The New Adventures of Danny Phantom
A Danny Phantom Fanfic by Quill N. Inque
I do not own Danny Phantom.
Chapter 14: Meet the Fentons…
Casper High Cafeteria, Noon.
Dani Fenton was hungry.
Normally, that would not have been surprising; teenagers, after all, are known for their ravenous appetites. But Dani, for some reason, was more famished than usual as she stood in line for her serving of pepperoni pizza; maybe all that mental exertion in class was taking its toll. However, filling her belly was the last thing on her mind.
Right now, Dani's brain stubbornly kept going back to the friendship she'd struck up with Chad.
He was so…nice, with a great sense of humor and an almost Arthurian code of ethics. Not to mention easy on the eyes, with his neat appearance and sturdy build. Dani found herself scanning the tables in search of him, and her heart leapt when she spotted Chad sitting in an unobtrusive corner. The halfa hardly noticed the lunch lady load her tray as she made a beeline toward him.
Waldorf: My wife used to cook all the time!
Chad looked up as Dani approached him, grinning hugely as his eyes danced. "Hey, whaddaya know? My day's looking better already!"
His friend snickered. "Flirt."
Chad stifled a laugh as he clapped a hand to his heart, his face twisting in mock anguish. "Why, Dani, your barbed words wound me to my very core! How can one so lovely be so heartless and cruel?"
"You ever try going out for the Drama Club?" Dani asked.
"Yes," he replied cheerily. "And I got a case of stage fright so severe I nearly wet my pants. But enough about me; how's your day been?"
"Oh, it's been fine, I guess. But…"
"But…" Chad said, encouraging her to finish.
"…I've only been here a day and I already hate algebra."
Her friend burst into laughter, and it was a few moments before he gathered himself enough to speak. "Don't fret, everyone else on the planet hates it too. Einstein himself once said, 'In real life, there is no such thing as algebra.'"
"So you're saying Mr. Cottonwood lied when he said we'd need this in real life?"
"Through his teeth," Chad said. "Never fear, though. I've always been rather adept at math, so if you like I'd be happy to give you some point
"Really?" Dani said, her voice eager at the prospect of liberation from algebra's tyranny.
"Sure," he said, with an air of one who genuinely enjoyed helping others. "Just name the time and place."
"How about my house after school? It's not that far away, so we won't have to take the bus."
Chad nodded, flashing that grin Dani liked so much. "All right. But I'll need to give my mom a call first, so she knows where I am. She can be overprotective, sometimes, but Ma means well."
"I know the feeling," Dani replied fervently as she thought of her cousin. She opened her mouth to speak again, but was silenced by the worried look in her friend's eyes.
"What's wrong?"
Chad lowered his voice as he spoke, his gaze traveling toward the group of bigger, older boys starting toward their table. "I think King Mordred and his villainous knights have taken offense at us for something."
"What did we do? We haven't even spoken to them," Dani asked bewilderedly.
"Your guess is as good as mine. People like them will take any excuse to beat up on someone weaker."
"Are you saying I'm weak?" Dani asked accusingly.
"God, no!" Chad said. "You're one of the strongest people I've met. It's me that I'm worried about," he murmured as the infamous Dash Baxter loomed over him.
To Chad's credit, he kept his tone polite as he nodded cordially at Dash. "Is there a problem?"
"Yeah, for you, freshman," the bully snarled. "Star asked you out and you turned her down! No one does that to my crew and gets away with it!"
"What?" Dani exclaimed, filled with outrage that someone had asked Chad on a date, but also with relief that he'd refused.
"I bet you can't give me one good reason why you turned her down!" Dash said angrily.
"How about one thousand?" Dani's friend said coldly as anger began to boil inside him. "Yeah, I turned her down, but I don't think that gives you the right to threaten me. I wasn't cruel or cutting to Star, and I made it clear that I'm already interested in someone else. Secondly, I have the right to choose who I spend my time with, and it won't be with any of the girls in your 'crew'. They debase themselves and their bodies with their carnal acts, rather than waiting to do such things within the loving bonds of husband and wife. I will not dishonor myself or my family by doing the same. Now then," Chad said as he stood up. "I don't think we have anymore to say to each other. I'll see you after school, right Dani?"
"Of course!" she said, already looking forward to their tutoring session as her friend disappeared into the crowd.
As Dash and his cronies stalked away, the force of Chad's words hit Dani like a thunderbolt. "He said he was pursuing someone else…was Chad talking about me?"
Later, after class, in the schoolyard of Casper High...
Chad knew he shouldn't be anxious; he knew Dani would show up. Still, he found himself counting the minutes until her arrival.
The girl he had quite literally bumped into that morning was starting to consume his thoughts. Chad was starting to get butterflies in his stomach whenever he saw her, and, to be frank, Dani was the most interesting person he'd met in a long time.
Chad started to mentally list all the things he liked about her: Dani was funny, smart… and very, very pretty, at least in his opinion. Now that he thought about it, she bore an almost uncanny resemblance to that famous ghost boy who went to school here…what was his name? Fenton, that was it. Danny Fenton. It's probably just a coincidence, though, he thought to himself. Fenton only has one sibling and I heard she graduated last year.
So absorbed was he in his thoughts that Chad failed to notice his friend sneaking up behind him.
"BOO!"
"GAAAAH!" Chad started with a yelp, but his angry expression vanished when he realized who had scared him. "Fine," he said with a smirk. "Two can play at this game. Have at ye!" he yelled, pulling a miniature squirt gun from his backpack.
Dani laughed as she tried to shield her face from the thin streams of water. "Where did you get that?"
Chad slipped into his "knight-in-shining-armor" voice, laden with faux-outrage. "I keep it with me for just this sort of occasion, in case I am attacked by rogues and villains such as you!"
His friend squealed as she tried to run, but Chad easily overtook her. "Do you yield, knave?" he roared, his smirk still in place.
"I yield, I yield," Dani panted between her giggles.
"And let that serve as a lesson to ye!" Chad growled, but his eyes were dancing as his friend punched him lightly in the arm.
"You are so corny."
"Thank you," he replied solemnly. "Where did you say your house was?"
"Oh, it's just around the corner," Dani said, pointing. "You can't miss it."
"It's only fitting for a damsel such as yourself to live in a castle," Chad said seriously.
"What is it with you and knights, anyway?" Dani asked curiously as they began to walk again.
Chad's eyes misted over. "My mother and father came over from Britain right before I was born, Dani. My father's family, the Seftons, go back all the way to the Middle Ages, where his ancestors served with distinction, fighting for king and country in famous battles like Tours-Poitiers, Agincourt, and Hattin. More than one Sefton was knighted on the battlefield for bravery and gallantry in combat, and I've always been fascinated with the legends of King Arthur and the Round Table; I want to prove that chivalry and decency have a place in today's world."
"Wow…so they were knights?"
"Yup."
"That's so cool!" Dani exclaimed. "Here we are," she added. "This is my house."
The ghost girl opened the door and motioned him inside, practically dragging him into the sitting room, where several other teens, slightly older than Chad, were gathered. He vaguely recognized them, but couldn't put names to their faces.
That is, until Dani came downstairs with someone else in tow.
Chad's mouth dried instantly; he had seen that face on the news for months, he'd followed the news when he'd gone to Washington only a short time ago.
Dani was beaming as she pointed at her friend. "Chad, this is my cousin, Danny Fenton. Danny, this is my friend Chad."
Looking at the older boy, Chad felt the blood freeze in his veins.
The look with which Danny regarded him was anything but warm…
A/N: And here's number 14! Told you it wouldn't be long, didn't I? XD Next time: poor Chad is enlightened to Dani's true nature…but how will Danny react to his cousin's friend?
Your humble servant,
-Quill N. Inque