Bonds That Transcend Time 4
Chapter 4
Thank you to all the people who reviewed my work so far. I don't really care if only three or four people do it as long as someone enjoys reading my work. So I personally thank anyone who reviewed my work. I started writing fanfiction to improve my grammar and spelling and I've officially achieved my goal. Now I'm just doing it because it's fun. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It was kind of a bore to write
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Danny woke up feeling extremely comfortable for some reason. He opened his eyes to a very surprising sight. Here he was sleeping while Vlad embraced him. A blush made its way to his face but he decided he wouldn't pull away. He didn't feel like waking up the older teen anyway.
Vlad felt something stir underneath him. He had been dreaming about Danny. They had gone out for a night of fun and games.
"Vlad," Danny wheezed from underneath the older teen.
"Huh!" Vlad groaned jolting up. He found his bearings after a few seconds only to realise that it was Danny underneath him. Both teens blushed a deep crimson before quickly moving away from each other.
"We should probably go down for breakfast," Vlad mumbled.
"Yeah," Danny agreed awkwardly.
That's when the arguments began...
"You do realise you're going to be eating something that is absolutely going to do your body no good at all," the halfa deadpanned.
"But I love toast with Nutella!" Jason whined.
"Yes but that doesn't change the fact that it isn't nutritious at all. At least use whole grain bread," Danny scolded before his attention went to Esther "and put some fruits in that cereal or you won't get your fibre for the day."
Esther frowned and nudged Vlad. "Why'd you have to bring such a bossy ghost to the house?"
"He's not usually like this unless it comes to food," Vlad chuckled as he bit his apple. Danny looked at Vlad and nodded in approval. The halfa was currently looking at the disastrous breakfast in front of him. Danny wondered if he should wake up three hours early everyday just to make sure this chaotic family ate properly.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Mr Masters asked the ghost boy. Danny blinked and frowned.
"Well I actually don't need to eat more than one meal a day hence why that one meal has to be nutritious. Plus breakfast is when you need your energy," Danny explained.
The older man decided to keep his mouth shut and let Phantom yap away his orders. He decided this house needed someone who cared about their health since they had no mother to do it for them.
Danny sighed in resignation. No one but Vlad and Mr Masters bothered to have something relatively healthy. Danny had learnt the hard way that his body wouldn't function without the right nutrition every morning to fuel his ghost battles. A new found fire entered his eyes as Danny thought of all the glorious meals he would make with the spare time he had.
"You going to school?"
"Yes, and I suggest you don't speak to me when I leave the house," Vlad replied. Danny frowned with annoyance. He hated the fact that he had to hide himself but if he was going to do that then why not just make the most of it?
"Fine then," Danny huffed before flying away.
The ghost boy was not at all happy with how things played out. His secret was just exposed to Vlad's family after a day- he had expected to last at least a year! He couldn't argue that it would make life, or in his case, afterlife easier. Still he fought down the irritation and went to school like he had said he would.
The day went by with mundane studying and chatter both for Danny and Vlad. It was still a bit weird for the ghost boy to hide in a class room to learn. He was used to being the centre of attention during most of the lectures. There were people dorkier than him but somehow he was labelled by the class to be worthless. The nerds were smart, the jocks were handsome and sporty, the popular's were rich and good looking- but here he was a boyish faced child, very under-average, and with no redeeming qualities. And you wonder why he was bullied.
"Danny, I'm sorry about this morning," Vlad sighed.
"What do you mean? You aren't really sorry are you?" Danny replied a bit peeved as he flew in the direction of his new home. He had no clue why he took what Vlad said to heart but he did and that's the only thing he could think of at this point of time.
"Look I just didn't want people to look at me weirdly. I don't like attention," Vlad tried explaining.
Danny just raised a brow at that statement. Vlad not liking attention? What was the older teen saying? He loved attention more than anything. Deciding that he couldn't hold a grudge he decided to concede with that point.
"You're forgiven- but remember that ghosts have feelings too," Danny replied slightly irritated.
"Geeze you're like a whining girl-friend," Vlad remarked perplexed.
"And you're like an over-bearing child," Danny retorted.
"And you two act like a married couple," Esther butted in as she opened the door for the two stooges.
The three walked in chatting about what had happened that day. It seemed Danny had ended up making Vlad's life interesting in the end. The older teen paused as he remembered something he had read earlier. A haunting feeling rose in his chest but he pushed it back down and displayed his usual suave.
"What's wrong Vlad?" Danny asked as he noticed the sudden uneasy expression on his friend's face.
Vlad spun around a little too quickly as he was broken from his thoughts. He didn't mean to seem uneasy but sometimes it was hard to hide how you felt. Quickly putting on a half-hearted smile he tried to reassure that nothing was wrong.
"So where are you with Algebra?" he asked suddenly changing the topic.
"It's actually coming out pretty well… hey wait don't change the topic! You're hiding something from me. What is it?"
Vlad bit his lips and looked away. He didn't realise how attached he had become to the ghost but now he was regretting it. He hadn't made friends because he was afraid this would happen… just like it did with his mother. He was afraid they would leave his life. Family was one thing but a friend was someone you chose to accept and Vlad wasn't ready to lose another.
"Promise you won't laugh at me," he finally sighed as he looked Danny solemnly in the eyes.
"Ok…" Danny replied unsurely. The look on Vlad's face didn't seem pleasant.
"I've found a place where you could find that natural portal you were talking about," he finally admitted.
Joy rose in Danny's chest as he remembered his way back home. He could see his family again, his friends, and even Mr Lancer, although Danny would never say that out loud. Suddenly the joy died down as he remembered who else he would also see.
Vlad Plasmius.
This friendly encounter with Vlad would most likely be replaced with the one of hate and constant fighting. This wouldn't be the kind hearted best-friend but instead a man who hated his family and felt nothing but jealousy and hate. It just wouldn't be the same.
"What is it? Don't you want to go?" Vlad asked trying to be hopeful that Danny would say yes and stay.
"What are you talking about? I definitely want to go," Danny laughed nervously trying to hide his uneasy emotions. Although he had made friends with Vlad he knew his family was waiting for him back where he was meant to be. This shouldn't have even happened but he didn't regret it one bit.
"Oh…" Vlad mumbled a bit crestfallen. He had hoped Danny would have said no and decided to stay here with him. He had been told by the boy that once he went in there he would never see him again. Vlad didn't quite like the idea but he had to let go if he truly loved Danny.
"But it looks like I'll be staying here another day or two," Danny quickly added with a cheeky grin. Vlad looked up in surprise before his face melded into a very similar smile to his best friend's.
Yes he could call Danny his best friend.
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Danny quickly tired of school. It was hard enough having to do it when it was expected of you and you had no way around it… but doing it for the sake of doing it was a whole new level. Sure he wasn't bullied this time around but that was mainly because he didn't exist according to the other students. Vlad was in final year and in a few weeks he would be having his tests and then his holidays. He didn't have time for the ghost boy and both knew it. Still Vlad was trying his best to spend as much time with Danny before he left.
"I bet you school will never change… even the cafeteria food," Danny mumbled to Vlad as he poked the sludge that wasn't worthy to be deemed edible.
"I hope it doesn't. All the new students should go through the pain and suffering I have been through," Vlad growled as he let the stress of the past few days overcome him.
"Wow Vlad, no need to get your panties in a knot," Danny laughed before he muttered; "Vlad must've cursed us. Probably why future schools are still the same."
"What about the future?" the frustrated teen asked, with a raised eyebrow.
"N-Nothing," Danny said quickly before he heard some giggles. Both teens turned around and saw a group of girls laughing.
"He's talking to himself"
"It's probably all that studying considering the insane marks he got"
"Isn't that Vlad? Doesn't his name sound kind of like a vampires?"
Danny was about to possess those girls out of anger when Vlad gave a glare at him… well where he thought he was anyway, considering Danny was currently invisible. Still it annoyed Danny that he couldn't just go out and protect Vlad. If Danny was one thing he was loyal to a friend.
"Don't talk about somebody like that," a blond girl reprimanded. Vlad suddenly turned red and decided to make a hasty retreat. Danny gawked at the scene unfolding in front of him. He hadn't seen this Star look alike before but he swore Vlad just blushed. Vlad never blushed; even for Maddie.
Danny followed invisibly behind his friend and found him behind the building looking highly flustered. If the ghost hadn't found himself in the past he would have thought he was dreaming.
"Who was that?" Danny snickered as he gave Vlad a sly grin.
"N-No one!" Vlad spluttered furiously.
"If I wasn't mistaken, I'd say that she was your crush," the halfa snickered as he took joy in watching Vlad squirm instead of him for once.
Vlad was about to retort when he saw the same blond girl running towards him holding a tray. She panted a bit as she laughed and held out a platter of cafeteria food. Vlad simply blinked in shock as he wondered if he was dreaming.
"You forgot your food," she wheezed as Vlad took the tray slowly. She couldn't help but notice Vlad's incredulous stare as he looked wide eyed at her. "Cat got your tongue?" she asked confused at the behaviour.
"N-no… I-I," Vlad spluttered trying to find the words to no avail.
Danny watched on barely hiding his laughter at first, but now it was just too painful to watch. He hadn't expected the future playboy billionaire, to have had lived a childhood afraid to talk to his infatuations. He decided to relieve the poor man of his torture and took control of his body.
"Thank you," Danny said politely as he took the tray. "It was kind of you to stick up for me. I was having such a hard time studying I just started ranting my problems to myself. It helps relieve the stress," Danny lied professionally.
The blond giggled as Danny sheepishly rubbed the back of his head in habit. He couldn't believe he possessed Vlad to help him get a date.
"Well I'm glad that I helped. I think I should be heading back now," she said politely.
"Wait, I need to repay the favour… How about I take you out for some burgers? It's only fair that I give you some help too," Danny asked confidently trying to use Vlad's natural good looks to his advantage. He noticed it worked when the blond smiled and blushed slightly at the thought.
"There's no need," she replied suddenly shy.
"I insist. Plus it'll sure beat cafeteria food," Danny insisted trying to keep the same distance so as to not frighten her into thinking he wanted her for her looks.
"O-Ok… I'll meet you today at 5pm," she nodded before she waved her goodbye and hastily retreated.
Danny watched her leave in amusement before he took himself out of Vlad's body. Vlad looked as red as a tomato.
"I didn't take you for the shy guy," Danny snorted with mirth.
"Y-You asked her out!"
"Yeah, you like her don't you?" Danny asked back with a twinkle in his eyes.
Vlad's initial anger receded before it turned to one of shock. He hadn't managed to ask Catherine out since his elementary days. He was never the kind to have different infatuations. Once he chose someone, no matter how hard to obtain, he would love them for a long time. That however didn't help the fact that he was too scared to ask her out, let alone have a decent chat.
"I didn't take you to be someone who's scared to talk to women," Danny poked as he snickered in amusement. Watching Vlad become flustered was so much fun. No wonder why future Vlad did it often to him. Danny had a new found sympathy to having Tucker poke at him and Sam.
As his thoughts moved to his future friends, Danny realised his predicament. He looked at the flustered Vlad sadly as he remembered the fact that he would have to leave. Clockwork would undoubtedly erase any memory of him being here. It hurt him to realise that and it also felt good to know he would have his friends back.
"I'm going to die tonight," Vlad whined in a very un-Vlad like way.
Danny chuckled at his friend's predicament. "At least you have a chance now. I'll have to help you though," the halfa said with a sage like nod as he looked Vlad over.
"Danny you're creeping me out," Vlad mumbled as he suddenly felt self-conscious at his friend's scrutinising looks.
The bell suddenly rung marking the end of lunch and Vlad was grateful that he could focus on something he could maintain a semblance of dignity with; study.
"We'll talk about the date after school," Danny quickly said with a glint in his eye before he turned invisible.
Vlad sighed… This was not going to be good
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"Nope, try this on," Danny said chucking a dark green shirt and some light blue jeans Vlad's way.
Esther giggled as she helped Vlad prepare some clothes. Jason was always of on some date or another but Vlad never managed to find one. She couldn't be prouder of her little brother.
Danny however was having a hard time figuring out what to get Vlad to wear. He didn't know what the late 70's fashion was like but he had a general idea. Honestly if he wore these kinds of clothes in the future it would be a miracle if he wasn't bullied, but this wasn't the future. He tried getting Vlad as many bright colours as possible without making it scream retard.
"Why can't I just go in my normal clothes?" Vlad asked with a small whine.
"Vlad do you want Catherine to get turned off?" Danny asked dryly.
"I suppose not… but my clothes don't look ugly," he defended.
"They don't but when it's a date if you wear something you usually do you won't make your partner feel special. Trust me on this Vlad. I dated a girl once and I wore my normal clothes only to be punched in the face and left in the dirt," Danny shuddered as he remembered his first date with Sam. She hadn't been particularly happy about that but he made it up to her after a while.
"Now why don't you tuck that in and try this belt on?" Esther suggested as she picked up more clothing.
Vlad groaned… This wasn't going to be good
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Danny watched silently as he flew behind his best friend. For some reason he was sure he felt more nervous than Vlad was. Vlad had called and picked a pizza restaurant that didn't scream cheap or posh. It was right in the middle which Danny considered perfect for a get-to-know-each other-date.
Suddenly he turned around to see Catherine come up a bit hastily like she didn't want to miss a second of her date. Danny smiled as he realised that the two probably had it in for each other without even knowing. Good thing he took over Vlad's body when he did.
"H-hello Catherine," Vlad stumbled as he looked everywhere but at her.
"Please just call me Cath," she offered just as awkwardly.
Danny looked at the two and face palmed. He hadn't seen anyone act so awkwardly. He didn't have that problem with Sam as far as he remembered so he flew down beside Vlad and decided to give him advice.
"Invite her in. Quickly," Danny urged as he whispered loudly in Vlad's ears.
Vlad suddenly jolted and decided to follow his best-friend's instructions. "How a-about we go in?" he offered as he led her into the restaurant.
The two sat down as normally as they could before the waiter came and gave them the menu. Vlad quickly opened it up happy to have something to look at that didn't make him turn crimson red.
"Ask her what she wants," Danny whispered after he rolled his eyes.
"What do you plan on ordering?" he asked following Danny's orders without question. He was so grateful right now that Danny could turn invisible or he would've still been fumbling outside making a fool of himself.
"Hmm… I'm a big fan of sea food," she admitted.
"What about a prawn and chorizo pizza?" Vlad offered having a great taste in food… although he could barely make anything edible.
"That sounds nice. So what are you ordering?" she asked back.
"I'm not a fan of meat so I'll just go with vegetarian," Vlad said smiling fondly at her. Somehow it didn't feel so hard to talk to her anymore. She wasn't as distant as she seemed now that he talked to her. Of course her vibrant hazel eyes and her perfectly messy blond hair that added to his earlier nervousness, meant very little now. He decided that when he got behind the fact that she was pretty, (sorry beautiful) that she was just as easy to talk to as anyone else. Feeling a new found confidence Vlad decided to push forward the conversation to something other than pizza.
"So are you going to major in the visual arts field in university?" Vlad asked remembering back to everything he knew so far about his secret crush.
"Yes, and you want to be a dentist, don't you?" she asked back with a knowing smirk.
It's was Vlad's turn to be surprised. He had hardly told many people about that but somehow Catherine had picked up on it.
"That was my dream up until a year or so ago," he admitted feeling slightly embarrassed.
"What do you want to be now?" she asked.
"I don't know… that's probably why I'm studying so hard right now. If I get the best marks I can be anything," the teen answered truthfully as he was reminded of his predicament.
Danny watched with a small smile at the suddenly normal interaction. The two had gotten over their initial awkwardness and started up a civil conversation. It made him feel happy to see Vlad finally getting the attention of another girl. He didn't care if he messed up time itself with what he was doing. It would be worth it if Vlad finally found the love he craved for all those years in the future. This time Danny was just glad it wasn't with his future, or in this case, present mother.
After a while of chit chat Danny was becoming bored. Vlad seemed to have it all under control and all this pizza was making him a bit jealous. It seemed a bit unfair that he didn't get to eat it… although it is unhealthy…
Danny looked around the red little restaurant with a bit of nervousness. This place reminded him of the nasty burger in so many ways. It wasn't the level of richness that was the same, you could argue this was a much richer firm, but the people. Everyone was chatting idly and it reminded him of the times when Tucker and Sam were with him. Even if he did end up going to the future would he be able to do this again? He was having a hard enough time maintaining his human form for more than an hour or so. How would he live with his parents like this? He might as well just proclaim he became a ghost.
"This is bad," Danny mumbled as he quickly snitched a piece of meat-lovers from some randoms plate before making his way outside to eat it.
Making his way out Danny transformed into a human and started munching on the pizza to cheer himself up. It wasn't often now that he could maintain his human form but when he did he made sure he enjoyed the senses he once took for granted.
"You look a bit lonely for someone in a park. Are you new around these parts?"
Danny turned around and saw a face he didn't think he would see. Those features…
"Harriet Chin," she introduced as she held out her hand. Danny tried to control his shock but he didn't think he could. Dumbfounded, he reached out and shook.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," she chuckled.
"G-ghost? I've never seen a ghost in my life!" Danny blurted out before he realised he might've been acting weird. He sighed and ran a hand through his raven hair. "I'm sorry, you reminded me of someone I knew," he apologised trying to regain his composure.
Harriet raised a brow at the random outburst but decided to leave it be. "So are you knew here," she asked again.
"Yeah, I'm visiting family here for a while," Danny lied.
"Oh that's cool. We hardly get new people here but it's cool when we do. Do you want me to show you around?" she asked.
"That would be awesome," Danny replied in a daze. He couldn't believe this was happening. Harriet may have been older than him but he didn't think she would take interest in him like this all of a sudden. Somehow he knew it wasn't because she liked what she saw.
Harriet wondered the same thing Danny was. She had initially turned around to see a boy who felt eerily familiar. She couldn't place where exactly she had met him but she felt compelled to find out.
Danny gulped… this wasn't going to be comfortable
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Vlad had began to relax even more in Catherine's presence. He hadn't felt so at ease with anybody else. She didn't find it weird that he wanted to be a dentist; she didn't mind the fact that he was an obsessed packers fan; and most of all he felt like there was no reason to be someone else for her. He was so relaxed, in fact, that he didn't notice Danny leaving.
"I can't believe you told of your own dad," she laughed.
"Have you seen the way that man eats? He can eat a whole cow in a day. It's a wonder our stock hasn't already been reduced to a pile of bones in a dumpster," Vlad snorted as an image of his dad eating way too much crossed his mind.
"Well you could say my dad's the same," Cath laughed as she silently challenged Vlad.
"Oh really?" Vlad retorted accepting the untold challenge.
"Yeah, my dad managed to eat 6 large pizzas all in one meal," she smirked.
"No," Vlad muttered utterly shocked.
"Yes. And they were stuffed crusts too," she added with a victorious smile.
There was a short silence before the two of them starting laughing. Once the two got themselves together Vlad couldn't help but notice how beautiful Catherine was. Unknown to him she was thinking around the same lines. There was calm warmth that glowed brightly in the two as they stared at each other.
"We should do this again," she suggested with a smile.
"I still need to give you some cafeteria food remember?" Vlad joked before he paid for the food.
The two walked outside in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence. Both had small smiles on their faces and both quietly thought back to all of the things they had talked of together. Vlad decided it was about time he let out those bottled thoughts.
"Cath"
Said blond turned to look at him. "Vlad," she acknowledged.
"Do you remember back in grade 6 when you beat up those bullies who were calling me a vampire?"
"Yeah, you were such a fragile thing back then," she giggled.
"Ever since that day I modelled my strength after yours. I wanted to be as brave and strong as you were and I pushed those bullies away because of you," Vlad reminisced.
Catherine was taken back. She had difficulty remembering those days but she remembered the sudden change in Vlad's behaviour before he became a recluse. She noticed the looks he gave her but she didn't have the courage to talk to him other than when she saw people picking on him. Much to her displeasure she didn't know how to communicate her thoughts and make friends like most other people.
"You became brave… I saw you push those bullies away," she smiled before a frown graced her face. "But you never made any friends," she added sadly. Not even with me she thought.
"My mother died shortly after that," Vlad whispered loud enough to be heard. Catherine gasped as she tried to get a good look at Vlad's face. She had expected him to be crying but instead he had smiled the most genuine smile she had ever seen.
"She died happy because I found my strength. You were the one that helped me find that strength. You were the one that made my mother happy," he whispered as he hugged her.
Catherine found herself melting in his embrace. She didn't know such words could make her feel so joyous. She wished this moment would've lasted forever. Sadly every good thing, or in this case a hug, had to come to an end.
Vlad laughed… this was a good day.
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I positively, absolutely, loved writing this chapter! I let my imagination run so wild it ended up like a romance novel. Did you like the VladxCath relationship? I didn't know whether I should've made a canon character like Harriet fall in love with him. I just don't want to make it seem like the only person in Vlad's life were the ones aired in Canon.
I still wanted to introduce Canon characters though so I ended up putting Harriet in the middle of it. It wasn't initially planned but it's actually pretty cool. Danny will be meeting a lot more cameos in the future before he goes to the Ghost Zone. But getting to Clockwork will definitely NOT be the end of the story. I can promise you that much. Hope you like it so far XD
R & R please!
Curry-llama out~