Summary: #day1 - Memories: Even if you try to block things out, sometimes, those things want to find you...

(Thursday night)

Dan growled, holding his head, and then grabbed the nearest pillow to cover his ear, but the echoing ringing didn't go away and it didn't become quieter either. He shut his eyes to force himself to sleep, trying to close it out. But at first, he wasn't sure if he could sleep at all and- well, he either could tell if that was necessary. It would die away eventually. They had to give up, right? It was like, what? Nearly eleven? Who the hell was even calling the Fentons that late? It must have been some bored teenagers, right? A part of a stupid truth-or-dare game or something like that.

He tried to ignore the echoing noise, really, but it just didn't want to shut it. He was even wondering if that was even real. It shouldn't have been ringing that long naturally, right? Especially, he was wondering about how the hell the others could sleep with this damn constant ringing. Or was it just his quite sensitive hearing that he couldn't endure it? Yeah, right, growing up along with the famous Jack Fenton-snoring, clearly built up a kind of immunity to each irritating sounds at nights, but still… But then, he gave up. He couldn't bear this high sound any more.

Dan murmured a cursing under his nose, phasing through the floor and appeared downstairs. He looked around checking the surroundings if there was anyone nearby, or if Danny was secretly having a snack in the unlighted kitchen, but then as only the darkness was present, with no one around, he dropped invisibility. For a slight moment, he was waiting for anything to happen, but as nothing moved, he determined to aim for the damn phone, but- an eerie feeling that something was wrong slowly was crawling in the back of his mind, realising just now, here, now, everything was quiet, in almost dead silence.

"In fine!" he snapped, lifting his arms to the air, fumingly and shook his head unbelievably, then he turned around to fly back, but as he showed his back to the living room, the sound again hit his ear. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" Dan exclaimed, taking some harsh steps towards the room, just to stop at the small table, facing the ringing object with a raised up pointy finger. "I don't care if Danny would be blamed for it, or anyone, I'm gonna destroy you, you piece of shit. You're gonna be wasted to the smallest atoms, and even! I'm gonna destroy those atoms too!" he threatened the landline, even if it sounded just as ridiculous in his mind as it must have seemed from outside.

He grabbed the phone suddenly from the table, holding it for a second, and then- he pulled out the line that connected it to the electricity, putting it down to its place with a quick movement. "Now, shut it!" he said then, starting a long staring contest with it, but then- the obvious winner nodded approvingly. "Just as I thought." Dan declared his victory, and turned around, leaving the loser behind with its rather miserable fate.

He took a step ahead, deciding to go back to Jazz's room, to his current hiding place and not thinking about this, at all, that after everything, literally after everything, a small object could annoy him more than anything else, more than any pathetic ghosts that he had met with in the past ten years, or even earlier when- but then, it rang.

Dan stopped at the spot by the noise like he would have been literally got petrified. "What?" he breathed out without any sound, not even realising his eyes widened in confusion and… fear. How that- it just couldn't be, but- and then he managed to put it together, he saw it. It wasn't the phone that was ringing now or either earlier. Yeah, it was, but- not this phone, not this phone here…

He pinched the bridge of his nose, moaning but then turned back and sat down with crossed legs on the floor, facing the unconnected landline, giving up to fight against the unavoidable.

"All right then, you're not gonna let me alone, am I right?" he took the rhetorical question, letting out a deep resigned sigh, and took in his hand the receiver...

"I know it's you!" he barked into the phone as he, in fine, answered it. It had been ringing constantly, echoing within the empty walls, getting on his nerves in the past days. "Leave me alone!" he shouted, slamming it down, but he was too angry to hit the base of it, missing it and by that, he caught the man's voice from the other side.

"Daniel!"

"Why can't you just give up?!" he shut it to the desk, again and again, until it got completely destroyed. He even couldn't tell why he hadn't got it into pieces after the first fifty calls – or after the first few times when he had got sure it had been only the man calling him again and again, not letting it go.

Now, it was destroyed, completely wasted, and… he was just gazing at it, expecting to hear the ringing again, but nothing happened. And then, he let out a deep eased breath.

"In fine." he whispered, and then… there was just quietness. And it remained like that. He closed his eyes to enjoy it. After that, there was now, just silence, nothing else, calmness, and… it made an almost eerie feeling like when- but no, either that time hadn't been complete stillness. He had heard the quiet sobs, the wind blowing and… always something had made a bit of noise, but now… well, now, he expected to hear the ringing echoing from the walls or in his ears, after all, that had been constant since that, and the man had either given up trying to reach him.

He wasn't sure for how long he was sitting there, with crossed legs, for how long he was consumed by the dead silence, got sucked by it like it had been a black hole, and he would have been the smallest atom in the universe, unable to do anything against the endless nothingness, but then- he stood up and walked to the lab, avoiding to look around in the room, only aiming for one particular box where he remembered the specialised Fenton Phone was kept.

It wasn't yet modified to a ghost connected purpose (and either it wasn't an option any more for anything to be modified), it was just working as a simple landline if the person could connect the wires precisely. And luckily it wasn't that complicated. It took a few minutes to make it work like the previous phone, but then he grabbed it, placing it on the small desk and changing the destroyed one with it.

For a second he was just looking at it, but after that, before he could have changed his mind, or before he could have realised what he was doing, he dialed. It might have surprised him how he had known the man's number, but he had to admit he had seen it as much on the small screen that it must have burned into his subconscious, just to remember it now with ease. And even his far relatives hadn't called him that much to memorize their numbers…

"Sorry." he whispered in a low voice, without even waiting for the other to tell anything, as soon as it clicked noting the man answered the phone. For a moment there was just surprised silence, but then a deep breath was heard, only by that he recognised, he was the one calling the man, not the other way or answering in fine for the calls.

"No, it's… I am sorry." the other said. "I shouldn't- I really shouldn't have called you that many times, that's just insane, I just..." the voice paused suddenly but then continued. "I just wanted to apologise for not being there. I couldn't- I couldn't be there. And I know you think because of her and…" for a second the line remained quiet, he wasn't sure the man would finish the sentence at the end. He hoped the other was on to it because he couldn't say anything, or know what to say, but then, luckily the man spoke again, breaking the short silence. "I should have been there, I know. At the- at the funeral." he heard as the word got almost choked. "I just- I think I just couldn't. I hope you can forgive me, Daniel." the tone was very low now, it almost begged him.

He gazed at the floor, unsure what to say, running his fingers absently on his thigh, just to do something meanwhile, just to do something... For a very long minute, no one said anything, but then the man was speaking again.

"I know it must be hard, and I know it must be not a bit odd hearing that from me, but- if you need anything, with anything I can help, or simply just... I don't know-" the thought couldn't be finished, he immediately slurred it out, without even realising he was saying aloud his inner thoughts:

"I don't want to be here, I don't want to- I can't disappear. If I disappear, they'd search for me twice as much and- and they want to talk, everyone is just always talking and- and I don't want to talk, I don't want to see their faces, those faces and- they are always coming, I don't want them to come, I don't want to-" he shut his mouth keeping the rest rather unvoiced, and only finishing it mentally. 'Seeing them cry, comforting me and seeing them behave naturally while I- I couldn't do that.'

They all thought he was sad, devastated, so they always hugged him and touched him and everything, that they thought was helping, but- it wasn't that, it was just about that-

"It's empty" he said then, describing rather by that how he was feeling himself, if that was a feeling at all, but he knew the man was thinking he meant the place under the note. He just wanted to be out of here, out of everything, out of this- situation. Or just be normal, like everyone else, just as even the man's voice was hollow, almost broken, even him could feel. But sure, why couldn't he? She was one of them.

The man without any hesitation, described. "I can be there within a few hours, even quicker if I fly. Wait- no. I can be there within an hour, yes, I can be there within an hour. Is it-?"

"Wait. No!" he stopped him, by that, there was a sudden pause at the line. He knew the man was waiting for him, letting him time to express the reason for the abrupt interruption. He looked around, but then he closed his eyes, mumbling under his nose explaining. "I don't want to be here."

There was then just silence, it seemed as the other was thinking, but then there was a breath, an almost resigning one. "I... I'll send you a car then, all right? I'll- I'll prepare for you a room here. Is it- is it good for you to- to stay here for a while or to come here?" the man inquired, hesitating. "I mean, it's... it's only a temporary solution, but- till we figure out what to do then, all right? I... You can pack as many things as you want to, or as less as you want, I won't push you or anything. I just... if you don't want to talk, we don't need to talk at all, I'll be out of your sight, if- if it is working for you, coming here. I mean it's..." the voice trailed off, but then added with a much steadier tone. "I'd be glad though, you, being here..." it wasn't finished, there was clearly a 'but', hanging in the air.

He knew what the man was meant how it must have felt for him, this offer and even, he was thinking about it too, and... but- strictly speaking, he didn't care if that was about that, he didn't care about it, not in the least. And for once, he would get right of it, get rid of this damn situation, being out of it. And all things considered, the man was (or had been?) his enemy, just because she had- that didn't mean anything, right? And to tell the truth, he didn't care about if that was about the same damn thing, getting him. The man wouldn't pester him and... that was what he wanted, someone not caring with him and... he needed someone who was not caring with him, checking on him constantly, expecting things from him and... and for sure? Hardly it was about him, about his current miserable state, it was still about getting him, right?

"Daniel?" came the question and by that, he realised he wasn't saying anything for a long time. "Is it- is it working for you? I can figure out something else if it's not..."

He shook his head. "No, it's- it's okay." he knew his voice was barely a whisper this time.

"All right then. I'll see you soon. Until then..." he was holding the phone in his hand to end the call, when he caught the man saying the last words. "hold on little badger, all right? Everything will be fine." and then, he closed the line.

"Liar." Dan breathed out, gazing at the phone, blankly. He was aware it wasn't that one, but still…

His jaw tightened, raising his hand to destroy the damn landline with an ectoblast not caring that he basically was supposed to hold back his energy, but then- he lowered his arm, realising he could still recall the number.

For a long minute, he was just staring at the object again, and after that, he suddenly grabbed the phone, fingers on to dial, just to hear that voice again like- just as everything was before, before everything, but then- then he paused and just pulled back his hand, dropping it into his lap.

"No, he is not him." Dan reminded himself, and just by that, he felt as if a thousand tones would have been on his shoulder, imagining- imagining what would happen if once he got there, knowing it would happen no matter what. Within a few days, it would happen. He didn't feel himself ready for that meeting, seeing the man, like- like nothing would have happened, like-

He shook his hand, recognising he wouldn't be ever ready for that, but- he had no other choice and… on the weekend, just as Jazz had asked him to go that time, within the next few days, they would go there and then- he had to face him…

Dan stood up, feeling an urge to get an aspirin or something that could make this growing headache gone, ending somehow this damn stirring in his mind, but he knew well, for him it was not an option. That was human and- he unconsciously rubbed his chest feeling that sharp pain again, and under the movement the- he gazed at his hand, wondering for a second, but then let out a growl. No, he was just making up things.

"I fucking hate this place." he commented, turning back to invisible and floating back to Jazz's room, trying to occupy himself with something instead. He couldn't tell with what exactly, but he had to find something (above that damn questionnaire or to read one of Jazz's psychology books, because no, he wouldn't be that desperate to use those as a distraction).

If he had to count sheep the whole night or gazing at the ceiling, he would do it – sounded way better anyway than any other options he had. But then, he realised, just a little peek at that paper wouldn't hurt, just to be aware of how ridiculous questions Jazz had come up with. Not that he would answer those, just 'for fun', and now, he needed something like a diversion before he abruptly would make a decision and walk there to escape from everything else. How long that would take? – he was wondering for a moment. One, maybe two days tops, even less if he hitchhiked. For that note, the idea got a strong no.

"No, not again." he declared, moving his hand in the air to emphasize the decision and then he got out rather that damn paper from the upper drawer of the desk. Staying here, bearing with everything in this 'familiar' place and using Jazz as a taxi service then sounded much better than dealing with any other annoying humans who just didn't have the ability to shut up. To close that internal debate, he got a pen too and sat back with the questionnaire to his sleeping spot, preparing himself mentally for the obviously dullest questions his 'sister' could come up regarding him or the future.

And on the other hand, in fine, there was just silence within the walls, accompanied by snorings from each room, and even a soft one, from a few feet away from him too. Dan for a moment cracked a smile on the recognition, and to the idea to mention to Jazz in the morning that against her hopes she inherited the 'snoring' too, but then he took a look at the handwritten questions. Getting to know how she was feeling about him, being here, sounded better than trying to sleep or dealing with an other pleasant memory, especially with the ones that involved him too. And, well… today, he had far enough with these damn memories anyway.