Chapter Seven

Danny woke up sober this morning, and he wasn't sure if it was any better than waking up hungover or still shit-faced even. He rubbed his head and realized his hair was reaching new levels of long and unkempt. He stumbled into the bathroom and took a long look at himself. His eyes looked dark and unyielding beneath the mound of black hair that fell over his face. The red in his eyes clashed horribly with the blue of his irises. Suddenly, he began to feel very self-conscious. He walked from his bathroom over to his desk, which was almost completely buried beneath clothes. He shuffled things around, unleashing a mountain of laundry which fell to the floor. He pulled open a drawer and dug into it to find an old, slightly ripped picture. It was a picture of him and Tucker when they were 17, getting ready to go to their prom. It was taken before they met up with their dates, and Danny was grateful for this. He studied the way he looked in this picture. His hair was definitely shorter than it was now, with is trademark length in the front which perfectly fell over face, giving him that angsty, brooding look. His eyes were a brilliant blue, rivaled only by the otherworldly green he knew they could change into. And he was happy. Excited for the future. Danny folded up the picture and slipped it into his pocket. He looked out his window absent-mindedly. He missed being happy. He missed not feeling guilty every damn day. He wanted it back, and he was beginning to feel his self-pity turning into anger and desire to get his happiness back. He would make it his goal-his job to achieve that level of happiness again. And he was going to start by dressing for the job he wanted.

oOo

Danny unlocked the front door and walked in as quietly as he could. He heard a noise coming from the kitchen. He heard two voices echoing from that direction and figured it was his parents. They probably hadn't heard him. Suddenly froze when he noticed Jaz making her way from the hallway directly in front of him. He hated explaining his actions to anyone, but now he was going to have to. Jaz looked up from the book she was glancing over, and her mouth fell agape.

"Danny? Oh my God!" she said. Suddenly Danny heard footsteps coming from the kitchen. He sighed. Within two second, his parents were in the archway of the hall, looking at him with equal shock. Danny suddenly realized it would be a good opportunity for him to have some fun with them. He tilted his neck and let his newly cut hair fall over his face, his blue eyes staring at them from behind the curtains of his jet-black hair. His family's shock turned to excitement.

"Danny! You look amazing, sweetie!" his mom yelped. His dad nodded in approval. Jaz had a huge grin on her face and gave him a knowing look. Danny rolled his eyes at her but gave her a little grin along with it. "What brought this on?" his mom asked, breaking Danny's gaze with his sister. He shrugged. He straightened his back and took a deep breath. He felt himself regaining control over himself and over his life with each breath he took. He felt good for once.

"Would this have anything to do with that girl we saw say sneaking out of her the other day?" Jack questioned his son. Danny felt his face contort into slight confusion. Did they not recognize her? he wondered to himself. He shot a glance at Jaz, who was making the same expression in her father's direction. Danny regained his attention toward the conversation.

"Uh, I dunno. I just felt like I was tired of being unhappy. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to…" he paused, his entire was leaned toward his direction, hanging on his words. "-to maybe…try again." He finished. His parents had a combination of pride and worry written across their faces, but Jaz could not have looked more reassured and confident in her brother.

"Does this mean-?" his mom began. Danny shrugged.

"Maybe." Was all he said, and he headed back up to his room. He did not see his parents glance at each other, slowly but surely putting the pieces together. He ran up the stairs and stopped short at the entrance of his room. He raised an eyebrow at the mess that laid before him. He sighed. "Guess this will be how I begin." He took a deep breath. He could feel his power dormant now but stirring. He breathed again. And again. In and out. In and out. He closed his eyes. He let his awakening power flood him throughout his body. He forgot how good it could feel. His eyes snapped open, feeling the ectoplasm fill his irises, staining them green, and moving his hand in a wave like motion, he lifted the massive pile of laundry from his floor into his laundry basket. He breathed again. Waving his hand back the other way, he shocked himself as everything in his room lifted from his resting place. He grinned, surprised. Using his other hand, he steadied everything and began to move groups of objects back to their rightful places in his room. I didn't expect this to be so easy and quick. It's been so long…I wonder…he thought to himself but continued to practice with his powers cleaning and reorganizing his room. It was a few hours before he was satisfied with the job he had done. He looked at the clock. It was already very late in the afternoon. He looked around for what in his room was clean to wear. He found an old white and red t-shirt, a red plaid button up and a pair of ripped, dark blue jeans almost having been waiting for him to find them and put them on once again. He changed, grabbed a pair of red Converses hanging from a hook behind his bedroom door and headed out to an old, abandoned house at the edge of town which he and Mia had agreed through text to meet at tonight.

oOo

Hands deep in his pockets, Danny walked onto the empty and abandoned lot where Mia told him to meet her. He definitely felt the creeps seeping out of this place. As if just having appeared from nowhere, Danny saw Mia standing at the side of the house, staring into it, not blinking.

"Mia?" he asked. She turned to look at him, and he saw her gaze instantly soften at the sight of him. She blinked three or four times very quickly.

"Danny? What did you do?" Her voice was steady, as she rarely ever seemed caught off guard or surprised by anything, but her eyes definitely gave her away, at least to him. He smiled.

"Cleaned myself up a bit, I guess." He smirked. He saw her mouth part ever so slightly when he did this. She very lightly bit her lip, but quickly stopped. If he had blinked, he would have missed it. "Anyway, why did you bring me to this place? It's fucking creepy." He said, trying to play off just how uncomfortable he was becoming. Mia's face folded into a watchful, alert expression.

"Why do you think that is?" she asked, looking again at the house. Danny was about to come up with some cocky response, until Mia put her index finger in the air, stopping him. "Close your eyes and be very quiet for a minute." Unsure of what was going on, he obeyed. Suddenly he could feel it. There was a weird energy, and what unsettled him even more was he could feel it building. He opened his eyes and looked at Mia. Her eyes were scanning the dilapidated building. As her eyes moved, she inhaled sharply and with a long, drawn out exhale, blue, frosty air came from her slightly parted lips. Danny felt cold air erupt from within him, searing through his throat, chilling his insides.

"Danny." Mia broke his concentration on his ghost sense.

"Yeah?"

"In all your years of ghost hunting and fighting, just how much do you really know about the ghost world?" Danny frowned in thought at the question. Danny had followed his parents research as much as he had needed to for each ghost he faced.

"I mean, I've traversed almost the entire Ghost Zone, why?"

"Did you think that all ghosts end up in the Ghost Zone?" Mia asked, almost darkly. Danny frowned again in thought. "People form groups, make societies and places where they can feel safe. It's the same with the Ghost Zone. But what about those who don't fit into society? What about those too dangerous to live…or die with the rest of us?"

"Too dangerous?" he asked, choking back the shakiness reaching his throat. He had fought scores of ghosts that had all been out to kill him; what could be more dangerous than that?

"There are ghosts, Danny, that are not the type to follow rules or join societies. Ghosts that you have not encountered. Ghosts that will do worse things than kill you." She trailed off. Danny felt himself shiver and noticed that the sun was almost completely gone. Never once during a battle had Danny ever felt scared, at least, not since the beginning. Now, however, was starting to feel different.

"Where are we, Mia?" he asked. Mia looked at the ground now.

"We are at the home of a family who was driven to suicide. Slow, slow suicide. Each one taking their life after the other. And they were drawn to do this by an evil spirit who inhabits this place. Now he uses their ghostly energy to build his power. And he has chosen us to be next…"