Chapter 20:

~~~DANNY'S POV~~~

I rushed to Saralyn's house as quickly as I could. When I came up to the end of the walkway, I stopped and pondered about what I would say. Something like "I'm a total idiot. Please forgive me." I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. I heard the sound of footsteps, and Saralyn's aunt opened the door.

"Oh, hello." she said. "You must be Danny. I'm Rebecca."

"Hello." I nodded. "Um... is Saralyn here? I really need to talk to her."

Rebecca stared at me.

"Uh... is something wrong?" I asked. "Is she not here? 'Cause I can come back later..."

"Well, I guess since it happened so soon the news didn't travel very far..." Rebecca said. "I'm sorry, Danny, but Saralyn moved back home."

I felt like Dash scrunched me into a locker.

"What?!" I cried.

I staggered backwards and nearly fell down the steps.

"Oh, dear!" Rebecca cried, trying to keep me balanced. "Are you alright? Do you need to sit down?"

"N...no..." I gasped. "I'm sorry. I got to go."

I ran away, nearly faceplanting onto the cement. I entered my room and turned on the computer. I clicked on the chat button next to Tucker's and Sam's usernames. It only took a few seconds for them to both respond.

"Hey, Danny." Sam said. She studied my face. "What's the matter?"

"It's Saralyn. She... she..."

"She what? Spit it out!"

"She moved!"

"She WHAT?!" Tucker cried.

"Saralyn moved!" I dug my nails into my hair and shook my head in despair. "No, no, no..."

"Danny..." Sam said. "I'm sorry."

The words of the mysterious girl echoed in my head.

"Was it nothing but a sham?" I said quietly. "Is destiny playing dirty tricks on me?"

"Danny? Are you okay?" Tucker said.

I lifted my head and stared at the wall. A rogue tear slipped down my cheek and I quickly turned off the computer. I wiped my eyes and went downstairs past the kitchen. Jazz sat at the table and read a book. She looked up, and when she caught my look of despair, she lowered her book and closed it.

"Are you okay, Danny?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine..." I said.

"Are you sure? You don't look like it."

"I'm fine."

"Anything you need to talk about?"

"I said I'm fine, Jazz!"

Jazz shrunk back, her eyes wide. Catching my reflection in the cabinet glass, I realized my eyes were glowing. I took a deep breath.

"I... I'm sorry, Jazz." I said quietly.

Jazz smiled softly and stood up. She walked over to me and gave me a hug. I flinched at her gesture momentarily before returning the hug. Jazz pulled away and smiled again.

"It's all right, Danny." Jazz said. "I heard about Saralyn. If you need anything, I'm here for you."

She clutched her book tightly in her crossed arms, and left the room. I stood alone in the kitchen for a minute or so before making my way downstairs into the ghost lab. When I was sure the coast was clear, I took a deep breath...

And let out a big scream.