(Don't) Say My Name – Chapter 10 – Karma Is a Bitterly Cold Bitch

Humming.

He keeps catching himself humming. How strange.

Vlad pushes a soft laugh through his nose and shakes his head. This teen has definitely done something to him this past week.

He shuffles the papers containing his speech, placing them in proper order and running a critical eye over them once more. Each page is carefully written by hand, not a single smudge or mistake upon them.

Vlad enjoys writing his speeches a little backwards than other professionals. He likes to do the rough idea work on his computer, typing out quick lines and easily deleting entire paragraphs when he feels they don't flow. The computer makes the creative process so much easier and more fluid. Once the desired result is finished, Vlad will take pen to paper and write the carefully crafted words by hand. He is a visual learner; the words will imprint into his memory better and keep him from looking to the page so often during the presentation. A neat little trick he learned in university with Jack and Maddie that he holds dear.

It also reminds him that he is still human and has human quirks.

He folds the pages neatly and tucks them away into his jacket pocket, patting it absently.

A soft knock at the door interrupts his thoughts and he calls whoever it is in.

"Good morning Mr. Masters, I brought your tea."

"Ah good morning Mrs. Gladstone. Thank you." Vlad smiles his greeting before reaching for the cup.

The woman stares at him a moment, "You seem noticeably happier this morning, sir."

Vlad chuckles, inserting the teabag into the hot water and watching it slowly bleed into the cup, "I am very happy this morning, Julia. A plan I had has come to fruition surprisingly well, the speech I wrote last night has come out perfectly and I may have gained a new research companion in my studies. I would say all of this is grounds for a good mood."

Julia's smile crinkles the age lines in the corners of her eyes, "A research companion? I never thought I'd see the day you would willingly work with someone, sir. They must be very smart to gather your attention."

"He is incredibly intelligent. I expect many great things from him." Vlad states confidently, trying to hide his smile by lowering his head and twisting his lips. His finger trails along the lip of his teacup, "He has already surprised me, in fact. He meditates his emotions instead of letting them overwhelm him, he never strays from his path in the face of an easier and cheaper route, he has even done his own research already and with tremendous, powerful results. He is quite a fascinating person…"

The housekeeper remains silent, processing his words. Vlad finally looks up and takes in her knowing smirk and high eyebrow. "…What?"

"Oh nothing," The woman waves a hand dismissively, before placing it on her hip, "It just sounds to me like you admire this gentleman." She leans forward, lips lifting into a wide smile, laugh lines gently forming on either side, "Seems to me you admire this gentleman a bit more than is necessary for a 'research partner.'" She straightens and taps her nose with a wink.

Vlad's eyes bug out of his head and he sputters his protests.

But Julia simply laughs at him, curtsies and leaves him to his thoughts. The witch.

Vlad mutters to himself, 'It's not like that. He's a genuinely smart young man. I didn't mean it in that sense! Its just this blasted spell!' He reminds himself the spell doesn't work like that. 'Alright, so the spell has clearly influenced how I feel. Perhaps it isn't at fault directly but the results it created still put the idea in my mind and –' "Arrgh! I'm just confusing myself now!"

'This is ridiculous. I don't have feelings for a 17-year-old boy. Get yourself together Vladimir!' He grumbles about the absurdity and leans back in his chair.

He will need to contact Ember and Freakshow, get them to cancel their spells and let him live his life in peace. 'Then we can begin research straight away. Maybe I can get him to go through his mother's notes on the portal. That will put us a step in the right direction. I already have all of my calculations; it will be wonderful to crosscheck between the two incidents. I will have to ask him for a more detailed retelling of his portal accident.' He knows the incident was more intense for Danny, since he was facing a full-sized portal and not the cola-laced-prototype Vlad was in front of.

He hums again, imagining Daniel flying over to his estate after school, ready to learn about his powers and begin – oh. Vlad swivels in his seat to eye the security camera in the corner of the room. 'I'll have to lower the ghost-proofing if he is to stop by regularly… I don't have much love for that idea though, security is so important… perhaps I can upload his signature into the system so it will allow him to pass through freely… I'll need him to allow some samples… He may not like that idea… then again he seems to trust me now…'

Vlad warms at the thought. Danny trusts him. They will be working together, training, researching, comparing ghost DNA… The smile that takes over his entire face beams with pride. Having a companion, a friend, someone else like him, it's almost too much for Vlad to bear! His heart beats with strong, painful pumps, fueling his slowly warming body.

The knock at the door does nothing to dim his mood, "Come in!"

Julia pokes her head around the door, takes in Vlad and the happy flush crawling all over him and hums, "Ian has readied the car for you, Mr. Loverboy." She steps fully into the room and hides a giggle behind her hand.

Vlad jolts out of his musings and growls at the woman. "Yes thank you Mrs. Gladstone. But in the future, if you're going to hand out your personal opinion on matters, do take the time to learn the facts and understand the situation. I won't tolerate half-baked, uninformed assumptions. I am a man of science."

"Oh my, I was only pointing out what was so plainly written for all to see. But maybe I am mistaken, sir. It happens from time to time at this age, of course." She curtsies apologetically and turns to leave, pausing at the doorway. "Only the guilty get so aggressive in their defense, Mr. Masters." She reminds him, slipping from his view once more.

With no way to refute that point, (since it was Vlad who told Julia that line just a few days ago), the man snarls and whips his paperweight at the study door. The stainless-steel football trophy makes an ugly dent deep into the wood and lands with a muted thud on the carpet. Vlad groans and leans forward, hands covering his face in exasperation.

His cheeks and ears burn hot.

He doesn't have the balls to analyze why.

Vlad watches the fancy uptown homes slide by his window in the backseat, how each manicured lawn and garden seems to sparkle in vivid colour. With the rain they had the previous night and the beautiful, sunny weather promised today, he decides to remove the suit jacket and set it aside for the time being.

He thinks back to yesterday afternoon's conversation with Danny. Particularly about the genuine surprise Danny displayed realizing Vlad was never using full power on him.

He chuckles, 'I'll have to show him next time I see him, I wonder how impressed he'll be?' He smiles, thinking about Danny's eyes lighting up in awe, before wondering if perhaps it would be with fear. He frowns, not liking that particular train of thought. 'I will never cause him to look upon me with fear again. There's no need now, since he finally knows the truth behind my actions. Maybe he will come to me for formal training?'

Vlad leans back in his seat, crossing his ankles and drumming his fingers on the arm rest, 'He will definitely seek my tutelage after witnessing my proper strength, I'm sure of it.' He can't help the happy feeling bubbling in his chest from showing on his face.

How amazing it would be to have another half-ghost to celebrate and commiserate their lives with!

Vlad closes his eyes, imagining flying from town to town alongside the young man, armed with their combined research, investigating strange rumours and paranormal gossip across the globe. They would be an amazing team. They would absolutely find others. Together.

He mentally congratulates himself for not using Desiree and risking her screwy manipulation. He knows Freakshow and Ember kind of did the same thing to him, but he was being an asshole, he can admit that freely from inside the safety of his own mind. He was just so eager, and ultimately that was his downfall. 'No matter, Daniel believes in me now and that alone gives me strength.' Warmth blooms in his chest at the thought.

He notices they've entered the more middle-class section of town and are quite close to arriving at the high school. He pulls out his speech, quick to check for any last-minute touches, 'Alright, yes, I have to somehow slip in the new Dalv Co. anti-ghost fencing tech that we are unveiling next week.' He stares at the notes, mind running through various ways to strategically sneak in some product placement. 'Maybe I could even throw in a couple ghost jokes too? Something to amuse Daniel and his friends would be bonus. He seems to like the more cringeworthy puns though… Do I risk my reputation a bit just to make him laugh?'

Vlad fights back the smile, pressing his lips into a hard line to hide his mirth, 'If only he were a little older! Or better yet, we met in college! We would've hit it off right away for sure, we could have even been close friends! Then this spell wouldn't have been such a damnable thing…' His thoughts quickly veer off course, picturing Danny in his classes. They would share notes, eat lunch together in that god-awful cafeteria, maybe even celebrate the end of exams with a few drinks, have a few too many, get a little handsy… 'It wouldn't be too unheard of, that's what college experimenting is all about, right?'

His mind supplies him with a few inappropriate ideas and he quickly puts the brakes on them. 'What the hell am I thinking? These are incredibly taboo thoughts… For shame Vladimir! He is young enough to be your child, for God's sake!'

He places a hand over his face, and drags it down heavily, attempting to rub away the shameful blush painting his cheeks. He vows to himself to find Ember and Freakshow directly after the assembly, this simply cannot go on any longer. This spell is messing with his mind and the last thing he needs to do is break the young man's tentative trust with such ridiculous thoughts.

One day he will tell Daniel about all this, when their bond is stronger and there is minimal chance in ruining his trust. Then they can look back on this awkward week together and laugh, just as Daniel suggested yesterday about all the fighting.

That day can't come soon enough for Vlad.

Vlad steps from the car and first notices the grass crunch beneath his feet. He looks down in surprise and his driver does the same, "Looks to be colder than expected, Sir, will that jacket be enough for you today?"

Vlad waves off the suggestion and grips the jacket slung over his arm tighter, "I'll be fine, Ian, I'll see you once the presentation is done. I shouldn't be longer than an hour."

Ian nods his head in acknowledgement and gets back into the driver's seat to park elsewhere.

Vlad turns and watches as a chilly breeze drifts by, causing more than a few students to shiver and pull their not-warm-enough clothing tighter around themselves. Several head indoors to wait for the bell, Vlad not far behind them.

The frozen grass crunching under his feet worries him, 'This is a little out of season, I hope this chill doesn't kill Roger's gardens.' He thinks of his elderly groundskeeper, 'No doubt he'll be cursing and swearing back at the estate, shaking a fist as if to threaten Mother Nature herself.'

Vlad releases a small laugh at the thought, pushing open the front doors of the school. He pauses, perplexed at how the school feels colder inside than it does outside. 'How peculiar, do they have the air conditioning on?'

He notices Lancer talking with a repair man, or, to put it more accurately, having a shouting match involving book titles and temperatures. Vlad raises an eyebrow and approaches them. The unknown man, noticing Vlad's approach first, sees his opportunity to abort the conversation and quickly ducks into the crowd. Lancer watches him go, outraged before finally taking in Vlad's presence himself.

Immediately he calms himself and shakes the man's hand, "Ah Mr. Masters, good morning, good morning! So sorry for the freezing temperature in the school!"

"Not at all, Mr. Lancer," Vlad responds, politely enduring the overly enthusiastic handshake. "I assume the air conditioning is stuck on full blast?"

"One would assume so, but my repairman swears the A/C isn't even on. He says he cranked the heat up in response to the chill, up to 80 degrees! Can you believe it?"

Vlad frowns, "This certainly doesn't feel like 80 degrees. Is he absolutely sure?"

"That's what I said! I think he takes me for a fool! I-"

Lancer cuts himself off to watch a very noticeable puff of breath escape Vlad's mouth before apologizing profusely and promising to have the situation resolved.

Vlad thanks him and watches the Vice Principal quickly march away before looking around himself, searching for the one that set off his ghost sense. His eyes scan the crowd of students, attempting to locate Danny or either of his friends but coming up unsuccessful.

The warning bell rings and the students begin funneling towards the gymnasium where their morning assembly will take place. Vlad wades through the crowd, stepping into the nearest men's bathroom to check on his appearance.

He contemplates his face in the mirror, and the unfamiliar, genuine happiness he finds there, before Tucker suddenly walks out of the furthest stall.

'I could've sworn the room was empty.' Vlad thinks to himself, surprised at seeing one of Danny's friends at last.

Tucker halts his steps at seeing him but then quickly looks away and steps up beside him to wash his hands. Vlad cheerfully greets him, asking the teen if he has plans for the weekend.

"Mhm." He grunts in response, making zero eye contact, and otherwise ignoring the other entirely.

Vlad pauses, staring awkwardly as the teen turns to dry his hands on some paper towel.

Tucker walks to the doorway, lifting a hand in farewell before muttering, "Good luck today, asshole," on his way out.

Vlad is floored at the total change. He figured Tucker and Sam would've heard everything he and Danny talked about yesterday and discussed the pleasant mood of the encounter, as close friends do. He can't fathom why the young man would be so suddenly cold towards him.

He wracks his brains to remember if perhaps the young man's parents are divorcing, or if he maybe had a love interest break up with him (the typical high-school drama) but comes up empty. Vlad attempts to convince himself it's just usual teenaged rebellion. Sticking it to the man, or something. He ignores the pang in his heart that whispers to him how much more mature Danny and his friends are in comparison to usual teens. Something just doesn't add up.

He shakes it off, washes his face and thinks about his speech. 'No sense worrying about that now, I have a speech to deliver, future voters to secure and new tech to sell.' He smooths his features and steps back into the hallway. The chill is still there, and he hurries to the gymnasium, knowing the room will be warmed by the collective student body currently seated in there. For the first time in his career, Vlad is looking forward to a stuffy room.

Once he crosses the threshold of the gymnasium, however, he feels the temperature drop dramatically. His eyes widen in disbelief. The students seated already are huddled together for warmth, whining and murmuring amongst themselves.

Vlad spots Principal Ishiyama speaking quickly with the repairman from earlier, both shaking their heads in disagreement before parting ways in frustration.

He feels the temperature plummet with each step he takes towards the stage, feeling his arms and legs break out in goosebumps. 'Do they keep the damned ventilation units above the stage or what?' He grouses to himself, eyeing the rafters before taking his seat.

The chair's chill quickly bleeds through his pants and numbs his backside. 'This is ridiculous, why is it so cold here? It's so bad it's affecting the outdoors!' Vlad frowns, 'No, that doesn't explain the frozen grass… The rain last night must have been a freezing rain… and perhaps it leaked into some air vents or something and broke the school's heaters?'

Before he can analyze how poor his excuses are becoming, the second bell rings and the students quiet down. Ishiyama ascends the stage herself and rubs her hands together. She taps the microphone before looking up at her students, "Good morning Amity Park High. I apologize for the unseasonable chill today. We are currently working on a fix for that, but in the meantime, we are going to keep this assembly brief, I don't want you all to catch a cold."

"Vlad."

The soft whisper startles Vlad, and he looks around himself for the source. He knows who it is, there's no mistaking the jump in his veins or the tingle in his skull.

"Why?" He asks subtly, so quietly no one but a ghost would hear him. The Principal continues to address the audience, unaware.

"I can't change back, so I have to stay invisible for a bit."

"…Why?" He asks again, doing his best to not look behind himself for the source of the voice, knowing he'll see nothing.

"I'm too angry." The voice growls lowly, a cold gust nipping at the edges of his subconscious.

Vlad's eyes widen, 'The chill has been coming from Daniel? But what could cause him such-' he suddenly gasps, "W-why?" He squeaks out, heart hammering in his throat. He hopes he isn't right, but he's not stupid. He just makes a lot of stupid mistakes.

He feels the frozen aura bite into his own quite painfully, like claws sinking into his skin. Vlad fidgets, careful to remember he is currently seated in front of nearly eight hundred students and their teachers. Danny finally answers, a false innocence in his words, with another question, "I had a very interesting conversation after school yesterday, Vlad, do you want to know what it was about?"

Vlad's heart, which was so light and content this morning, plummets like lead into his stomach, while his forehead throbs painfully. They told him. He knows.

And he's pissed.

Vlad deflates, lowering his head and murmuring from the corner of his mouth, "I am so sorry, Da-"

"-DON'T SAY MY NAME!" Comes the harsh whisper, chill increasing dramatically, numbing Vlad's toes in his shoes and causing the air in his lungs to wheeze out of him.

He flinches at the seething hatred in the teen's voice. To be so angry that he is stuck in ghost form… Danny must be beyond livid. The fragile trust that was slowly building between them has long since vanished, as quickly as a snap of the fingers.

He takes a breath, mind scrambling for a way to fix this, anything, anything at all that can bring back those gentle, hopeful feelings from yesterday. "Please," he whispers hoarsely, "wait."

Danny laughs, a cruel thing that doesn't suit his beautiful soul. Vlad feels him lean in close, invisible hands on his shoulders, the teen's breath on his ear, "Oh Vlad, you always said I was too impatient for my own good. So why start now?"

Vlad feels his body jolt, blood rushing in his veins and singing in his ears at the spell's assault. He has to stop Danny before Vlad makes a fool of himself in front of the entire school. "Please, not here. Let's talk properly." His palms sweat with anxiety as he watches Ishiyama finish her speech to the student body, everyone clapping, before she gestures for him to approach the microphone.

"It's my turn now. This is just karma, Vlad."

He stumbles a step before catching himself on the podium. Ishiyama looks at him alarmed and he waves her concern away. Whatever look he is wearing on his face doesn't seem to convince her, but she steps back nonetheless.

He takes a moment to pull in a deep breath, calming himself and staring into the expectant sea of faces below him. He feels a shiver crawl up his spine, freezing his fingertips and nose. 'I am so screwed.' He thinks miserably. 'Let's get this over with quickly.'

"Greetings students and staff of Amity Park High. I want to take a moment to thank Principal Ishiyama for graciously accepting me into her school this past week for political research purposes."

He hears a snort in his right ear and a hand press on top of his shoulder. Vlad does his best to ignore it and the closeness of his tormentor.

"I-I'd like to also thank Mr. Lancer for allowing me to place myself into his homeroom class on such short notice." Here he pauses to allow the students to clap half-heartedly.

"So, was your research very conclusive, Vlad? Did you get what you needed from us?"

Vlad bites down on his bottom lip, feeling his body break out into a warm flush and his head pound painfully. The place on his shoulder that Danny is squeezing so harshly is frozen numb, but the rest of his body is only too happy to react to the spell.

"I-It may seem like a strange time of year to visit a classroom and sit in on their English studies for a week. Surely, I'm sick of school by now," he lets the audience chuckle, "well it's important to know what today's youth is after when running office here in Amity, and I have to confess I wanted to see for myself what appeals to you students first hand. I inserted myself to find out what you wanted out of life. You all will replace us someday, and it is our job to ensure that we adapt and adjust accordingly with the times."

Vlad feels Danny tug on his ponytail idly, before whispering, "And you just had to make sure what Iwanted out of life lined up with your sick little fantasies, hmm Vlad?" He whispers into the man's neck, moving in front of him and brushing invisible fingertips down his Adam's apple, clavicle and finally to settle on his sternum, fingers splayed wide, "Is this what you've been wanting, crazy old Fruitloop?"

"N-No!" Vlad stutters, coughs and looks away from the confused audience. He feels the sweat collect in his hairline and on his face, his chest the only place on his body that is cool in the onslaught."Things don't always go the way we intend them to," he does his best to answer Danny without sounding too crazy, "but if we work together, then we can make a brighter future, t-together." He winces, his speech skills are deteriorating by the minute.

Principal Ishiyama comes back on stage and offers him a glass of water, worriedly asking if he's feeling alright. Vlad accepts the drink and assures her he's fine, briefly wondering how broken his composure has to appear for her to check on him in the middle of an assembly. She quickly retreats to the side once again, unsure why the cold is so much more unbearable by the microphone.

As he drinks, Vlad feels the cold press on his chest shift and slide. Danny wraps his ghost tail around Vlad's torso and lazily shifts around the man to place himself on the man's back. The appendage still loosely draped around his middle leaves a freezing, burning sensation.

Vlad does his best to keep a straight face, noticing his water has turned to slush in the glass and shakily sets it down.

Danny waits for Vlad to start his next sentence before constricting, like a snake squeezing its prey. Vlad's words halt before he wheezes out the rest of the sentence hurriedly, "And if anyone fe-HEELS-hurk-like we could be doing more for you-ungh-please don't h-hesitate to inform me or my team."

He grits his teeth and takes a breath, trying to downplay his weird delivery of that line. He reaches into his jacket for his speech papers, hoping to subtly shake off his torturer.

Danny laughs quietly and unwinds his tail, causing Vlad to shiver as the frozen feeling slowly slides over his chest. The end of the tail glides over Vlad's nipples, and he is unsure whether that was intentional at this point but can't help the uncomfortable feeling of them budding tight in response. He crosses his arms, wishing he hadn't left his jacket on the chair behind him.

"I don't know what made it worse, the fact that once you realized how the spell backfired, you kept going, or the fact that those two had to say something to me because you wouldn't, Vlad."

Vlad turns his head from the microphone, gripping each side of the podium and feeling the air forced from his lungs in a wave of arousal. He carefully keeps himself together, taking a gulp of icy air before grinding his teeth in concentration.

He lifts his head to look into the concerned faces of the students in front of him, no doubt thinking he's gone completely batshit crazy. 'If only they knew the half of it.' He smooths out his papers on the podium and opens his mouth to speak.

Danny chooses that moment to lean into his other ear, whispering hoarsely, "I honestly trusted you, Vlad."

The words the man had prepared to speak died on his lips. The broken-hearted admission twists into his heart with icy betrayal, while his body fizzles and swarms with electric arousal. Vlad feels the swell in his briefs start, and the total opposites in the mental and physical torment was surely going to kill him.

"I'm so sorry," he says, before remembering the microphone, "I uh- I'm so sorry that the – uh – week here has ended and I won't be spending more time here with you students." He quickly recovers.

"It's too late for sorrys, Vlad."

He reels, biting his tongue hard enough to cause pain, fighting so hard to stop the very real groan from escaping him. His grip tightens on either side of the podium, biting into the cheap wood, leaving finger-shaped dents. He accidentally knocks his papers at his feet, lamenting their loss briefly. His pants tent dramatically while the heated air within his trousers cause beads of sweat to roll down his thighs and knees. He presses his hips into the stand, trying desperately to hide his fully hard erection from view.

The press feels both relieving and entirely worse, making his head spin with desire. 'Need to get out of here!' He manages to think semi-coherently, 'Can't be seen like this around kids!'

He clears his throat and goes to take a sip of water before seeing it frozen solid. As he sets it down again, he pretends to cough, turning away from the microphone to desperately whisper, "Have mercy!"

"Like you gave me in front of my friends and family?"

Vlad feels what's left of his dark and ugly soul shrivel down in shame, he slowly turns his head back to the crowd and smiles weakly, "I would now like to offer a chance for any last-minute questions before I hand you back to your Principal."

He would love to just go, just run away as far and as fast as he can. But being a popular public figure means he should at least politely offer 30 seconds of pretend hope for idiotic questions before he can finally escape with feigned disappointment.

Just as he looks to Ishiyama to hand over the reigns and get the hell out of there, one student in the back stands up, hand raised high above her head. "Yeah, I've got a question!"

Vlad pales and looks out to the crowd, spotting Samantha Manson, all fiery rage and standing on her seat.

He grits his teeth, "Yes, Miss Manson?"

He ignores the idle finger tracing lazy circles over his back and shoulders, leaving painful, frozen trails in its wake. "Be careful how you answer her, she's pretty pissed too.'

"It's totally unrelated to your fantastic speech," Sam swoons dramatically before straightening up, "But I forget, what is the age of consent here in Amity?"

As the crowd begins to murmur, Mr. Lancer pipes up from his seat on the edge of the stage, "Great Gatsby, Miss Manson! That is a question that could have been saved for class! Don't waste Mr. Master's time here, he's clearly caught a cold or something and needs to leave!"

"It's quite alright," Vlad waves at him before turning to the idiotic girl, internally seething at the obvious jab. He grinds his teeth into a fake smile and politely bites out, "Each state has a different age of consent ranging from 16, 17 and 18. Our state is currently set at 16. If you have any further questions of that nature, I think you should speak with a guidance counsellor."

She crosses her arms and ignores how her classmates stare at her in a mixture of worry and pity, taking her seat without another word, glaring daggers the entire time.

Vlad feels Danny pat his back, "You just pissed her off more, I hope you realize that. Now the counsellor's gonna be all over her."

He nods, ever so slightly and droops further. Just what he needs, Danny's friends, his confidants, to also be against him. No wonder Tucker was so off this morning. They both must be so disgusted with him. All that playful banter in class is long gone.

"You poor thing, you must be so wound up right now," Danny coos into Vlad's ear, brushing his nose along the lobe and eliciting a shiver to flow straight through to the man's groin, "At least you did your research, or was that a happy coincidence?" Danny sighs, fanning his breath across Vlad's cheek and causing a stutter in his breathing, "Either way you really are a sick, sick bastard Vlad Masters."

Sheer iron will keeps Vlad from moaning out loud, scarring the sea of minors ahead of him and forever labelling him as something terrible. His eyes bulge as he holds his breath, feeling more wood splinter beneath his fingernails. The death grip on the podium keeps him from falling to his knees, as he's nearly lost all strength to stand on his own.

A sliver or something pierces his finger and he happily latches onto the pain, pushing it in deeper, anything to distract him from the hard wave of arousal forcing itself through his body.

Danny giggles, petting the hair that's plastered to his sweat slickened forehead. Vlad's got to be the only person within a 4-mile radius that's sweating, and he'd happily go back to freezing his nuts off on the hard-plastic chair behind him in a heartbeat.

Suddenly someone else stands in the audience, on the other side of the gymnasium. The boy waves his hand, "I've got a question!"

Vlad gestures for Tucker to proceed, hoping to God it is something that can distract him from this ridiculous situation he is in.

"Alright, so it's actually about the homework we covered this week."

"Yet another question that can be covered in class, Mr. Foley." Lancer bites out.

Tucker shakes his head, "No it's about Mr. Masters here."

Lancer grumbles his acquiesce and sits back down.

"So in Frankenstein, the monster starts as a person the reader sympathises with, because he's abandoned and alone against the world by his own creator, his only friend. Left to his own devices, he starts to explore the world and makes a few bad choices but we, the reader, pass it off as 'well, he didn't know any better, he had to learn everything the hard way.' Eventually the monster starts doing horrible things and hurting innocent people. It makes it hard for the reader to let it slide anymore, and they start to question if the monster is a lost cause."

Tuckers eyes seem to bore into Vlad's, "My question for you, Mr. Masters, is this: Do you believe the monster deserves another chance? Is he capable of learning to be good? Or is he doomed to be evil forever, never to make peace with his past? And, does he deserve to be forgiven?"

Vlad sees the olive branch that Tucker is offering him and doesn't squander the opportunity. Perhaps there is hope for Vlad yet. If he can convince Tucker then maybe Tucker can convince Danny…

He draws himself up, hoping Danny will let him answer the question unmolested. He hears nothing from the ghostly teen and realizes Danny also sees the opening and is letting him speak his piece. Vlad thinks carefully on his wording before answering:

"Someone very dear to me once said, 'Everyone deserves a chance to redeem themselves. If you make an honest effort, then that's the most important thing.' I believe what he was trying to say is that you can't expect miracles overnight, and people will absolutely mess up along the way. But as long as they honestly attempt to better themselves then they should be given a second chance. The monster, as you said, was abandoned by the only person he ever knew. He knew betrayal before he knew love, and this caused the monster to lash out and make stupid mistakes. He took what little light that came into his life and twisted it, manipulated it. It's all he's ever known. It's hard to feel sympathy towards a creature that's done so many dark and ugly things, true, but you have to remember, he did try. He tried so many times, but his ugly exterior and bad reputation always preceded him and eventually he just gave in. He is so very capable of learning, and growing and trusting, but I think he just needed someone to believe in him. Since no one ever did then he just became what everyone only saw, a monster."

Vlad pauses, hoping he got his point across. His eyes glisten with emotion before he quickly blinks it away. He clears his throat before turning back to Tucker, "Does that answer your question, Mr. Foley?"

Tucker smirks and gives a thumbs up, "Sure does, thanks Mr. Masters." He sits back down.

Vlad nods and feels Danny move away from his back. "Not bad, Vlad." The teen whispers in his ear, giving his ponytail another tug at the same time.

Vlad sways as his dick throbs, he lets slip a small groan and turns his head to quickly disguise it as a cough. He bites down on his tongue to keep a very inopportune orgasm at bay. The amount of control that requires makes him dizzy. He can taste blood; he must've bitten through.

The temperature in the air is suddenly more bearable, Danny must have vacated the stage. He feels relief flood his system and latches onto that much safer emotion. He smiles weakly at the audience, feeling his heart attempt to jackhammer out of his chest and hightail it out of there.

It takes him a minute but Vlad finally refocuses his vision on the students, giving one last push to save some face before finally fleeing the scene, "I-If that is all for the questions… then I will leave you with these parting words: I want to better myself as your mayor, that's why I came here. This week you have shown me that above all else integrity, honesty and action are the main things you need from me." He pauses to catch his breath, his body is so damn sensitive and raw right now, (dear Lord have mercy) that pulling together a logical sentence is absolutely exhausting.

"I haven't always been a great role model… or even a good S-Samaritan, but I promise you, with every fiber of my being and breath in my lungs, that I will do my part to pave the way for your goals in life. Never to hinder, but rather to help and encourage you." He looks around, eyeing Sam and Tucker strategically seated separately, "I will be better, I won't make the same mistake twice."

He bites his lip, wondering if he should push his luck before deciding to just go for it, he can't do any worse than he's already done by now, "And remember to give that monster in your life a second chance."

As everyone claps, Vlad realizes one fatal flaw in his plan: if he moves away from the podium, his not-so-little problem will be in plain view for everyone to see. He watches Principal Ishiyama approach and internally panics. She will expect him to move aside, shake her hand, maybe even take a picture for the school paper… all humiliating things to do while sporting a massive erection just one touch away from bursting. It's downright criminal.

He looks around, wondering how he can get out of this mess when he notices a few students near the entrance begin talking rather agitatedly.

"Hey, do you smell that?"

"Oh yeah, what is that? Campfire?"

"It definitely smells like burning…"

Vlad looks past them to see a grey cloud slowly curl its way towards the gymnasium door from the hallway. There's a brief pause before the students start screaming, "F-Fire! Fire!" and one runs to pull the fire alarm on the wall. After that everyone in the gymnasium is shouting and running to the emergency exit behind the bleachers.

Vlad hears a click come from the mic before feeling a chill brush his face and frozen fingers tug at his tie, "There's your mercy, Vlad."

And with that final jolt from the spell, Vlad's world shatters around him. His head falls forward, his eyes slam closed, and his mouth drops open, letting out a low moan that quickly climbs up into a high keen. It suddenly cuts out, having no more air in his lungs to fuel the incriminating sound. His knees buckle, no longer having the strength to hold him up, and he rests his entire weight onto the podium, barely registering the commotion around him. He gasps for air, feeling waves of heat coming from his cheeks, chest and ears.

As he slowly comes to, his face gradually shifts from bliss and exhaustion to shock and horror. He looks wildly around himself, noticing no one looking at him and ducks his head down, shielding his eyes with one shaky hand.

He just had an orgasm in front of Daniel's entire school.

Dear God.

His hand moves to cover his mouth as his eyes wildly double-check no one has witnessed such a deplorable thing.

Thankful for the distraction, Vlad quickly scoops up his jacket, strategically folding it over his arm and keeping it in front of himself to hide the evidence of his shame. He follows the crowd outside, careful to not touch anybody, mumbles a quick farewell to Ishiyama and flees to his car waiting in the parking lot. In a matter of seconds the mayor is speeding away.

If anyone thought to look back into the gymnasium, they would've seen a very frozen Danny Fenton, mouth agape and cherry red.

Ember looks over at her companion and quickly looks away. Freakshow stares at the empty stage, jaw hanging open, face painted brightly with second-hand embarrassment. Ember imagines she looks the same right about now, save for her few ghostly differences.

Freakshow finally breaks the silence, "Did… did he just…"

"Yep. He sure did."

Freakshow just shakes his head, eyes finally finding Ember's. She slowly grins at him, humour spreading over her features before she breathlessly begins to chuckle.

Freakshow lets out his own small giggle in reaction and before either of them know it, they're rolling on the ground, clutching their stomachs, laughing like wild hyenas.

It takes several long minutes before either of them are coherent enough to actually speak, surfacing for only a word here or there before divulging back into fits again.

Freakshow eventually gets a hold of himself, wiping tears from his eyes. He grins down at the girl at his side, "I like your type of fireworks better than mine, Em. That was the most entertaining show I've ever witnessed."

She smiles up at him, hands folded behind her head, "Thanks Fred! I am so glad we did this."

"Me too, my dear. Me too."

A/N:

Thanks for coming this far with me! I wrote so many variations to this scene. Ugghh I've deleted and rewritten thousands of words ...

It was this scene that really got me writing this whole story in the first place,

I just find it super fucking hot to have Vlad not able to react and Danny push his buttons out of spite.

Hopefully it was good for you too, I think I'm finally happy with it. And we all know how poor Plasy-Pants felt about it lol (love that nickname)

Anywho, I have quite a bit written for the next chapter already, you can safely expect it much sooner :)

Until then!

-SharktoothSARA