Yes, another quick update! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, especially the second half. I think you guys will all enjoy it thoroughly.
Also, yay, over 100 followers! Thanks to all you guys, you inspire me to keep on writing!
Snoopykid: Good to know the last chapter went over well, thanks!
Potterheads2016: Why thank you. And the answer is yes (to which question, you'll have to guess)
LooneyAces: That's actually exactly what I was thinking he would do. Great minds (and by great, I really mean crazy) think alike!
FanficFan920: That's actually a fantastic idea
GotNoName123: Just a few, yeah ;)
NerdyBlogs: Yeah, he's not really my favourite either.
Woldwind97: It's great to know that you're enjoying it! And don't worry, they'll find out soon enough
Sophia daughter of Nyx: Thanks!
PhantomFanForever: That's so great to hear! I'll check it out once you've posted it
TheBoss3254: That would be interesting, wouldn't it?
DerDrachen: Maybe he will… maybe he won't
DarkSakura159: Oh, don't worry, there's lots more to come (I think)
Favorite Daughter of Hades: It does make sense that he would just take the detention, however, due to the sudden increase in ghost attacks, and especially since the skeleton ghosts are actually kinda smart and not so easy to beat, Danny wants to use as much of his time as possible patrolling. So if he got detention, to keep up appearance he would actually stay in the room unless a ghost appeared nearby, instead of patrolling. And since it's basically guaranteed that a ghost would appear nearby, Danny doesn't want to get more detention because he ran out on that detention, and thus miss more patrolling. I know I didn't explain it in the fic, but I hope this satisfies.
ICHeart: Thanks
Enjoy!
*Click*
"What was that?" Danny asked abruptly, turning to look at his classmates. He had just discarded his shirt, hearing the expected gasps, and surprisingly a couple of giggles from the girls. A small group of which, he noticed, were huddled together and whispering avidly. Danny's shoulders fell. They had taken a photo of him. He bit his lip, glancing nervously around the class, and deciding what he should do. He could easily march over there, grab the phone, and crush it in his hand, but that would obviously be suspicious. He could ask the girls to delete the photo, but judging by the confused looks on his peers faces, he had only managed to hear the camera go off because of his advanced hearing.
Danny sighed, realizing that there really was nothing he could do. At the moment. He'd make sure to delete the photo later.
"What's with your arm?" Someone in the group asked, and Danny's gaze found Mikey, the small nerd that Dash liked to pick on. His second favourite after Danny. Danny looked at his arm, and swore softly when he noticed that the mark had stretched even further over the weekend.
"It's a bruise," Danny said.
"That's a weird bruise," Lester chimed from beside Mikey.
"Yeah, yeah it is," Danny said, his voice surprisingly dark. He had to force himself to pull his mind off the subject of Skulker, and what he may have done to Danny, and looked up at the gawking class.
"Fenton, what are all those scars from?" Teslaff asked. Danny glanced down at his chest, cringing at his old wounds.
"You guys all know how clumsy I am," Danny offered with a shrug. A few of the students nodded slowly.
"Those scars aren't something you can get from tripping," Teslaff said. She raised a hand to place on Danny's shoulder, but he easily stepped out of reach despite his back being to her.
"Trust me. The way I fall, they can be," Danny said, once again surprisingly dark. The class remained quiet, unsure of how to respond. Tucker and Sam watched him from nearby, understanding the sort of 'falls' he was talking about. They had glimpsed his scars before, but hadn't expected them to be this bad.
"What about that one?" Valerie asked, stepping forwards with one hands pointing to Danny's throat. The halfa quickly slapped a hand over the scar and stepped back, becoming increasingly uncomfortable. This was too much, he should never have removed his shirt. He should have just taken the detention and let that be it.
"Um, Mrs. Teslaff? The test?" Danny said awkwardly, sweeping his hand towards the water.
"Right… Everyone, go to your partner, and take their pulse!" Teslaff shouted, regaining control of the class. Sam and Tucker gave him a sympathetic look as he shuffled over to Dash. The jock in question had not stopped staring at Danny since the start of the ordeal, causing the halfa to run a nervous hand through his hair.
"Can we just get this over with?" Danny said, sparing a glance up at his partner.
"Fine, Fenton," Dash said. Danny was surprised by the lack of an insult, so surprised that he forgot to wince when Dash grabbed his wrist with enough strength to make anyone cry out. Danny didn't make a sound. Something flickered in Dash's eyes, but before Danny could figure out what, Teslaff called for them to start, and Dash quickly located Danny's very slow heartbeat.
The jock's eyes widened as the minute dragged on, and Danny's heartbeats remained few and far between. Danny could have sworn he was twitching with how nervous he was. When Teslaff called that the minute was up, Dash's movements were slow and calculated. He dragged his hand away from Danny's wrist, scowling slightly, and silently wrote down his heart rate on the sheet, before passing it back to Danny.
Danny felt his stomach drop.
34 bpm
He looked up nervously at Dash, and found that the jock was simply holding out his own wrist as Teslaff called for the next minute start. Danny complied, counting out 72 beats for Dash and writing it on his sheet.
"Dash, I-"
"I knew you were a freak, Fenturd," Dash spat. Danny recoiled slightly, his distaste of that particular word apparent on his face, and for a moment it almost looked like… Dash regretted saying that. But he said it nonetheless. They didn't talk for the rest of the fitness testing, taking down each other's after activity heart rate (41 bpm for Danny), and then returning to their own social circles before going to get changed.
Teslaff called for everyone to hand their sheets in, and Danny quickly took a pen and re-wrote his heart rate so it would be average.
"Everything okay, Danny?" Sam asked as they walked to the change rooms.
"Hm? Oh, yeah. Everything's fine, it's just that Dash… does it seem like he's acting weird to you?" Danny stopped walked and crossed his arms, eyes following the jock.
"Actually, yeah, a little. I mean, he didn't even punch you!" Tucker said, turning to look at Danny.
"Or threaten me."
"Or threaten you! Maybe he's sick?"
"Or all those hits in football have finally started taking their toll," Sam sneered.
"So brain damage?" Tucker mused.
"Maybe we should give Paulina a couple whacks on the head, you never know. It seems to be doing wonders for Dash," Sam grinned.
"Ooh, yeah! Then, maybe, she'd actually accept my date!"
"Sure, right after she goes out with Danny."
"She did go out with Danny, remember?"
"Not exactly," Danny chuckled, remembering Kitty's romp in the human world.
"What?" Sam and Tucker asked simultaneously.
"Well, she was being overshadowed. By Kitty, Johnny Thirteen's girlfriend.
"You mean that biker ghost?" Tucker asked.
"Yeah, that biker ghost. Kitty was tired of Johnny always checking out living girls whenever they came here, so she overshadowed Paulina and went out with me to make Johnny jealous. At the time, we weren't exactly on the best of terms," Danny explained. His friends nodded in understanding, and they went to get changed.
Dash was pacing again, this time in his bedroom as he prepared for the Ghostketeer meeting tonight. They would be going into the Ghost Zone tonight. He was excited to go there again, to see the place where his hero lived.
His hero.
Dash couldn't help but let the thoughts circulate. Fenton's strange behaviour started a little before Phantom appeared. And Phantom was typically only seen during fights, or when he was out scouring the town for any enemies. Unlike other ghosts, which could sometimes be seen around town in a non-hazardous environment (meaning they weren't attacking, but simply there), Phantom was never seen simply… hanging out.
Would he hang out? Did ghosts even have friends? Dash had always been positive that if Phantom made himself more open, went around Casper High more often, then they would be great friends. Now he wasn't so sure.
After hearing some of Mr. and Mrs. Fenton's theories on ghosts, specifically about them keep corporeal form, Dash had come up with a few of his own theories on how Phantom and Fenturd were related.
Because he refused to believe that they could possibly be the same person. Not that loser. It just wasn't possible that Dash was wailing on his hero every day.
Of course, if his theory was correct, he kind of was.
During one of their meetings, Mrs. Fenton had explained that the reason ghosts don't spend all their time in the human world, is because they can only hold a corporeal form for so long. The stronger the ghost, the longer that they can hold their form. But no ghost could last indefinitely without going into the Ghost Zone to 'recharge.' The same had to stand for Phantom, but there was no way that, if Phantom ever went back into the Ghost Zone to regain his energy, he could just appear right when a ghost attacks. Surely it would take him longer than a span of three minutes to find out that a ghost was attacking, then reach the Fenton portal to leave the Ghost Zone.
So, it stood to reason, that Phantom had some method of staying in the human world for long periods of time, while not exhausting his energy. And he found himself wondering, if this method meant Phantom wasn't as great a guy as he thought.
And there was only one method that Dash could logically think of. He grabbed his cell off his desk, and opened up his group conversation with Paulina, Kwan, and Star.
Dash: I think I know where Phantom is
Paulina: The ghost boy 3 ? Rly?! Can we meet him?
Star: You better not be lying, Baxter
Dash: I'm not, I swear! I kno where he is!
Kwan: Tell us!
Dash: 2night. Star, come to Ghostketeers with us
Star: Why?
Dash: You want 2 meet Phantom, don't you?
Star: …
Star: Okay, I'll go.
Dash glanced at his clock. It was six-thirty. He had to be at Fenton Works in half an hour. And when he got there, he would get to meet his hero.
While Dash was pacing in his bedroom, Danny, Sam, and Tucker, who had been on their way up to Danny's room, were stopped in the Fenton's living room by Danny's parents, and their Vice Principal.
Danny sat in the middle of the couch, where the cushions dipped from wear, and Sam sat right next to him, blaming the "stupid couch" for her 'falling' next to Danny. Tucker sat on Danny's other side, smirking it the couple that was not a couple, while staying as far from the dip as possible. While Sam might not have minded practically slipping into Danny's lap as soon as she sat down, Tucker decided that that same experience just wasn't for him.
Maddie and Jack were on the smaller couch, and Lancer sat on the armchair. There was a tense, awkward silence, broken after several minutes by Lancer.
"I think Danny needs psychological counselling."
"What?!" Danny leapt off the couch, forcing Sam to jump up with him, while Tucker displayed his outrage by actually looking up from his PDA. He looked up in time to notice that Danny's eyes flashed green for a moment, but it seemed like no one else did.
"Ms. Teslaff informed me of the events that transpired in gym class today," Lancer said solemnly, and Danny dropped back onto the couch.
"So what?" Danny asked, feeling a sudden surge of annoyance at his gym teacher.
"What happened during gym today?" Maddie turned her gaze to Danny, eyeing him carefully.
"Ms. Manson, Mr. Foley, if you would be so kind as to roll up Mr. Fenton's sleeves," Lancer said.
Sam and Tucker nervously looked at Danny, who was fuming. This was none of Lancer's business!
"Danny, what's he talking about?" Maddie asked sternly, while Sam and Tucker resisted Lancer's request.
Danny glared at Lancer. He had hoped that, despite his gym class seeing his scars, he could still keep it a secret from his parents. Seeing as they weren't in contact with any of his peers or their parents, and any phone calls home always ended up being vague and lacking detail. What Danny had not expected, was Lancer's interference. The halfa and the overweight teacher had a sort of glaring contest.
It was unnerving to everyone present.
Mr. Lancer, being an average human being, moved in the normal way that humans do, despite when they want to be still, and his eyes wavered from time to time. Danny, being half-dead and very in tune with his ghost side, didn't moved at all. He didn't blink, and Tucker and Sam were fairly certain he didn't even breathe.
"Danny, you better explain yourself. And we are still waiting to hear about what happened in the Ghost Zone on Friday," Maddie said. Without taking his eyes off Lancer, Danny slowly raised his arms and offered one each to Sam and Tucker. They obliged, rolling back his sleeves and revealing his scars from ghost fighting. Underneath the light fabric, his muscles were tense, as if he was preparing to fight.
Maddie and Jack gasped when they saw Danny's arms.
"Danny, have you been…?" Jack didn't want to finish his sentence, and left it hanging in the air, but everyone knew what his last two words would have been.
"Of course not!" Danny snapped, finally moving and turning to look at his parents.
"Don't snap at us, young man!" Maddie said. "If you haven't been s-self-harming, then what are those scars from?"
"I do things, okay? I don't just go to school, then hang out with Sam and Tucker. I do other stuff," Danny shouted.
"And does this stuff involve that ghost you were talking to? You know ghosts are bad, it could have attacked you!" Maddie rose from her seat, and Danny soon followed.
"She, Mom. Snowstorm is a she! And maybe it does, why does that matter?"
"Because ghosts are evil!"
"Not all ghosts are evil!"
"Name one that isn't," Maddie demanded, stepping towards her son.
"I can name a bunch! Snowstorm, Frostbite, Clockwork, Pandora, Dora, the Dairy King. Danny Phantom!" Danny spat the last word as if it were a blade to be used against his parents. And, in a way, it was. Phantom was the ghost that they hated the most.
"Phantom is evil! Once we catch him we'll prove it to you." Maddie reached out, as if to comfort her distraught son, but Danny jumped back with surprising agility.
"He saved the world from the Disasteroid, Mom. He could have let it destroy everything, but he didn't. And what are you going to do when you finally catch him? Experiment on him? Rip me apart-" Danny's rant was cut off as he suddenly dropped to his knees, clutching his head and crying out in pain.
"DANNY!" Sam and Tucker shouted, jumping off the couch to crouch beside him. Danny had his forehead pressed firmly into the carpet, and his nails dug into the skin around his ears.
Daniel Phantom, I feel that it is about time we meet each other.
"What do you want?" Danny gasped, not realizing that he was talking out loud, or that flecks of bright green were showing in his eyes.
I simply what to meet you. It is always good to see the face of the person who is going to kill you.
"I think you mean finish killing," Danny growled. His head was pounding, it was like it was being ripped apart over, and over, and over again.
I suppose that I do. You will meet me at Sable, in three days' time.
"What makes you so sure about that?" Danny groaned, still clutching his head.
Because you will have incentive.
An image of a large, white door flashed through Danny's mind, and then one of Sam, before the pain suddenly vanished. Danny panted and tried to rise to his feet, only to drop back down. He leaned back with his head tilted back, and opened his eyes to find everyone staring at him.
"Are you okay, Danny?" Sam asked, and suddenly her amethyst eyes were all that he could see as she worriedly checked him over. Danny felt a smile tugging at his lips, and then he noticed the green light reflected in Sam's eyes.
He brought a shaky hand to his face, raising it over his own eye, and stared at the light cast on his pale flesh. Danny quickly pressed his hand against his eye, but could still see through his fingers. He shot to his feet, accidentally knocking Sam over as she let out a startled yelp.
"I-I…" Danny stuttered, taking a deep breath. The green faded from his eyes, but they wouldn't stop staring.
"I have to go," Danny said finally, before spinning around and running out of the house. Sam and Tucker quickly chased after him, but even Sam couldn't catch up.
The Ghostketeer meeting that night was cancelled, much to the disappointment of the A-listers. Danny didn't return home that evening, but his family and friends spent hours searching for him. Finally, well past midnight, Sam stumbled upon him in one the more hidden locations of the park. Danny was standing in the middle of a clearing, with his back to Sam, and she approached him slowly and she reached for her phone.
"Don't call them," Danny said, startling Sam. She had been careful to make almost no noise. How on Earth had he heard her?
"Not yet at least." Danny still didn't turn to face her. Instead, he was looking up at the stars.
"Danny, what's going on?" Sam asked cautiously. She stopped several feet behind him. Danny sighed, lowering his head and running a hand through his hair.
"It… It's safer if you don't know. It should be safer, but apparently it doesn't matter. Apparently, no matter what I do, you guys are going to get dragged into it!" Danny shouted, throwing up his hands.
"Into what, Danny?" Honestly, Sam was a little scared right now, seeing Danny act this way. He was always come, collected, goofy, and adorable.
"I've been lying to you guys, and I should keep lying. But it's just… it's hard when it's just me, you know?" Danny finally turned. Not completely, just so that Sam could see part of his face. And he looked incredibly sad.
"I've tried, really, to do it all on my own. And I've succeeded, but every time… it's always easier when you know. But I can't stand to see you guys, you and Tucker, heck, even Jazz that one time, like that. I'm supposed to be the hero, I'm supposed to protect you guys, and then he shows me that. I can't let that happen," Danny's voice softened to a hoarse whisper.
"Please don't hate me, for what I'm about to do, and for not telling you."
"I don't understand, what-"
And suddenly Danny was there, in front of Sam, tilting up her chin, and pressing his lips against hers. Sam's eyes slipped shut, and through them she saw a bright flash of light.
Ooooooooohhhhhh! I'm fairly confident you all know what happened, but it's still kind of a cliffhanger! You totally thought Dash was gonna get to do his thing, whatever that was, don't you? Hah! Not yet anyways!
'See' you next time!