memories of the past.

Dreams of the future.

Both kept close.

Both destroyed.


So? You liked? Those last four lines may be familiar to those of you who read From the Beginning by my wonderful twin, 1337kitsune. If you haven't, I very much recommend the story. Remember to leave a review, cause they make me smile! Alright, have a nice time. Until the next update! Kasena, signing out!