He was glad that it was winter. It made his scarf an inconspicuous choice, even if the fabric around his neck simply made him feel more stifled. At least it hid the bandages and the horrific bruises that traced splotchy fingers out from beneath the wrapping.

Danny had hoped for a quiet day. A quiet week would definitely be too much to ask, but with a locked-down portal maybe there wouldn't be any trouble. Just for one day to recover.

The ghosts had heard. Small spectres that haunted street corners and alleyways flitted away as he passed by. When he got to school Sidney was waiting on the front steps, brows furrowed and glasses slipping down his nose as snow fell right through his insubstantial form. Class had already started, and as usual, Danny was late. He trudged down the footpath with his hands in his pockets, trying to ignore the twinge in his neck with every step.

"Danny!" Sidney shouted, zipping down the stairs to hover in his path. "I-"

"You've heard," he rasped, "just like every other ghost in town."

Sidney held out his hand. "I'll carry your bag," he offered.

"'S fine."

Danny made to keep walking, and the weight lifted off his shoulders as Sidney phased his bag away from him. "Hey-"

"Let your friends help you."

"I'm fine," Danny grumbled.

He shrugged. "Your powers aren't back yet and you can't even turn your head. Skulker went too far the other night."

Danny scuffed his shoe against the step. "It's fine."

Sidney sighed, and the air around them swelled with the dusty sense of pages turning in a tired classroom. "Cut the gas, Danny, I'm tired of listening to this. He really hurt you this time!"

Danny began to climb the stairs, gripping firmly to the rail and taking them one at a time. "It's not like he's ever held back," he ground out. "I was just too slow. None of the other ghosts care about it anyway so I don't know why you're making a big deal. I'll heal."

"That's no excuse," Sidney countered. "All the ghosts don't feel right about this, word from the bird!"

They reached the top of the stairs and Sidney held the door open. "Anyway, if that tin can shows up here I'll give him a good ol' knuckle sandwich!"

Danny snorted and reached up to massage his throat. "Don't get yourself in trouble," he chided. "One of us being headless is bad enough."

Sidney hefted the bag and led the way down the hall. "D'you think it'll reattach?"

"I hope so." They passed his locker, covered in well-wishing cards and pictures of Phantom that hadn't been there a couple of days ago. Right in the middle of it all was a page torn from the front of the morning newspaper, with the headline Living Ghost Defies Death. That was it. Secrets, lies, everything, it was all gone now. All it had taken was one hit, and everything changed.

Maybe Sidney was right. A few punches to the head would probably do Skulker some good.

.

.

.

A/N I didn't even realise how many AUs have been created over the years and I didn't plan for Headless Danny to be the one I wrote for this oneshot but I was feeling a bit melancholy today so this is what came out.

I think there are so many fanon concepts that I forget are AUs so almost everything I write for this fandom has some sort of AU aspect.
Though honestly when I was brainstorming for this oneshot my first thought was of that one Pokemon AU from years ago where Danny fused with a Froslass...