Notes: Wow, this took almost no time at all. Now this I've been waiting for – Danny meeting his parents. And the moments my fingers hit the keyboard I go totally blank and have no idea what to write. But it's okay. I have a plan.
Chapter Ten
Danny stood at the door of the Fentons' rather strange house. Tentatively he lifted his fist and knocked on the door, feeling unusually shy about meeting this girl. According to Sam she was pretty much the smartest girl in school. Also one of the most popular, prettiest and coolest girls. He couldn't help but feel slightly scared that she might treat him like a loser or be completely rude, like Dash or Paulina.
There was a few seconds of tense silence until finally the door opened and a red-haired girl peered out, scowling. Then her eyes rested on him.
"Whatever you're selling we're not interested," she snapped, then slammed the door shut.
Danny blinked, slightly stunned. He reached up to knock again and then hesitated. He blushed slightly before knocking again. The door opened so quickly he nearly fell back.
"I told you-" Danny cut her off quickly.
"I'm not a salesperson." She frowned, confused. "I'm Danny Masters. I'm here for the tutoring session." Her expression immediately changed and she looked down at her watch and then squeaked.
"Oops! Wait, um, come in. I'll be with you in a second." She left the door open and went racing up the stairs.
A red-haired woman appeared at the doorway of the kitchen, holding a tray of cookies.
She was wearing a blue jumpsuit. Her hair was straight and cute about chin-length. Danny couldn't help but think that she was very pretty, but slightly familiar. Her violet eyes studied him for a second, then she smiled at him in a motherly way.
"Come in! Jazz told me you were coming today for tutoring. What is she tutoring you for?" Closing the door behind him he followed her into the kitchen.
"Um…pretty much everything I'm guessing. I'm…not really that good at school," he stammered. "I fall asleep all the time." The woman sighed and shook her head.
"Kids these days. I bet you stay up all night partying with your friends," she said teasingly.
"Well…not exactly partying," Danny said nervously. If you could call fighting Skulker partying…
"Well, I'm sure you and Jazz will get along splendidly. Are you new here?" Maddie asked.
"I moved in a few months ago but this place is still pretty unfamiliar I guess," he admitted. She smiled.
"Well, maybe once you get to know Jazz she can show you around a little bit. Our Jazz knows her way around Amity Park. She's lived here since the day she was born," she said. He smiled at her politely. He couldn't help but like her; she was so friendly.
He still couldn't place her familiarity…
"Maddie! Look what I just made!" A large man opened the door to what Danny assumed was their basement. He was wearing a strange orange jumpsuit and holding a metal contraption but that wasn't why Danny was staring.
They were the ghost hunters!
Danny nearly puked right there and then. His stomach had already been acting up a little bit, what with being so nervous about coming here, but seeing the two ghost hunters would have been the last straw if he hadn't controlled himself.
"Who's this?" The man asked, pointing at Danny.
Danny almost died with relief. The woman hadn't recognized him and the man certainly didn't. He let out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. Then he looked at the man. He couldn't remember his name, though now he knew the woman was called Maddie.
"Jack, meet Danny. Danny, this is my husband, Jack," she said as Jazz came running down the stairs. "He's here for a tutoring session with Jazz." Jack looked excited.
"What your last name, Danny?" Jazz asked suddenly, holding a sheet of paper. "I'm tutoring two Danny's so I need to write that down."
"Masters. I'm Danny Masters," he said. Jack and Maddie looked thoughtful.
"Masters…sounds familiar…do I know your parents?" Jack asked.
As if my dad would ever know weirdo ghost hunters like you, Danny thought, not exactly cruelly. He was more amused at the thought that his dad, whose henchmen were pretty much all ghosts and/or wandering spirits, would be acquainted with these people who, at the sight of ghosts seemed to be incredibly enthusiastic about chasing them wildly with electric butterfly nets.
"My mom's dead, but my dad's called Vlad. Vlad Masters," he said casually. Jazz frowned.
"Isn't that the millionaire?" she asked. Danny nodded. Billionaire, he thought proudly, but didn't want to sound conceited. His thoughts were interrupted by a shriek.
"Vlad? Vlad Masters?" Maddie cried, looking excitedly at Jack. "He was our high school friend!" She was almost jumping with joy. Jack looked quite stunned too.
"Why, I haven't seen Vladdy in…years!" he said. Danny nearly snorted. Vladdy. He giggled inwardly at the thought of someone calling his stoic, uptight father Vladdy.
"You…uh…know him?"
"Know him? We were best friends! Of course, the poor boy vanished after that case of ecto-acne," Maddie sighed. Danny frowned. Ecto-acne. He remembered his father once mentioning it, but he had been slightly drunk and he had immediately looked shamed and ignored Danny's other questions.
"Do you like ghosts, Danny?" Jack asked suddenly. Danny cleared his throat. "Vlad liked ghosts. Or at least, ghost hunting. I have ghost-hunting weapons in the basement. Want to see?" He seemed very keen to show Danny the ghost weapons. Danny grimaced inwardly, but decided to do that. He needed to know what he would be up against if he ever met these people while they were ghost hunting. The last time he had been caught by surprise. He didn't want that to happen again.
"Dad! He has a tutoring session right now. Plus I don't need you guys showing him your stupid ghost-hunting weapons and thinking I'm a total weirdo," Jazz said huffily.
Danny guessed she probably thought herself mature but he couldn't help but be glad that he didn't have an older sister like her. (A/N: this cracked me up)
"It's fine! I kind of…want to see it," he said hurriedly. She rolled her eyes.
"Fine, but don't be long." Then she stormed up to her room. Danny followed Jack into the basement and found himself in a large room. There were metal contraptions strewn all over the place and he moved carefully as Jack ploughed through them – he didn't know what would happen if he accidentally activated one.
"My dad…uh…liked ghost hunting?"
"Yes! The three of us were partners. We went everywhere together! Vlad was always passionate about hunting ghosts." How ironic, Danny thought, thinking about Skulker and Technus and Ember and his father's cronies.
"Look at this, Danny!" Jack cried, shoving something into Danny's arms. "This is the Fenton Finder. This is how it works." He pointed it around the room. It was silent. Then he pointed it at Danny. It began beeping and screeching and shuddering until it exploded, making Danny jump back. Jack stared at it. "That's strange. It usually only does that with ghosts. Must be broken."
"Heheh. Yeah. Must be broken. I mean me, a ghost, how ridiculous," Danny laughed nervously. Jack chucked it to the side.
He began showing Danny the many devices that he stored in the lab. Danny noticed that most of them were just objects with the word 'Fenton' in front of them.
The others though, were real weapons that could be used against ghosts. The Fenton Specter Deflector, for example, was something Danny stayed away from. Once Jack had clasped it around his waist he'd said that any ghosts that came in direct contact with him would be repelled and weakened. Danny made sure to stay away from Jack until he had finally taken it off.
"What's this?" Danny asked, picking up what looked like a thermos.
"That is the Fenton Thermos, my boy," Jack said. His eyes glazed over slightly as he said that and smiled at Danny almost sadly. Danny shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. Jack took the thermos gently. "It traps ghosts inside it. Impossible to escape from unless opened. I don't know how to use it though."
"We have a ghost in our mansion in Wisconsin," Danny said suddenly. Jack perked up, looking excited.
"Really? A ghost? Have you seen it?" he asked eagerly. Danny nodded, glad that the strange look had been wiped off Jack's face.
"Yeah. It's a pretty dangerous ghost though. It…he…attacked me a few times," he said. He didn't mention that he had attacked him back or that Plasmius had nearly killed him, though Danny didn't want to admit it. He was getting tired of Tucker using the phrases 'beat the crap out of you' or 'kicked your white butt from here to Australia'.
"Well! We can't have that now, can we? Here," he said, handing Danny the thermos. "Keep it. If you figure out how to use it maybe it'll help protect you from this ghost of yours." Danny looked chuffed. He needed a weapon of some sorts. Plasmius was too strong, plus when he was fighting it would be good to give to Sam or to Tucker so they could defend themselves.
"Look at this!" Jack said. "A Fenton Xtractor. It'll extract a ghost from a human." He pointed it playfully at Danny. Danny stared at the machine, feeling slightly freaked out. If Jack turned the machine on, it would rip the ghost out of Danny. He wondered how that would feel – like he was being torn in half, maybe?
He was incredibly relieved when Jazz called out:
"Danny?" He walked up the stairs quickly, saying a quick goodbye to Jack who was fiddling with the Fenton Xtractor.
"Um…yeah! Sorry," he said, blushing slightly as he saw Jazz impatiently waiting at the top of the stairs. "I guess I got a bit…distracted." Her expression softened at his ashamed look and she led him to the dining room.
"We'll have the sessions here. My parents know to stay away so you won't be distracted," she said cheerfully. He had a feeling that she was a bit embarrassed by her parents. He could see it from her point of view. He was kind of glad that Vlad wasn't always flaunting his obsessions in front of people. He would have died if Vlad had started building weapons in order to capture the Packers. He nearly groaned at the sight of Vlad chasing them around hysterically with a lasso.
He spotted a picture on top of the fireplace and leaned forward curiously to get a better look. It was a picture of Jack, Maddie, Jazz and a little baby. They were all younger and Maddie was holding the baby whilst ignoring the camera. Jack was fiddling with a metal contraption and Jazz was sulking, glaring at something beyond the camera's view.
"You have a brother or sister?" Danny asked. Jazz froze, then slowly turned around. She obviously hadn't realized that he had moved away from her. She headed towards him, reaching out for the picture. She stopped, then her hand dropped and she looked slightly lost for words. Danny realized that he had touched on a sensitive subject but he was too curious to take back his question.
"I have a brother…somewhere," she muttered. Danny looked confused. "He disappeared after about three months. He was obviously kidnapped but we don't know who did it. We don't know how the intruder got into the house but they didn't take any money or anything like that. He just came in, ripped out my parents' hearts and stole way into the night." Her voice was bitter. Danny blushed again.
"I'm…sorry…"
"It's okay. I never knew him. I mean, I've always wondered what it would have been like if…well, you know. But it's been a long time and I guess even though it's still painful, we've all accepted it and moved on," she said smoothly, her face slightly pale.
"How long has it been?" He wondered if a person was truly ever able to cope with the loss of a child. It sounded agonizing.
"I'm guessing he'd be about your age by now. Maybe younger or older. Just think, if he hadn't been taken away you might have met him, maybe even been friends with him. It's not impossible," she said, shrugging. "Now, we have to revise. What subject do you want to revise first?"
"What was his name?" Danny asked softly. He didn't know why but he was mesmerized by the tragedy the family had experienced. He felt compelled to know about it. He needed to find out. It was a strange feeling he'd never experienced before but he felt drawn to this young boy, whoever he was.
A thirteen or so year-old boy was maybe running around, completely unaware that he'd been ripped away from his family. Danny pitied the boy. He felt grateful that he had Vlad for a father. If someone had ever taken him away from Vlad…who knew what strange predicament he might end up in.
"Well, since we're obviously not going to get any revision done," Jazz muttered, putting down her books. "His name was Daniel, like yours."
"My name's not Daniel. It's Dante," he said, and Jazz seemed to be unable to stop herself from crinkling her nose up. He sighed. "I know. It's old and weird. But hey, it's my dad's taste. I think I was named after an uncle. Do you think he's alive?"
Jazz stopped, looking ponderous. Danny sat down opposite her.
"I…I feel like he's alive, you know? I mean, sometimes I feel like he's here with me, his presence could be in this very room. Or I feel like he's close by, watching me intently or something. Stupid, huh?" she said, smiling slightly. Danny, who was staring at her intensely, blinked but said nothing. He didn't find it stupid at all.
"Are your parents…okay about all this? I mean, it must have been really painful."
"My parents!" Jazz gasped. She looked around suddenly, as if he parents would suddenly appear without warning. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "You can't tell my parents that I told you any of this. It's a family secret."
"Then why did you tell me?" Danny asked.
"I…don't know. I just felt like I could talk to you. But we usually don't put up the photos with Daniel. Usually we keep them in drawers because my parents say that looking at them is too painful. It's…it's just that I forgot to take this one down yesterday," she finished lamely, gesturing at the photo. She looked embarrassed and they were completely silent. "It's just so strange. I know that if he were…here my life would be completely different. But it's impossible to imagine…"
Danny said nothing, just cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"Well…at least you, uh, still have your parents," he said. She looked at him. The expression on her face changed from embarrassment to disgust to contempt to a strange expression that he couldn't place until he realized that she was trying not to laugh. "Um…I mean…" Then he started to laugh too.
They laughed until they were almost doubled over in pain. But once they had calmed they looked at each other, two strangers with the weirdest connection. It was faint, but it was there. Unnoticeable almost, but strong enough that they were aware of it.
They smiled.
00000
And that's the next chapter. Danny finally meets his sister and his parents in non ghost-hunting form.
My favorite part in writing this was the comment from Jazz and Danny in which they didn't realize that they were completely referring to Danny. Or the fact that Danny was like 'glad I didn't get nabbed by some kidnapper'. Ah, oblivious Danny, you're just too fun to write.
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