Guess who's procrastinating hardcore again?

Anyways, regardless of my work ethic, thank you for all the reviews! Also, whoever pointed out that my summary was not eye-catching at all, thank you! I'll be sure to fix that right away! I'll admit that I got lazy when I wrote the summary...


Chapter 8

It started snowing the closer they got to Oregon. By the time they crossed the Nevada-Oregon border, the snow reached past their knees. Most of the roads were clear, however, and if they weren't, Danny simply used his intangibility to get past the snow with minimal effort.

The entire way, Stan fretted. He switched between apprehensive and eager, worried and excited. He yelled loudly out of the window about how he wasn't scared, about how he wasn't nervous or anything, but then he would curl up in the seat and question his all of his life choices.

"Will he hate me? Will he still blame me for what happened ten years ago? What if he still doesn't like me? Oh man, what if he ever runs into my ex-wife–?!"

"Stan, I swear to god, if you keep questioning yourself, I'm going to go and dunk you into that lake over there," Danny snarled as they passed by a gloomy, foggy lake covered in snow and ice.

Stan shot Danny a confused glance, and asked, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing, just shuts you up," Danny retorted, and Stan scowled.

"Well, sorry, Casper, I'm just scared that my brother might not be happy to see me! Or that something might be wrong!" he yelled at the halfa, and Danny rolled his eyes.

"Look, whatever happens, happens," Danny told the conman bluntly. "This is your chance to get some closure. Because trust me on this, not having any closure whatsoever sucks."

Stan turned Danny's words over, contemplating them and mulling over it, just as Danny pulled onto a rocky, dirt road. Finally, he groaned and sank back into his seat. "You're right," he said wearily. "Who knows? This might be my chance to fix things between my brother and I."

"Glad to hear it," Danny said with a quick flash of a smile at Stan. "Because we're here."

"Wait, what?!" Stan yelped, hands scrabbling against the side of the car and the passenger seat. "Wait, wait, I'm not ready yet!"

"Too bad!" Danny said with a glint of mischief in his eye, and Stan's hands finally clutched at his seatbelt like his life depended on it.

They slowed down in front of a quaint, two-story cabin in the middle of the woods. However, snow piled on the rooftops, and there were icicles hanging everywhere around the porch. In fact, the entire house, despite looking fairly new, looked deserted or abandoned. The "No Trespassing" sign on the front door and the barrels of radioactive waste on the front porch were a nice touch, Danny thought sarcastically. The halfa turned his attention to the map sitting in his lap.

"Hmm, I'm pretty sure the address is right," Danny muttered, and tossed the map into the backseat. "The money I would give to still have a phone with GPS…" He stepped out of the car, and turned when an increasingly sweaty and paling Stan made no move to get out of the car. "Come on," Danny told the young man with a tentative smile. Then, his smile grew into something more determined. "If you don't come out, I'll make you come out."

Gulping, Stan hastily made his way out of the car. He really didn't want to risk Danny's threat – he'd already been subjected to being possessed, and forced to sing Christmas Carols in the middle of a busy mall plaza in July. Oh, the humiliation – it was enough to scar a man.

With no other choice, Stan stepped out of the car, and slowly, warily made his way to the front door. A friendly, cold hand clasped his shoulder briefly, but when Stan looked back, Danny's hand was at his side, like it had never left it.

"Alright, calm down, Stan," the conman muttered to himself. "You haven't seen your brother in ten years. It's okay, he's family. He won't bite."

And with a heavy swallow and shaking hands, Stanley knocked on the door.

Almost immediately, it was thrown open, and Stan opened his mouth, only to come face-to-face with a crossbow. With a shout, he ducked, and Danny sank into a defensive stance, half prepared to either go intangible, or throw up a shield at any moment.

"What do you want?!" a voice so similar to Stanley's, yet so different, bellowed aggressively, and both of them caught a hint of glinting glasses and rough, calloused, six-fingered hands. "Have you come to steal my eyes?!"

"Well, I can always count on you for a warm welcome," Stan groused dryly, covering his head.

There was a beat, and both Stan and Danny stayed perfectly still, eyes fixed on the glinting crossbow, before it slowly lowered.

"Did anyone follow you here, Stanley?" A figure appeared in the shadowy doorway, and Danny caught a glimpse of worn eyes, a face covered in stubble, and the slump of a man at his wit's end.

To Danny, Stanford looked just like his brother, nearly identical, if it weren't for minute differences that the halfa's sharp eyes picked out. Ford's jaw was a little slimmer, and not as scruffy as his brother's. However, while he didn't have as pronounced a frown as Stan did, he did have deeper stress lines and crow's feet lining his eyes. Not to mention that his hair was (mostly) trimmed and neat, whereas Stan's mullet was beginning to grate on Danny's nerves.

"You came?" Stanford spluttered out, as if he could scarcely believe that his twin would help him.

"Hello to you too, pal," Stanley grumbled, and Danny could detect a note of bitterness and worry as the conman took in his twin's appearance.

Danny shifted, as if to comfort Stan, but before he had the chance, he was staring down the length of a crossbow bolt.

"And who is this?!" Stanford demanded dangerously, and Danny straightened, his blue eyes as cold as the snow around them.

"Danny Fenton, Stanley's traveling companion and best friend," Danny said, holding out a hand, and resisted the urge to smirk when he saw the confused and slightly hurt look in Stanford's eyes. He knew that he had taken Stanford's place as Stanley's best friend, and hoped, just a little, that the man felt guilty about it. In Danny's opinion, siblings should stick together, through thick and thin. And Stanford had taken the easy way out, simply ignored his brother's problems. Danny knew that Jazz would never have done that. She would have fought and worked as hard as she could to get Danny back – and had done so.

And Danny would have done the same.

However, Stanford had ignored his brother's plight, and continued to reside at home – never trying to get in contact until his twin was needed.

"Stan, why is he here?" Stanford asked, narrowing his eyes, but he yelped when Stan shoved the crossbow away roughly.

"He's here because I want him to be," Stan argued, and gave Danny a slight smile. "I'd probably still be stuck in Mexico if it weren't for him."

Stanford hesitated, but to Stan's and Danny's relief, he set the crossbow aside. However, he then flashed a bright flashlight in each of their eyes, and both of them flinched.

"Hey, what's the meaning of this?" Stan demanded, batting his brother's hands aside with annoyance, and Stanford growled.

"Just making sure you weren't – never mind." He waved them both inside with renewed urgency. "Can't be too careful," he said ominously, manic eyes sweeping the clearing behind them, and stepped back from the doorway.

Stan muttered something deprecating under his breath, but walked inside. Quickly, Danny followed his friend.

And as soon as Danny's foot crossed over the threshold, something flared bright blue, and Danny collapsed.


(Makes spooky noises even though it's too late for Halloween) What's going to happen neeexxxttt...?

Review! I'm trying to hit a goal of ten reviews per chapter, so every little bit helps! :)

Posted and Edited: 12:13 PM, 11/2/2016