Chapter 10
"You look horrible, Danny," Sam said as she joined her friend, who was sitting on the hood of his car. School ended half an hour ago, and most of the other students who had parking spots already left.
"I didn't get a lot of sleep last night." Danny sighed, running a hand through his hair then scratching the back of his head. "Sam, I think there's something wrong with me."
"Why do you think that?" Sam wore an expression of worry.
"I've only been on, like, two dates with Dash as 'Danielle,' but," Danny said then sighed, shaking his head. "I don't get it. I think I'm - I'm falling for him."
Sam placed a hand to Danny's forehead, checking to see if he felt hot or something to explain this insane idea. "Danny, how can you like Dash? He's a bully! A jerk!"
"Not when I'm 'Danielle!'" Danny snapped. "I know it's weird. It's not even right. I shouldn't be thinking about him like this, but I can't stop it. I think about him, and it makes my heart beat faster. And god! When he kisses me, I feel like I'm flying. What the hell is going on with me?"
"Okay. I know it was my idea to have you dress life a girl to avoid Devon, but you have to put an end to this. If Dash finds out that you're 'Danielle-'"
"I know. Dash is going to freak out." Danny sighed and lay back on the hood of his car. "He's going to kill me. I tried getting out of this. I told him 'Danielle' was going back to Wisconsin, but then he started talking about how much it would mean to him to have her at the game tonight, and I - I just couldn't break it off." He covered his eyes with his arm. "How did it turn out like this, Sam? When did I start falling for him?"
Sam stared at her friend, trying to figure out how exactly she felt about all of this. In the back of her mind, she always kept a little hope alive that they might get together again, but now Danny was saying he might be gay and falling in love with Dash. It wasn't like she didn't like homosexuals. After all, Abner was gay. But this was Danny! How could Danny turn gay? And to fall in love with Dash? It made Sam's head spin.
"Well, well, Daniel," someone said, causing Sam to turn her head and Danny to sit up quickly.
"Vlad?" Danny exclaimed, shocked to see the other half ghost. "What are you doing here?"
"Skulker informed me about your little situation," Vlad said as he walked closer to Danny.
"What situation?" Sam glanced toward Danny for the answer. She knew of Vlad, of how he tried, on multiple occasions, to steal Maddie from Jack and convince Danny to join him. She couldn't figure out what the man was doing here now or why Danny didn't immediately change into his ghost form when Vlad appeared.
"This doesn't concern a child such as yourself, Miss Manson," Vlad told Sam, who gawked for a moment at the fact that he actually knew her name since they were never properly introduced.
"Danny's a child too." Sam glared at Vlad as the little voice inside her head wondered why Danny was only sitting there. The other little voice in her head yelled at her for the lame comeback she used.
"Daniel is no mere child. I'm sure you are quite aware of that fact." Vlad smirked at Sam before he turned his attention back to Danny. "Now, Daniel-"
"Just say what you want already, Vlad," Danny ordered in a firm tone that made Sam blink since she never heard her friend speak in such a manner.
Vlad, on the other hand, grew quite used to Danny speak in this manner since the teenager used it all throughout their time in the Ghost Zone the previous year. "Ah, yes, direct as always, I see." Vlad smiled his approval to Danny. "I'm sure you already know of what I wish to speak to you about since Skulker has already approached you about this matter."
"I see." Danny frowned at the older half ghost, not pleased with that answer, though he knew Vlad was trying to be vague so that Sam would have no idea what he was talking about. "Uh, Sam, I'll see you later. Vlad and I need to talk. Alone." He smiled at his friend when she gave him a worried look. "Don't worry. Everything's okay."
"All right." Sam looked rather uncertain. "I guess I'll see you later then." She slipped off the hood of the car and started to walk away, glancing over her shoulder when she reached the end of the parking lot before turning to disappear around the corner of the school.
"Okay. We're alone." Danny stared at Vlad as an emotionless expression crossed his face. "Start talking."
"I know we haven't been on the best of terms in the past," Vlad started speaking, receiving a glare from Danny for dodging the real issue. "Right. Sorry. You wanted me to get to the point. Yes? Skulker told me about your little lack of ghost sense. It has me worried to know that someone as capable as you would allow a mere human, most likely under the influence of some rogue ghost, do such a thing to you."
"You two are making a very big deal out of this," Danny muttered, growing frustrated with their babying of him.
"And we should. You've been a bit out of it, I believe, ever since the war in the Ghost Zone ended. Yes, Warden Walker was destroyed, and more responsible ghosts, such as Skulker and myself, have taken control of the Ghost Zone. You, however, were the one who managed to completely annihilate Walker. I have always thought, since then, that you have been, oh I don't know, burdening yourself with unnecessary emotions."
"I killed Walker," Danny growled. "Are you trying to say I shouldn't feel guilt or remorse for what I did?"
"No, of course you shouldn't. Walker was already dead, so you did not actually kill him. You merely caused his spectral being to cease its existence. The point is there are always causalities in war. Walker's ceasing existence was something that could not be avoided. Had he remained in existence, the Ghost Zone would constantly be at war with him. You are a great hero to the ghosts, and many of them applaud your courage and strength and have pledged allegiance to you."
"I don't feel much like a hero," Danny muttered miserably. "I know it was to save the Ghost Zone, but I still feel horrible about what I've done."
Vlad sighed, shaking his head. "There's no getting through those thick morals of yours. You're just like your father in that sense. I know that attack you used on Walker drained you a lot, but you should still be able to sense ghosts without problems."
"So Skulker didn't tell you about what he saw in the library?" Danny asked, and Vlad's expression turned to one of mild confusion, causing the teenager to sigh. "Apparently, this guy at my school has been injecting me with… something."
"Oh, that," Vlad mumbled, nodding his head. "Yes, Skulker mentioned something about that, though he didn't say anything about it being at the library. I think it would be best if we, being Jack, Maddie, and I, ran some tests on you."
"You can't tell my parents about me – us - being what we are!"
"Daniel, do you really think your parents are that dense? After last year, I find it hard to believe that they don't already suspect something."
"Well, I have some place to be tonight." Danny continued, trying to find some way out of confronting his parents with his secret powers.
"Oh, is this about having to go to that football game tonight?" Vlad smirked at Danny, who blushed darkly.
"You heard that?" Danny tried to wipe to scared look off his face as it caused Vlad to smirk more.
"Daniel, I was standing in front of you the whole time you were conversing with your friend. No worries though. I'm sure your parents will love you no matter who you decide to fall in love with, be it man or woman." Vlad rolled his eyes when Danny started sputtering. "Look, Daniel. I'm not at all surprised that you would fall for someone like that man."
"You aren't?" Danny asked after he managed to stop sputtering. His brow rose as he gave Vlad a quizzical look.
"Well, of course. If you're going to fall for someone, it's going to be someone who you view as an equal, just like how I fell for Maddie." Vlad's reminiscent expression vanished. Then he glared at Danny, who had snorted at his remark. "The point is you are attracted to someone who is domineering and strong. Is that really shocking considering that you are someone of power yourself?"
"Okay. I am not getting love advice from you. Let's just go get those stupid tests over with." Danny slid off the hood of his car before unlocking the doors. Vlad smirked, thinking of how simple minded Danny was before climbing into the passenger's side of the car.
By the time they arrived at the Fenton's house, Danny wrapped his hands around the steering so tightly that the knuckles were white, and he was two seconds away from attempting to blast Vlad's head. The older half ghost was driving Danny insane by correcting the way he drove and making offhanded comments about how perfect he and Maddie would be together.
"Oh, will you give it a rest?" Danny shouted as they entered his house. "My mom is never going to leave my dad for you."
"What's all this rack- Vlad! How nice to see you again!" Maddie crossed the room to give the man a hug. "What brings you around?"
"Your son actually," Vlad answered, frowning as Maddie pulled away from him. "I would like to run some tests on him, and he has agreed to entertain my curiosity."
Maddie's gaze darted between the two. "What exactly is this about? What sorts of tests do you want to perform on my son?" She folded her arms as her eyes narrowed at Vlad.
"Just a few simple tests." Vlad waved his hand like the matter was of no importance.
Danny, however, grew frustrated with the way Vlad tried to dodge the answers to certain questions. As much as he hated to tell his mother about his powers, he decided it was probably the only way they would get through this whole thing with enough time for him to get ready for the football game. "Here's the thing, Mom. I'm-"
"He's secretly interested in all the ghost hunting stuff we do, but he has been too embarrassed to ever tell you," Vlad said quickly as he wrapped an arm around Danny's shoulders and drew him closer. "He offered to help me with a project, but first I wanted to check some of his physical capabilities. You don't mind if I use you lab, do you?"
"Oh, well, if that's all!" Maddie smiled at her son before cupping his face and placing a kiss on his forehead. "I'm so proud to see you're taking an interest in our work."
"Where's Jack?" Vlad asked, trying not to seem suspicious in any way.
"Oh! He's upstairs resting. He wasn't feeling too well our latest… explosion," Maddie said, wincing in memory. "Did you want his help as well?"
"I'm so very sorry to hear that," Vlad said, with, Danny could tell easily, false sincerity. "Daniel's the only one I need to help me at the moment. Well, Daniel, shall we head down to the lab now?" Before Danny could protest, Vlad pushed him toward the kitchen while Maddie went on her merry way up the stairs to check on her husband.
"What the hell are you playing at, Vlad?" Danny demanded as they entered the laboratory.
"No worries, young Daniel. I simply decided that it was best not to have your mother, well, mothering you about this whole thing." Vlad started searching through the equipment in the laboratory to find what he needed for the tests. "Mothers are like that, as I'm sure you know. And Jack, well, I'm sure you wouldn't want him to do something to ruin the test results."
"Okay. That sounds all logical and stuff, but I know you have an ulterior motive." Danny glared at Vlad as he sat down on the table Vlad cleared off for him.
"You can't trust me after everything we've been through?" Vlad gave Danny a disappointed look as he started his tests.
"It's because of everything we've been through that I don't trust you. Why did you keep me from telling my mom when you were the one who said they would still love me for being what I am?"
"Perhaps it's just wishful thinking that you'll eventually agree to let me train you better." Vlad smirked as he gently pushed the teenager down on the table. "Now just relaxed, and everything will be over shortly."
Danny sighed, closing his eyes as he tried his best to relax. But knowing that Vlad was about to do – Well, Danny really didn't know what sorts of tests Vlad would be doing on him, but he found it hard to relax knowing that Vlad was doing anything to him. After an hour or two, Vlad finished taking all the samples from Danny that he needed and pushed the teenager out of the laboratory so he could perform all the necessary tests on the samples.
"Mom, I'm going to the football game tonight," Danny called up the stairs as he reached the front door.
"Have fun, sweet heart," Maddie yelled back. It sounded like Jack said something as well, but Danny couldn't understand the muffled shout. "Jack, will you just lay still and relax?"
Danny rolled his eyes as he walked out the front door. When he arrived at Abner's house, Sam and Abner were already busy deciding on what he should wear to the football game. "I'm not wearing that horrendous dress!" Danny informed Sam when she held up another one of her Gothic Lolita dresses. "And I'm not wearing another skirt." He turned to glare at Abner, who was holding up a black mini-skirt. Abner pouted but didn't argue with the other man.
"So what happened with Vlad?" Sam whispered to Danny as Abner was searching his closet for jeans and a shirt that Danny could wear.
"Huh? Oh, it wasn't anything important," Danny replied vaguely as he made a face at one of the shirts Abner held up: pink with little red hearts all over it.
"Uh, your arch nemesis comes all the way here from Wisconsin to talk to you, and you brush it off as nothing?" Sam raised her brow at Danny, who did his best to ignore it.
"Look, Sam. It's nothing for you to worry about, so just let it go." Danny walked over to Abner, grabbing the pink shirt out of the boy's hand and throwing it back into the closet. He didn't want to tell Sam about where he disappeared to all last year. He didn't want to cause her to worry more about him. He could feel Sam's eyes burning a hole in his back, but Abner soon pushed her out of the room so that Danny could change. Danny quickly pulled off his normal clothes and dressed in the latest outfit for "Danielle." After Abner finished applying the make-up, the two men exited the bedroom.
"What are you trying to hide, Danny?" Sam demanded with her arms folded over her chest.
"What about what you're hiding, Sam? Since when can't you tell me things like about you having a boyfriend?" Danny shot back, causing his friend to sputter then deny it. "I saw you with him at the bowling alley, so you can't act like it's not true."
"Fine," Sam grumbled. "I only didn't tell you because I didn't think you would be happy for me."
"Did you think I would sabotage your relationship or something?"
"We're going to be late if you two keep arguing like this," Abner said from where he stood in the open doorway. "And I believe you're already late for your date, Sam."
"Oh, shoot!" Sam dashed out the front door, forgetting to be mad at Danny for keeping secrets. Danny sighed in relief as he and Abner walked to the car and then headed to the football game.
"Dash, will you stop avoiding me?" Kwan demanded, trailing after his friend, who nervously paced around the entrance to the football field, waiting for Danielle to appear. Ever since he found the picture in Danny's house, Kwan tried to talk to Dash about it, but his friend kept dodging the question.
"She came," Dash whispered, sighing like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Kwan groaned at the announcement, knowing that he missed his chance to get any information from his friend. Dash walked toward Danielle, who came to the game with her cousin. "I – I'm glad you could make it." Dash smiled at the woman.
"Yeah, I managed to convince my parents to let me stay a little longer." Danny forced a smile that Dash took for sincerity.
"Well, I'll just leave you two love birds alone," Abner said, grinning to himself as he trotted off, not even noticing the glare that Danny sent toward him. He spotted the other jock and decided to see if Kwan managed to weasel anything out of his teammate.
"The, um, game is about to start," Dash said, glancing briefly over his shoulder to see the coach waving at him to hurry back. "I hope we can hang out after the game."
"O-Okay. If it's not too late." Danny put on another smile as he watched Dash jog off to the rest of the time for a last minute pep talk with their coach.
"Danielle!" The sudden exclamation made Danny jump, and he tried to hide his squeak. He spun around to find Paulina standing there, grinning like a devious child trying to appear innocent. "Perhaps you don't remember me. I'm Paulina. We were on the same team when you went bowling with us."
"Oh, no, I remember who you are," Danny said, smiling at Paulina. A little voice in the back of his mind was now crying because the only reason Paulina even approached him was because she thought he was a girl.
"Why don't you come and sit with me during the game? It'll get pretty boring if you're just sitting around by yourself." Then without waiting for "Danielle" to say anything, Paulina took Danny's hand and led him to where she was sitting before she noticed Danny's arrival. After they settled down into their seats in the bleachers, Paulina turned on him, startling Danny. "So Dash told me that you might be leaving soon. That's so disappointing! You have to at least stay for the dance."
"Dance? There's a dance?" Danny asked with a look of absolute confusion since he heard nothing about a dance.
"Yes! It's next Friday. You must come shopping with me!" Paulina took Danny's hand, completely ignoring how manly it was. "I have this dress in mind that I think you will look absolutely fabulous in!"
"B-But Dash hasn't even asked me to the dance," Danny mumbled, trying to find some way out of this.
But Paulina took the mumbling as disappointment. "I'm sure he was planning on asking you. He probably was just waiting for the right moment." She gave him a small, reassuring smile. "I bet he plans on asking you after the football game. Let's go dress shopping this weekend!" Danny tried to get out of that suggestion, but Paulina's persistence made him inevitably give in to her wishes.
For the rest of the game, Danny had to sit with Paulina, listening to her talk about make-up and clothes and dances and boys. He contributed as much to the conversation as he could without looking too much like an idiot. At least, he thought so. Paulina seemed to find his comments amusing. When the game ended, Casper High winning by a large lead, Danny tried to make a quick escape, but Paulina stuck on him like glue until Dash could change and catch up to them. Paulina waved to the couple as Dash guided Danny off to his car.
"Are you hungry?" Dash asked, holding the door open for Danny.
"Um, well," Danny mumbled, but before he could give a real answer, his stomach growled. He blushed darkly in embarrassment, but Dash only smiled at him as he closed the passenger's side door.
"I know it's not a very fancy place, but I hope you don't mind burgers," Dash said, climbing into the driver's seat and starting the car.
"Burgers are fine," Danny said as he glanced around the car for something to keep his mind distracted. But his gaze ended up falling on Dash, and he started remembering the events of their previous date. Dash noticed his staring and smiled at Danny, who blushed as his heart skipped a beat. He turned his head to look at the window. They arrived moments later at Nasty Burger, which didn't surprise Danny.
"Before we go inside, there's something I want to ask you." Dash blocked Danny's way of getting into Nasty Burger. He hesitated a moment, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly. "My school is having this dance next Friday, and I was really hoping that you would go with me."
Despite knowing the question was coming, Danny couldn't stop the gasp from escaping him nor his heart from beating faster. He tried to make his mouth say that he couldn't go, but instead, the words "I'd love to go with you" popped out. Dash smiled at the response and wrapped an arm around Danny's shoulders as they entered the Nasty Burger where the rest of the football team gathered to celebrate their win. But Danny felt a growing sense of dread as a little voice in the back his mind pointed out that Dash only liked him because he thought that Danny was a woman named "Danielle."