Chapter 39

Kwan sighed, raking a hand through his hair. Their weekend search for the spirit turned out fruitless. The teenagers' hangout spot on the cliff overlooking town might have clued them in on the spirit's name and a few places where they might find him. But Sawyer seemed to have few friends. Plenty of the teenagers they questioned spoke to Sawyer on occasion during school, but they weren't close friends who hung out all the time. Many of them expressed concern about Sawyer's disappearance, but they couldn't offer much help for where he might have gone. From the sound of it, none of them thought Sawyer was the type to simply run away from home.

Kwan frowned. Obviously, Sawyer didn't simply run away from home if he ended up as a spirit. If he wasn't haunting places familiar to him when he was alive, then where was he? Danny may have rejected the idea of seeking help from some of his ghost friends, but Kwan thought it might be time to consider it, though they did still have a few weeks left before the deadline. They couldn't simply ignore their jobs teaching in order to dedicate all their time searching for the spirit. Having a few ghosts to aid them might help the search go faster.

"Keep frowning like that and you'll get wrinkles." Dash nudged him in the ribs with his elbow.

Kwan nearly jumped. He was so lost in his thoughts he missed when his friend appeared at his side. "Sorry." He rubbed at his forehead. Their winter break couldn't come soon enough. Once school was out, they should have more free time for searching.

Dash shook his head. "I know exactly what you're thinking."

"Really?" Kwan arched an eyebrow with a doubtful look.

"Of course!" Dash cracked a grin, and Kwan averted his eyes with a small flutter in his chest. "I know my best friend." He pounded his fist lightly against Kwan's shoulder. "You're worrying about finding that spirit before the new year so we can save Cameron." His smile fell flat as he lowered his blue eyes to the floor. "I think we all have that on our mind. I know this isn't something that takes only a few hours of looking and then everything's all fine and dandy again. But I feel like there's this giant clock hanging over us, ticking away the seconds until time's up."

Ah, that. Kwan almost laughed to himself. Of course Dash meant the whole spirit situation. He felt guilty to be relieved about that. A part of him, a small part, almost suspected Dash knew about his feelings. They seemed to become a bigger tangled mess by the day, and he feared he let something slip to reveal his feelings to Dash. Biting the inside of his cheek, he glanced to his friend. Dash remained oblivious, and though he seemed to settle into the idea of being bisexual, he still hadn't made any effort to seek out a man to date. Kwan felt sick to think Dash would come home one day and announce he was dating some man he recently met.

"We'll find him," Kwan said, putting on a smile as he held up a fist in an attempt to seem confident. He tried to always sound positive, but sometimes it was difficult. "This kind of thing, Danny's done it before. He'll do whatever he can to make sure everything turns out all right in the end." His smile faltered. "You know, we always idolized Phantom as a hero, but I don't think I could do everything Danny does. I don't know how he deals with all this crazy ghost stuff while maintaining a normal life."

"I don't think Fenton's ever had a normal life. Ow!" Dash rubbed at his arm where Kwan slapped him. "What? I only meant how normal a life could he have had when his parents were obsessed with ghosts?"

Kwan's mouth pursed as he considered the question. "I see your point. But I don't think his life growing up was necessarily a bad one."

"I never said bad. I only said not normal. Or at least what we would consider normal." Dash shrugged.

"I don't know." Kwan frowned as he eyed his friend. "In some ways, I think he might have had the better childhood." When Dash fell quiet for some time, Kwan felt like he had the wind knocked out of him. Why did he have to say something stupid?

"I guess we all had our issues." Dash shrugged and walked a pace faster down the hall.

"Dash-" Hanging his head, Kwan sighed. Then he hurried to catch up to his friend. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean - That was a stupid comment." He kept his gaze on the floor. A hand slapped against the back of his head, making it jerk forward, and stayed there.

"I'd be lying if I didn't think my life would have been a little better if it was a little more like Fenton's," Dash murmured softly, like he was letting Kwan in on a big secret. "But I realize his life wasn't exactly perfect either."

A whistle distracted the pair from their conversation. When he turned his head away to look for the whistler, Kwan realized a group of students stood around them. The students stared at them with varying degrees of expectation. Kwan's brow creased as he wondered for what they were all waiting.

"Shouldn't you all be getting to class?" Dash gave them a stern look, but it didn't seem to intimidate the students into rushing off to class.

"Kiss!" someone shouted from somewhere in the crowd. Kwan couldn't see whom shouted it, but his cheeks grew flushed in an instant. Why would the student shout something like that?

"Um," a female students stepped forward hesitantly, her cheeks turning a bright red, "mistletoe." She pointed up, and both teachers lifted their gazes to see the sprig of mistletoe hanging right above them.

"Who put that there?" Dash questioned. Once December came, the wintery themed decorations came out, and everyone plastered them all around the school. The windows looked like they were frosted over, though snow had yet to fall. The weather forecast suggested they might see snowfall soon.

"Tradition says you have to kiss the person you stand under the mistletoe with," a male student commented.

Kwan frowned, his gaze darting back up to the mistletoe. It was practically the perfect excuse to kiss Dash without it seeming weird. He bit the inside of his cheek as guilt settled inside him. While he would like to kiss Dash, he preferred Dash wanting to kiss him. "I'm pretty sure mistletoe was banned as a decoration," he said, turning his frown onto the students.

"Oh, come on!"

"That's lame!"

"Boo!"

"What's wrong with a little mistletoe?"

Kwan winced at the loud response from the students to his comment.

"Now, now." Dash held up his hands, trying to calm the crowd of students. "We have good reason for banning mistletoe. It might seem like a silly decision. It's just a small decoration. Completely harmless. Right?" Several of the students nodded, agreeing to that idea. "But imagine for a second, you're minding your own business when someone traps you under the mistletoe. There's a group around you, all cheering on for the two of you to kiss. But there's a problem. The person that trapped you is someone who has been harassing you and giving you unwanted attention. This is an awkward situation because you're under the watch of a public who expect a kiss to happen and have no understanding why this might be uncomfortable for you. If you don't kiss, you'll likely be harassed by the crowd of onlookers, but if you do kiss, you give this person exactly what they wanted. Their plan worked. We can't allow a situation like this to happen because we, as your teachers, want to look out for your safety and well being. So while it may seem silly to some of you, to others it might be a serious issue."

Kwan noticed a wave of uneasiness pass through the students, which was exactly what Dash was going for with his story. "I know this may disappoint some of you, but it's for the best that we take down the mistletoe. Is this the only one that was put up?" From the way the students averted their gazes, he suspected they had put up more sprigs of mistletoe around the school. He sighed. "Okay. I want you all to remove any mistletoe you find around the school."

"Hey!" Dash shouted when several of the students groaned. They quickly fell silent, snapping to attention. "This is about maintaining a safe environment for everyone in the school. We know this is a time of year where you all want to decorate and be in the holiday spirit, and we encourage that. But it's also important to be respectful of your classmates."

"We understand," several of them responded, and a few bowed their heads.

"Good." Dash nodded. "Now don't be late for class."

The crowd dispersed, the students shuffling off through the hall toward their next class. Kwan heard a few grumbles of disappointment, but the students were too far away for him to pick out exactly what was said. He watched some of the students walking away then lifted his gaze to the ceiling where the mistletoe still hung over them. When a pair of lips brushed against his cheeks, he jumped, his heart nearly leaping into his throat. He snapped his head around, and Dash laughed.

"I didn't mean to scare you." His laughter subsided, but there was still an amused twinkle in Dash's eyes. "But it is a tradition. Give me a boost so I can take it down."

Right. Tradition. Kwan tried not to let his disappointment show on his face. He was thrilled Dash kissed him, even just a little peck on the cheek which left his ears burning. But if it was just out of obligation, then it probably meant little to Dash. Or at least, it didn't hold anywhere near the same meaning as it did for Kwan.

"I guess it's a good thing you didn't get caught under the mistletoe with Mr. Dreyer." Kwan laughed when Dash shuddered at the mention of the elderly history teacher.

Then Kwan crouched down slightly, lacing his fingers together to make a foothold for Dash. After fitting his foot into Kwan's hands, Dash placed his hands on his friend's shoulders for balance. Kwan slowly lifted him up until Dash was able to reach up and remove the mistletoe. Dash remained steady with one knee resting on Kwan's shoulder and a hand on his head. But when someone coughed, Dash lost his balance. Kwan managed catch Dash in his arms before his friend could crash to the ground.

"Well, this is interesting."

"Hello, Mary," Kwan greeted with a friendly smile.

Mary Burke lifted an eyebrow at them, and Dash quickly removed himself from Kwan's arms. "Have I interrupted something?"

"Just taking down some mistletoe someone put up," Dash explained, holding up said mistletoe to show her.

"Oh. I see." Mary tried to keep a blank expression, but her mouth curled slightly, hinting at a small smirk. "You weren't trying to steal a kiss from someone?"

"What? No." Dash frowned, and Mary lifted an eyebrow skeptically. "Was there something you needed?"

"Well, I took your advice." Mary walked over to them, checking through some books and papers she carried. "I had a lovely little dinner with Celeste and her new pal over the weekend. She wanted me to pass these along to you." She held out a pair of envelopes with their names in delicate cursive writing.

"What are these?" Kwan asked, curiously taking the one with his name.

"Invitations." Mary waved the other envelope until Dash finally snatched it out of her hand. "Apparently Celeste and Hayley want to throw a little Christmas party this weekend. A bit early, really, but with it being Christmas and all, she didn't know if you would be around or travelling to visit family."

"She really wants me there?" Dash stared at the envelope, his eyes growing slightly wider. "I wasn't sure that she wanted anything to do with me. I mean," he lifted his head, "we haven't exactly spoken since the talk."

"I think she just wanted some time to figure out her own stuff." Mary stood with one hand on her hip. "You aren't the only one with things to think about."

"I never said anything!" Dash raised his hands in defense. "But," the corner of his mouth curled upward, "I'm glad she doesn't completely hate me."

"She was upset, but she doesn't hate you." Mary rolled her eyes. "But you're lucky she took the whole thing all right. Or you and I," she pointed between the two of them, "would be having issues of our own."

"I thought we were done with the threats." Though he said it casually, Dash grew the slightest hint paler. The bell rang, and Dash almost looked relieved. "Time to get to class." He grabbed Kwan's hand. "Yours is this way, right?" He pulled his friend along down the hall away from Mary. Even after they were far enough away, Dash didn't immediately release his hold. "She's never going to let that go, is she?"

"Well," Kwan rubbed the back of his ear, hoping his heart wasn't beating too loudly, "you did upset her friend. Mary just wants to protect Celeste."

"No one jumps down Fenton's throat after he broke up with Hayley."

"I wouldn't say that." Kwan chuckled when Dash shot him a confused look. "I heard him on the phone with his sister once. She didn't sound too happy about them breaking up." He frowned slightly as he thought about it. "Though she did sound kind of understanding at the same time. I guess that's a hard spot to be in. She wants to protect her brother from being hurt, but she's also friends with Hayley and wants to protect her friend from being hurt."

"Do you think she yelled at Hayley too?"

Kwan shrugged. "Who knows? But I don't think it would be surprising if she did."

Dash nodded, seeming to think on it for a while. "Catch you after class." He released Kwan's hand as he broke off to head down the hall toward his next class.

"Yeah," Kwan mumbled quietly, watching Dash leave. Then he sighed and walked into his own class. Why couldn't he just tell Dash how he felt?

Kimera20: Thanks! =)

YumiStar: Paige deserves better! D:

RedHeadsRock1010: Thanks! 8D

Cabbit and the Weasel: Dash does seem like the most likely candidate for making the first move, huh? XD

Lexosaurus: Bryce certainly seems like bad news, doesn't he?

Tetractys: Get your romance on already, Dash! You've got two guys waiting on you! XD

Ectolilly: One step closer! Even if it's just a small step. XD Oh, Dash, why can't you see how much Kwan loves you~?

xXRainbowCleoXx: SavePaige2016. Thanks~ =) Haha, Dash, king of sticking his foot in his mouth. XD

Marsetta: Hopefully things will be all right for Paige. =( Glad you like the name! =) I debated what to call Sawyer for, like, a week. It's a first name.

Casper97: Methinks Dash likes to play the hero as much as Danny does. XD;;

Just Will: I was a little worried I wouldn't get to reply to some people because until just this morning the reviews weren't showing again. Guess ffnet didn't get that fully fixed after all. I should have had that line in there. D: I just forgot about it when I was writing the chapter. Definitely would be interesting to see how Jeremy develops his abilities. Necromancers are pretty rare in Danny's world (or super good at hiding it). Even Vlad wasn't aware that necromancers existed, and he's dealt with his fair share of supernatural beings too. Yeah, they should be keeping an eye out for gifts. XD;; I can imagine Dash and Kwan having a difficult time thinking of something great to get Danny, though Danny might struggle too. Dash tries to be all cool, but he's just a dork too. XD