For the ghostsray's Phic Phight 2021 prompt: Danny learns something new about ghost cores!
This was bad. This was really bad.
"What did you bring for me today, Fenturd?"
Danny shoved his face further into his locker, risking a glance at the compact mirror he'd swiped from Jazz. To his horror, his irises remained as red as ever, eerie glow emanating throughout the narrow walls and making them look akin to the school darkroom. He'd been losing control of his eyes lately, unable to stop them from shifting. Even more concerning, they weren't the neon green he was so used to seeing, but a blood red similar to the ones he donned under his time with Freakshow.
According to his search, he was still in prison, locked away in solitary confinement after his last escape. But who was to say that the website wasn't lying? That he wasn't currently in possession of his staff and his thirst for revenge?
"You heard me? I'm talking to you, Fentina!" Danny was roughly yanked backward by his backpack and shoved against the array of lockers.
He squeezed his eyes shut, covering what he could with his bangs. "What do you want, Dash?"
"One of those roast beef sandwiches your mom packed for you," Danny felt a gust of breath as someone leaned into his personal space. "But make sure it's edible. I know about your freaky family's reputation with food."
If he knew about the ecto-contamination, why'd he bother stealing his lunch anyway?
Oh yeah, to make Danny's life even harder than it was already.
Head leaning down, he opened his eyes the slightest amount, reaching into his bag for said meal. He'd been really looking forward to it, but well, it's not like he could threaten the bully with the Fenton thermos. No matter how much he wanted to.
"Here," he shoved it in his direction, slamming his locker shut and making to leave. A few steps into his escape, Dash blocked his path again, hand bunching into the collar of his t-shirt.
"Hold up, I don't think it's very respectful to avoid me like that. The least you could do is look me in the eye. Right, guys?"
Behind them, the group of jocks all gave their enthusiastic assent, jeering at his obvious discomfort. It was all he could do to not go intangible and make a run for it. Internally, Danny was panicking, unsure about how he could possibly explain away his current predicament. Maybe he could play it off as a ghost overshadowing him, or pretend not to know what they were talking about.
"Hear that? They agree." Dash lifted him up to eye level, voice rising to a high pitched imitation of Danny's. "Look at me everyone! I'm Danny Fenton and I'm about to get the shit knocked out of me if I don't open my eyes on the count of five!"
Fuck, he couldn't handle this right now. He was exhausted from last night's latest battle, going home so late that he'd only just managed to complete his English report.
"One...two...three…"
He just wanted a break, heck, he wanted his food back.
'I wish Dash would just leave me alone.'
"Four…"
'Can't he tell I'm not in the mood right now?'
Suddenly, he felt Dash's grip loosen, releasing him back onto the ground. Before he could say a word, the jock shoved him to the floor, dropping something onto his lap.
"Whatever, I don't actually care about your lousy lunch anyway. I just like fucking with you."
Danny remained still, not daring to believe that the bully actually decided to leave him alone for once. He clutched onto the paper bag, realizing that he'd been given back his food. In all his time in high school, Dash had never walked away empty handed. To have him doing it voluntarily was...frightening.
"C'mon guys. I heard Mikey brought his lame Star Trek lunchbox again. Let's go make fun of him until the dweeb does our homework."
Danny heard the slowly disappearing footsteps, holding in his breath to make sure they didn't come back. When the coast was clear, he reached into his pocket for the compact again, checking to see if he could finally open his eyes.
To his relief, they were back to their baby blue. But that left him with a question; what the fuck was that?
"Mr. Fenton, would you mind staying after a minute?"
Danny doubted it would be as quick as that so he nodded, telling his friends not to wait up. He slowly made his way over beside Lancer's desk, imagining that whatever he wanted him for wasn't good. He'd been doing pretty well with his assignments lately, but there was sure to be something that bit him in the ass eventually.
Lancer motioned for him to bring over a chair, reaching down to pull a packet out from his drawer. Once Danny was seated, he pushed a manila folder over to him and pursed his lips, waiting. Confused, Danny complied, opening it and coming face to face with his recent assignment, the book report from last night.
"Could you explain what this is to me?"
Danny frowned, eyes trailing over the text. Sure, it wouldn't be getting him an award any time soon, but he'd actually read the book this time. He'd been seconds away from passing out by the end of writing it, so all things considered, he could say he was somewhat proud. A part of him surprisingly even liked the book, so what was the problem?
"It's my book report, Mr. Lancer."
Lancer sighed, tapping his finger over the first paragraph. "Yes, it's supposed to be your report on the Great Gatsby. And it was off to a good start, but then…"
Danny looked down again, staring at the words more intently.
The Great Gatsby follows the story of Nick Carraway, and his experiences dealing with the upper class. Notably, he gets close to Jay Gatsby, a man who…
...This symbolizes the american dream because…
Slowly, they began to change shape, going from his scribbled English to something Lancer would probably never have encountered in his life. Danny's eyes nearly popped out of his head, shock coursing through him, not knowing how he would wing himself out of this one.
'Nice going, Fenton. Way to make it more obvious you're not human.'
"I tried inserting this into a translator but all that came up were articles on dead languages and ghosts. Is there something you want to tell me?"
Danny shifted uncomfortably in his seat, feigning that he was deep in thought before suddenly releasing a heavy groan. "Ah, so that's what it did."
"Sorry?" Lancer furrowed his brow, fixing Danny with a confused stare.
"My parents' latest invention," he continued, trying to sound more sure than he really was. "Last night, they were testing it out in the kitchen while I did my homework. They accidentally pressed the wrong button and shot it in my direction. I guess they were trying to make something to communicate with the dead."
"So this is…"
"Ghost speak. It's an ancient language that ghosts naturally learn once they die. I think their machine made me temporarily fluent. Kinda cool, right?" Danny chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.
Lying wasn't something he enjoyed doing, but years of practice since the accident made him a pro at coming up with bullshit on the spot. Hopefully, his teacher actually bought it.
He waited, fidgeting nervously with his hands while Lancer simply stared. To Danny's horror, he reached for the classroom phone and started dialing the office.
"Hello? Yes, could you transfer me over to Principal Ishiyama? Yes, I can wait." Lancer paused. "Yes, thank you."
"Mr. Lancer, I swear I'm not lying-"
"I believe you, Mr. Fenton," Lancer gently interrupted. "But if that's the case, we need to schedule a meeting with your parents. It's unsafe for them to be testing out weapons near their children."
"But it wasn't a weapon! They keep anything dangerous in the lab!"
'I would know,' Danny begrudgingly thought.
"Even so, I don't think a kitchen is an appropriate place to be testing devices. No matter how harmless."
"Please Mr. Lancer, I don't want you to get the wrong idea," Danny pleaded. His chest felt heavy, filling with dread. "Hang up the call, please."
He felt the heaviness building up, accompanied by a strange tingling behind his eyes. Assuming it was an oncoming anxiety attack, Danny tried to take subtle breaths. In his mind, he repeated the same phrase over and over; 'calm down, this isn't a big deal.'
For some strange reason, it felt appropriate to say out loud.
"It's really not a big deal." His voice was more stable than he expected it to be, smooth and sounding almost detached from himself. "I would tell you if it was, please Mr. Lancer."
'Calm down.'
Slowly, miraculously, Danny watched as the furrow between Lancer's brow relaxed, face falling into the picture of serenity. Even the teacher's shoulders, which he hadn't realized were so stiff, slumped downwards, all the tension melting off of him before his eyes. With a sense of finality, Lancer hung up the phone, fixing Danny with a smile.
Though welcome, the change was so drastic that Danny couldn't help but be skeptical, even as Lancer slid the folder out of sight.
"You know what? You're right, I was blowing everything out of proportion."
"Sir?"
"You're free to go now, Mr. Fenton. Your friends have been kept waiting long enough."
"Oh, um, thanks sir. I'll just-okay." Not wanting to test his luck any further, Danny jumped to his feet, on the border of a run towards the door.
Just before leaving, he threw a quick glance over his shoulder, catching the way Lancer still sported that same placid expression. Not paying it any more mind for now, he left, intending to make the most of what he had left of his lunch period.
In the process of escaping, he failed to notice the faint red glow reflected back at him from a nearby window.
"So he was about to call your parents?"
Sam slapped at Tucker's hands as he sneakily tried to snatch one of her fries, continuing the conversation as if nothing had happened. Danny huffed under his breath, silent laughter escaping him at his friends' antics.
"Yeah, but then he just stopped out of nowhere. It was kinda weird to be honest."
"Huh, weird is right, he never listens to you," Sam commented. "But hey, at least you got him off your back."
"Yeah bro, call it your lucky day." Tucker took another heaping mouthful of his mega beef burger, much to Sam's quiet distaste. "Anyway, have you seen the new Doom update? It's sick!"
The conversation quickly veered into a different direction, Tucker and Danny immediately coming up with ways to upgrade their avatars, with Sam throwing in a comment or two of her own. Tucker was in the midst of trying to convince Danny to re-enter the game as Phantom, when he felt the telling chill of his ghost sense, followed by fear. Wait, why fear?
The doors to the cafeteria were suddenly shoved open by a frantic Mikey, his chest heaving as he screamed, "GHOST!"
The effects were immediate, students abandoning their lunches in an attempt to flee before the spirit arrived. The team shared a meaningful look, Sam nodding her head over at the cafeteria kitchen, which the lunch ladies had left behind as well. Casting one last wistful glance at his burger, Tucker led the way, trying to appear as frightened as possible.
Once there, they double checked that no one was in the vicinity and Danny shifted into Phantom, white flash radiating throughout the room. Expecting the worst, he focused his energy into the palms of his hands, building up an ecto-blast in the case of it being one of his more powerful enemies.
Sam and Tucker made a silent gesture indicating that they were heading towards the entrance closer to the back of the cafeteria, prompting Danny to nod and quickly fly out the opposite direction. The goal was to trap the entity from both sides, have Danny do the brunt work, while his friends snuck up from behind with the Fenton thermos. Quick and easy.
Danny placed himself behind the door, waiting for his enemy to enter the room. He held his breath (though he really didn't need to breathe in this form in the first place), and blocked the entrance once he saw a blue streak rush past him. Before the ghost could go any further, Danny made his presence known.
"Of all the places to attack, you decide on a high school cafeteria?" Danny huffed, posed in his fighting stance midair. "And here I was thinking the ghost zone had better food."
The figure stopped, materializing into a more solid being and turning to face him. "Who dares taunt the all-powerful Amity Park spectre!"
"Oh, it's you." Danny blanchs, letting his arms drop at the sight of the Box Ghost. "Tucker's right, this really is my lucky day."
"Cower before my almighty existence!" Oblivious to Danny's obvious unworried expression, Boxy raised his hands in what was meant to be a menacing gesture, wriggling his thick fingers. "I am the ruler of all things cardboard! King of all things square and cubic! Fear me!"
"Alright alright, would it boost your ego if I at least pretended to be scared?"
"Not that you need to pretend, but I would grant you more mercy if you did."
Danny chuckled, deciding to humor the other ghost for once. After all, his day hadn't been half bad so far. "Okay just give me a sec to get into character."
"Take all the time you need, oh inferior one." Boxy crossed his legs, allowing him to compose himself.
In the meantime, Danny closed his eyes, gathering the best his years of practice could give him. He was used to appearing scared as Fenton, all he had to do was act that out as Phantom. Unbeknownst to him, wisps of red trickled throughout the room, escaping through cracks in the door, the crevices between the air vent.
'Fear'
The word echoed throughout his head, blocking out all other emotion as Danny found himself tugging at something within his core. The same tingling sensation from before sprung up behind his eyes, causing him to clench his fists. The feeling was so foreign, and yet he felt as if he could reach out, release the heaviness in his chest with a snap.
Out of curiosity, he focused on his core, the thought of fear placed at the forefront of his mind. Bracing himself, he grasped onto the tension and pulled as far as he possibly could. When nothing happened, he let it go, expecting nothing to come of it.
And nothing did, until-
'I'm so scared.'
Danny gasped, mind reeling as his eyes shot open. There was a ghost in front of him, one that should've been familiar, but was suddenly a stranger in the midst of all the chaos in his mind. Why was he standing in front of a ghost? Why didn't he run away with the others?
Fuck, he was so scared. He didn't want to be here, anywhere but here.
"Huh? You know your acting isn't half bad." The being inched closer, eyes squinted in his direction. "Could do with a bit more screaming though."
Panicking, Danny yelled at the top of his lungs, backing up into the door behind him.
"Exactly, like that!" The man, no the ghost, clapped his hands with glee. "You should really consider this as a career."
Danny clutched at his scalp, tugging at his hair at the continued onslaught of terror. It was difficult to think through it all, the pressure so intense, he felt it coming at him from all sides. He thought that distancing himself from the ghost would take away the pain, but it was almost as if he wasn't the source of fear at all. And if he wasn't then what was? And why did it feel like it was everywhere, surrounding him, suffocating him?
"F-fuck, I can't," he muttered, struggling to speak in between gasps, but unable to contain it all within his head. "I can't. I can't do this!"
From the corner of his eye, he caught two figures sneaking up behind the ghost. Somehow, amid the ringing in his ears, he knew that they weren't dangerous. They also weren't afraid.
He grasped onto the feeling, the emotions rolling off of them in waves. Determination, concern, bravery. It was stronger than the fear bathing the building around him, and he allowed it to fill his lungs, his entire being.
By the time the ghost was gone, trapped in the Fenton thermos, his thoughts were coherent enough for him to remember his surroundings. Right, he'd been in the middle of fighting the Box Ghost, though 'fight' was a generous way of putting it. The situation had been fine, light-hearted even, until somehow he'd managed to tune in on the emotions of the entirety of Casper High.
He couldn't recall since when he'd been capable of doing such a thing.
"Danny, are you alright?"
Realizing that he was on his hands and knees, Danny shakily stood up, raising his head to meet Sam's gaze. The reaction was immediate, both of his friends taking a step back as Tucker grasped onto Sam's arm.
"Bro, your eyes, they're…"
Danny didn't have to check to know that they were glowing an eerie blood red, his latest anomaly coming to bite him in the ass. He should've been used to it, his constantly developing ghost powers. If it wasn't for the reaction of those around him, he might've been.
Tugging on that weight within him, Danny probed the surrounding air, finding that fear began to permeate the cafeteria as well. Fear of him.
Danny closed his eyes, knowing that it was surely reminding them of the time he'd been under control. A time where he'd been nothing but the evil image of ghosts his parents so often talked about. The emotions were building back up to that unbearable level again, now that the confidence of his friends was long gone.
"Danny please look at me."
He could hear the faint shuffle of Sam's heavy combat boots, and the gentle grasp of a hand on his chin, lifting his head. Strangely enough, the heavy terror that laced the air around him did not match with the concerned expression on either of his friend's faces.
Cautiously, he reached up and grasped her hands instead, seeking warmth amid all the confusion within him. "Are you guys scared of me?"
"What?" Sam frowned, exchanging a glance with Tucker, who looked equally thrown aback, if not affronted.
"Dude, why would we be scared? We've seen you do crazier shit." Tucker leaned in, squinting. "Have you forgotten your eyes are neon green like half the time? The red isn't that bad, you might as well evolving into a traffic light."
"Yeah," Sam agreed. "What gave you that impression?"
"I don't know it's just…" Danny searched for the proper words to describe his current predicament. "I can feel it. All around me, you're scared of me. A ghost."
"Maybe you read the room wrong," Tucker suggested. "Shocked, yeah. Scared? Hard to feel scared when we know you wouldn't hurt a fly."
"Unless it was an evil ghost fly attacking Amity Park."
"Yeah, that." Tucker nodded. "Try doing your ghostly vibe check again."
"It's not a vibe check," Danny huffed, but reassured, decided to try it again. He closed his eyes, focusing on the lingering fear around him. If he zoned in on just that one emotion, he was able to somehow trigger the tingling behind his eyes. Feeling the sensation grow, Danny opened his eyes and tugged, yanking at the remnants of the emotion filling the walls of Casper High.
Instantly, the red wisps from before shone brighter, finally alerting Danny to their presence.
He blinked, in awe despite his uncertainty. "Whoa."
"What?" Tucker followed the areas where his friend's eyes lingered, unable to see what had caught his attention.
"There's these webs, everywhere." Danny followed the trail of one, meeting a dead end as it went under the cafeteria door. "They're thin little red webs."
Tucker slowly inched closer to Sam, grabbing onto the girl's shoulders as he released a nervous chuckle. "Just webs though, right? No spiders?"
"No, no, don't worry." Danny caught sight of a red string suddenly appearing from Tucker's chest. He searched for words, deciding to experiment. "They're not real webs. That's just the only way I could describe how they look. You're okay, Tuck."
He watched, amazed, as his friend's red fear began to visibly dim with his every word, disappearing altogether when he assured Tucker there were no spiders around.
"Does that mean you figured out the whole 'my friends are scared of me' thing?" Sam asked, interrupting Danny mid-thought.
"Hm? Oh." Danny blushed, letting go of her hands to rub his neck. "Yeah I think I mistook the school's emotions for yours. Shock is kind of similar to fear, I think. And the ghost they're scared of, it's the Box Ghost, not me. Surprisingly. This is all really confusing."
"Confusing is right," Sam smirked. "Didn't think I'd see the day the great Danny Phantom cowered before the almighty Box Ghost."
"Yeah!" Forgetting his previous worry, Tucker began to laugh. "You should've seen yourself, man. You were all 'Boxy, I'm scared!'"
"Have mercy on me, Box Ghost!" Sam raised her arms as if blocking herself from an unforeseen horror. "I am but a powerless blob in your presence!"
"Okay, okay, I get it." Danny allowed a small smile to slip through his nerves. "But you have to admit, those cardboard boxes of his give some mad papercuts."
"Oh yes, infection via papercut is a real fear." Sam met his smile with one of her own, relieved to see him finally calming down. After a moment, she sighed and turned to Tucker. "Does this mean more Phantom practice later?"
"Oh yeah, for sure." Tucker pulled his PDA out of his pocket, tapping on their tentative training schedule. "Does after school tomorrow sound good to you guys?"
"Yeah, not like I got much to do anyway," Sam shrugged.
"Same here." Danny's eyes wandered around the cafeteria, difficult to see in its entirety with his current vision. "In the meantime, I'll try to get rid of these weird red webs. I can't see very well like this, and I'm clumsy as it is."
"Then it's settled." Tucker pocketed his device. "Team Phantom has a new power to perfect!"
As it turned out, the range of colors that Danny was able to pick up on were not limited to red. After hours of practice, and many emotions on Sam and Tucker's behalf, he was able to hone in on a limited set of feelings. Yellow-green was for annoyance, a dark red was for joy, and a deep purple was for boredom. He also learned that somehow, hunger counted as its own emotion, characterized by the burst of baby blue that appeared to coincide with the rumble in Tucker's stomach. It was actually pretty interesting, and even got to be fun once he got over his discovery that he could tug at other people's webs of color as well.
That had been an accident too, when he found himself in between his friends' bickering over who's practice methods were better suited for him. Their strings had begun to shift into all sorts of hues, giving Danny the lights show of a lifetime, or dead time, dead-lifetime? Whatever the case was, he found himself latching onto the fondness seeping through, underneath all that irritation. They were so angry because they still cared about each other's opinions, and that little hint of lavender was enough for Danny.
Following his instincts, he had mentally grabbed onto the hue, gently coaxing it to stay long enough to overshadow all the others that threatened to seep out. Being patient was another trick that he had learned, quickly finding out that brute force would be too jarring for whoever he was affecting. Slowly but surely, his friends' aggressiveness had waned, leaving them with apologies and a promise to compromise among one another.
They hadn't minded once Danny explained that he was the reason behind their change in mood, writing it down instead so that they could dedicate an entire session to that facet of his ability. Really, he was lucky to have such understanding friends, and he let them know about it once he walked them to the door.
"Thanks guys. I know I've said it before, but this would all be so much scarier without you."
"Don't sweat it," Tucker said. "Who else gets to say they have a superhero friend to practice powers with?"
"Yeah, we like learning this with you." Sam agreed. "You've always been there for us too."
"Still, thanks." Danny grinned, waving them goodbye as they turned to head home.
"See yah, Danny!"
"Bye!"
Danny shut the door behind him, trudging his way up the stairs. The week had ended in a way that left him strangely content, though that didn't negate his fatigue. He could go for a nap, a solid hour or two to invigorate him for patrol. Lost in thought, he nearly missed the quiet sniffle that escaped Jazz's room. If it wasn't for her slightly ajar door, he never would've heard it.
Quietly, so as not to startle her, he made his way over, pausing just outside her threshold. He knocked against the wall lightly to catch her attention, and heard a rapid intake of breath as a response. He waited a moment, hoping to see what was wrong as he heard his approaching sister's footsteps.
To his surprise, he had the door shut firmly in his face.
"Jazz?" He frowned, exhaustion replaced with curiosity.
"Go away."
"You know I can just phase through the door right?"
"And you know I have dozens of ecto-weapons at arms length, right?"
Danny scoffed, knowing full well Jazz would never dream of pointing anything remotely harmful in his direction. Still, the message was clear, and he decided to respect her wishes. He crossed his arms, thinking for a moment, before deciding on a different approach.
"Are you okay?"
No answer.
"Dad hasn't finished all the fudge yet, you want the last piece?"
Again, no response.
Darn, he really thought that would work. Despite her cool demeanor, he knew his sister was just as weak to fudge as the rest of them. His childhood self had sustained enough scratches play fighting over the freshest batch to prove it.
He sighed, leaning back against the door and closing his eyes. He could just walk away, but after everything Jazz had done for him, it just wouldn't feel right. She was nosy all the time, he had the right to look after her too once in a while. She would do the same if she caught him crying alone in his bedroom. The question was, what could he do when she wouldn't let him in?
As he thought of how to best approach her, he slowly became very aware of the trickle of irritation seeping out from the cracks in the door. Struck with new inspiration, he crouched down and reached over to where he knew the wisps of emotion were floating. He focused, watching as the colors came to life. Some of the hues he didn't recognize, but the ones he did clearly resembled what he'd been seeing at Casper High. A shade just below the green of irritation.
Stress.
"Is this about your upcoming college entrance exams?" Danny ventured, biting his lip as he decided to add, "And your AP tests?"
Jazz didn't say anything, but he could see her emotions perking up. Bingo.
"I would say you have nothing to worry about, but I know that's not how you roll." Danny searched through colors, finding one he didn't know the emotion of, but deciding to try it out anyway. It was a gentle cream, almost white, that filled his chest with warmth as he mentally grabbed at it. "And I think you know you'll ace them too. You're not worried about failing, deep down. I think what you're going through right now is burn out. You've been studying all day, not a single break, and you're exhausted."
"I don't want you to comfort me."
"I know," Danny smiled. "I could tell by the way you slammed the door in my face."
"And here I was thinking you didn't take a hint."
He ignored her comment, instead reaching his hand out to gently poke at the wisp. If he focused hard enough, he could make the cream travel upwards, coating all other colors. But he needed her to genuinely feel better first, he didn't want to settle for only artificial feelings.
"You're too selfless sometimes. You work really hard and then don't let anyone comfort you."
"Sounds like someone I know," Jazz snapped, wisp flickering yellow-green.
Danny wanted to say it wasn't the same, that he couldn't afford to take breaks or receive hugs when people's lives were on the line. Instead, he hummed, letting her have this one. For now.
"How about this, we both admit that we're under immense amounts of stress and take the day off. You could use a break and Val can handle patrol for the night. We're both happy."
The cream didn't budge.
"It's a rare slow day, you should be catching up on some sleep. Whatever I'm going through can wait, it doesn't hold a candle to what you constantly experience."
Danny frowned, confused as to where the comment had come from. It didn't sound bitter, just resigned. Jazz had never made a statement comparing herself to him before, it was often the opposite. How long she'd been stewing on this, he didn't know, but he wasn't about to interrupt her while she felt open to revealing the information.
"I'm supposed to be the one looking after you. I'm your big sister, and you're the town hero." Jazz continued, taking his silence as prompting. "Everyone relies on you, all the time. I don't know how you do it. The least I can do is not add to everyone else's problems."
Danny thought over the best way to respond, unsure how to explain it to Jazz that he wanted her to confide in him without sounding like he was letting his hero complex get in the way. He cared about her with the same amount of force that she did about him, although he wasn't nearly as vocal about it as she was. Maybe it was time he let himself speak more freely, no holding back.
"Well, that's stupid." Danny winced. Okay maybe that wasn't the best way to go. Too late to take it back, he rolled with it, figuring he had to elaborate before Jazz got too offended. "I'm not saying your feelings are stupid! Just...that thought is. I'm always going to put you guys first, before everyone in this entire town. My friends and my family. So, you don't have to hold back when talking to me. I like it when you tell me things, even when it's your stupid psych facts. It makes me feel like you need me, like I'm more human. And this is gonna sound cheesy as fuck, but I'm your brother and...I care about you."
He took a deep breath, internally cringing at openly admitting to his emotions. It was still sometimes a shock to him, that after all these years of fighting all powerful beings, expressing himself was still harder to do. Pariah Dark was a walk in the dark compared to admitting to being a rather sensitive person. He'd faked his distaste for rom-coms more times than he could count at this point.
He heard a final huff on the other side, a spark of hope lighting up inside him when he heard his sister's steps approaching. She didn't open the door, but he could hear her leaning against it, getting comfortable. Opposite her, he decided to do the same, ready to listen.
And listen he did.
Slowly, with faltering sentences, Jazz began to tell him about her problems, obviously unaccustomed to being the one on the speaking end of the conversation. Apparently, she hadn't been sleeping properly for the past week, waking up in fits of anxiety in the middle of the night and deciding to forgo rest altogether so that she could re-read past textbook chapters. Eating had been out of the question as well, followed by, to her embarrassment, not having showered for the past three days. Danny briefly made a joke about that explaining the smell around the house lately, to which she feigned annoyance and told him to shut up.
Besides that small interjection, Danny remained mostly silent, listening to her rant with quiet hums. He personally wasn't given many opportunities to study, so he only did as much as he needed before calling it a day. Jazz on the other hand, she was prone to overthinking, believing that if she was not on the verge of falling apart, then she had obviously not done enough. Danny could understand this, perhaps not with school, but when ghost hunting, where he often felt strange bouts of guilt if he ended the day comfortably.
Listening to his sister made him come to conclusions about his own behavior as well. The stress, the constant paranoia. Sure, they were living very different experiences, but the consequences were the same. He had no idea how she had possibly come to the conclusion that her feelings weren't valid or worth bringing up to her brother.
When she finally came to a stop thirty minutes later, Danny invited her to take a break for a second time. Her lack of response made him wonder if maybe the conversation didn't help her at all, but when he looked over at her emotional wisp, he saw it much steadier than it was before.
Unsure what else to do, he stood."On the bright side, your test is bound to go better than mine. What with the mass murder and all."
The silence afterward was suddenly a whole lot more awkward. Was that too dark? He hoped it wasn't too dark. Maybe he was hanging around the other ghosts too often. He tried not to stew on it, finally hearing a shuffle on the other end, followed by the sound of Jazz unlocking the door and turning the doorknob.
He glanced up, coming face to face with her bloodshot eyes and uncharacteristically frizzy hair.
A sniffle. "Your eyes are red. Have you been smoking weed?"
"New power."
"Ah." A pause and then a small smile broke through. "Maybe you can tell me all about it downstairs. Over some fudge and a movie."
Danny returned the gesture, leading the way.
Unfortunately for Danny, that was not his final encounter with emotional distress. Pleasant emotions, he found, were the best. They made him warm and fuzzy inside, light on his feet, and he especially enjoyed encountering them from grateful civilians after a fight. Knowing that he was actually making others happy made up for the lack of verbal validation, helped him get on with his day. Negative emotions on the other hand, they were awful.
He confirmed his aversion to them upon returning to class the following Monday. Finals week left the halls absolutely reeking with stress, disorder, and all other pre-test jitters. Being surrounded by juniors undergoing a looming college crisis didn't help matters either. Freshmen were bad enough already, and this was too much.
Tucker and Sam had been trying to help him gain a greater semblance of control over his powers, learn how to filter the bad emotions or at least absorb them to a lesser degree. Training with them seemed to improve that, but he was still nowhere near proficient at doing so. Sitting in Lancer's lecture during their final review day was draining him, and it was all he could do not to run to the front of the class and reveal himself as Phantom. At least that would give him emotions other than absolute misery.
Now, thirty minutes after he had knocked around the latest attacker and trapped them in his thermos, he found himself curled up in the janitor closet, still in ghost form. He had about fifteen minutes left before lunch was over, but he was really not in the mood to eat, wanting more than anything to have some peace and quiet.
The hallway lighting had turned much too bright over the course of the day, basking his surroundings with a surreal, daydream-like quality. Even his clothes, worn and usually comfortable, had begun to itch on his skin. The school's low-on-spirit week was wearing him thin, his brain crowded with everything, too soon all at once.
He breathed in slowly, basking in the stale quality of emotions filling the room. The general school population was far enough that their moods had been dulled to grey, to his relief. He got comfortable, using a squishy package of unused rags as a pillow while he calmed down. That was more like it.
Now, if only he could catch a quick nap before the bell rang-
DESPAIR, FAILURE, DESPERATION
Danny shot up, thoughts of sleep knocked out of his mind completely.
'You have got to be fucking kidding me.'
He grumpily maneuvered his way to his feet, brows furrowing in surprise when he heard a sniffle followed by the pooling of light of the closet door being shoved open. It closed as quickly as it'd been slammed wide, alerting Danny to the presence of another person.
"I'm such a fucking loser." A quiet whisper, followed by more choked sobs. The person in question sounded like they were trying to swallow down any sound, proving unsuccessful when more cries escaped them.
Danny considered phasing out before they were alerted of his presence, and then thought better of it. He was Phantom, and while he often protected Amity through more punches than heart to hearts, he figured this wasn't all that different of a situation. Someone was in distress, their aura, no longer called wisps due to Tucker's criticism of the name being too lame, glowing red, tacky green, orange. He couldn't leave them.
"Um, are you okay?"
The person startled, back crashing into the wall of cleaning supplies, an array of them clattering to the floor. With their change in position, Danny was able to catch sight of a familiar face, their identity not yet confirmed until a sudden screech escaped them.
"Phantom?"
"Dash?" Danny quirked an eyebrow, floating in to catch a closer look, and yes, that was the jock alright.
Dash's expression was struck by a glimmer of awe amid his sadness. "You know my name?"
"Kind of hard to forget my number one fan." Danny smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck as he crossed his legs and got comfortable. He hoped he wouldn't regret his decision to stay. "So, what's up?"
"Oh, um, it's nothing." Dash puffed out his chest, an obvious attempt at appearing tough that failed due to the tear streaks still currently staining his cheeks. It was an oddly vulnerable position to see him in, one that made Danny slightly uncomfortable. This was the same guy that shoved him into lockers every week?
"I know it has to be something. C'mon, talk to Phantom." It felt strangle referring to himself in third person, even more strange to be using such a comforting tone on Dash. Seeing it somehow worked, altering his aura, he decided to add, "Whatever you tell me stays a secret, alright?"
Dash fidgeted with his letterman, contemplated, and then huffed. "It's not fair, man."
"What's not fair?" Danny prompted.
"Everything! My parents, my stupid brain, stupid Fenton!"
Danny frowned, wondering how he fit into all of this, but didn't interrupt.
Dash ran his fingers roughly through his hair, pursing his lips and scowling. "The next football game is coming up soon, and my dad convinced some real important coaches from a university upstate to come. Real big shots. I can't mess this up. I have to impress them 'cause we all know I'm not smart enough to get a scholarship on brains alone."
You've got that right. Danny bit his tongue, staying silent through sheer willpower alone.
"I'm so nervous, dude. Like, messing-up-practice levels of nervous. It's that bad! And-and I've tried studying, thinking maybe that would raise my chances. But it doesn't work, I can't read without the letters flying around, can't focus for shit." He quieted, hands suddenly clenching into fists. "And then stupid Danny Fenton. It's not fair for someone to be so smart and slack off like that. Today he fell asleep in class, completely blew off the teacher while the rest of us paid attention. I pretend not to focus, 'cause nerd shit you know, but he really doesn't even try!"
Kind of hard to listen when your brain feels like it's splitting in half, Danny thought wryly.
"Maybe he's not as smart as you think he is," he shrugged.
"He is though!" Danny was thrown aback by Dash's fervor, spurred on by all things in defense of his human persona's intelligence. "He acts like he isn't, but he knows all these stupid space facts and complicated equations on the speed of light. Even in English, he gets decent scores on quizzes even if he didn't finish the book." He kicked a bin, sending it flying across the room. "We don't all have that luck. I can't stand it, wanna punch some sense into him."
Understanding dawned on Danny, who'd always wondered why the jock had it out for him so passionately. "So you beat him up because you think he doesn't try?"
"He also has a very punchable face." Dash got a strange expression, looking for all the world as if the next thing he was going to say would perfectly explain it all. "He's got these really big eyes."
"Ah." Danny said.
"And besides, I'm big, he's puny. If I can punch him, why not do it?"
"I… I don't think that's how it works."
Dash's resolve remained rigid, saying without words that yes, that was exactly how it worked in his world. A part of Danny wanted to argue the point, hoping that maybe some choice words from Phantom on bullying would make life easier for Fenton. That wasn't the main issue though, the array of Dash's other surprisingly serious burdens was. Maybe, if he tackled those, he would learn the lesson on his own. He'd heard about the football player's rising anxiety on numerous occasions this past week alone, seen it in the past as his hands shook even when putting on a facade of bravado. The bit about the letters not holding still caught his attention as well.
He could listen and offer consolation, but this wasn't a job for Phantom. It may require assistance from an old friend.
"Have you ever…" Danny started, tensed in concern for Dash's reaction. "Have you ever considered seeing someone?"
"Someone? Like a shrink?" Dash took Danny's nod as confirmation, scoffing. "Of course not, my dad says I have to handle shit on my own like a man. Can't have wimps in the family."
"You're not a wimp for seeking help," he frowned, liking Dash's dad even less as the conversation went on. "The opposite really, you have to be pretty brave to let a stranger dig into you like that." He inspected the other's face, steeling his resolve as he admitted something that no one outside his immediate circle was privy to. "I see someone myself, can recommend them if you'd like. Not exactly living, but they're pretty great."
"You see a ghost therapist?" Dash's eyes widened. "Is it that crazy Specto lady who tried killing us all like twice already?"
"Er, not Spectra. And yeah, can't exactly be in this line of work all the time unscathed."
"Huh." Dash lowered himself to the ground, finally seeming to relax at this revelation. He didn't say another word until he was fully seated."That makes sense actually, lately you've looked way more chill. A few months ago you looked like you would snap if someone so much as breathed in your direction." He shot him an apologetic look. "No offense, dude."
"None taken." Danny took his shift in position as invitation, moving so he was sitting next to Dash. "How about it then? Should I set you guys up with a meeting?"
"Only if no one knows about it," Dash conceded. "I don't have a lot of time though. The game is this weekend and I don't know how I'll make it through until then with the little freedom I have."
"If your nerves are your biggest problem right now, I think I can help." Danny hovered his hand over Dash's chest, right above the starting point of his aura. "It's not a permanent solution, but it should hold you until the end of the week. If you trust me that is."
That statement seemed to spur something in Dash, his eyes brightening with the same awe as before. "I trust you with my life, man."
Danny let a faint smile paint his features, wondering why the jock chose to be an ass when he had a rather pleasant, honest side to him as well. For the next few minutes, even past the ringing of the lunch bell, he worked at soothing the other's emotions, patiently lulling the anxiety to sleep, and stoking all positive feelings like a fire. Dash didn't say anything until he was done, going between closing his eyes and openly admiring his powers as he worked. Once finished, Danny leaned back, coming face to face with Dash's bright smile, so different from the jeering he was used to.
"Thank you, Danny."
For the first time in years, Danny Fenton found himself enjoying Dash Baxter's presence.
Two days later, Danny found himself in a similar situation triggered by yet another new power malfunction. He'd missed dinner the previous night, exhausted as he was by the unusual increase in ghost activity, and forewent breakfast in an attempt to arrive to class on time. Skipping meals was enough to put anyone into a slump, but was made an even greater torture for a half-ghost such as him, worsened by his inhumanly fast metabolism.
Charging the blasts necessary for ghost fighting required a vast amount of energy, much of which he gained through the consumption of food and ectoplasm. The latter was something he preferred to keep to a minimum, but there was only so much he could do. Especially now when he was on the brink of passing out, nowhere near prepared for the next possible ghost attack.
Deciding homeroom could wait, he snuck into the school's auditorium basement as Phantom, insulated bottle of ectoplasm in hand. He usually opted for the roof, but at a time like this, he figured the more out of sight he was, the better his chances of avoiding ghostly encounters. He uncapped the bottle, nestling himself in between the various stage props, and began to take slow sips. It was an improvement, but didn't really take away the human hunger, growing increasingly by the minute.
He drank absentmindedly, imagining a greasy double double from Nasty Burger, maybe some cheese fries. An Oreo milkshake would really hit the spot as well. He flew pretty fast, could he get there and back before his next period? Maybe. God, he was so hungry. The resident ghost hero ordering human food wouldn't be the strangest thing to occur in Amity. He could say it was for someone else.
His eyes flickered around the room, catching on to the wisps of baby blue escaping out from under the storage room's door. He'd thought that his control over reigning in his own emotions had gotten better, but apparently not. Sighing, he concentrated the little energy he'd built on pulling his aura back in, unconcerned about luring anyone inside. After all, who else would be desperate enough to hide in the baseme-
He jumped a foot in the air, floating in shock as the door was slammed open by a rather distraught-looking Paulina. The feeling was mutual, her eyes widening as she came face to face with the town's hero.
"Ghost boy!" For a moment, her expression seemed to brighten, before she became aware of the tears still running profusely down her cheeks. Ashamed, she began the task of wiping them off, unfortunately only serving to rub more mascara around her eyes. "W-what are you doing here?"
"I was ah, taking a break?"
"In the storage room?" Paulina didn't display her usual condescending tone, a genuine curiosity in place of it.
"You know us ghosts," Danny shrugged sheepishly. "We love dark spooky places."
"Nothing spookier than the theater department's tacky taste in props," Paulina agreed solemnly, gaze flickering critically around the room. She stood there silently, seemingly still embarrassed by her display of emotions other than her signature confidence.
Danny figured this was where he should've made his leave. Paulina obviously didn't want to be seen crying in the hidden corners of the school, much less by someone she'd admired for so long. Yet, like his incident with Dash, it felt wrong to do so. He noted the girl had not yet made to leave the room, seeming to have an internal battle with herself over whatever was troubling her.
Making his decision, Danny let himself plop onto a nearby bean bag, gesturing for Paulina to sit in the armchair opposite it. "Wanna join me?"
Eyes brightening, she nodded frantically, pausing and making her way to a mini fridge he hadn't noticed tucked away in a hidden corner. At his confused expression, she smirked. "I come here sometimes with a friend when we need a break."
"Huh, you don't seem like the ditching type," Danny commented. He couldn't recall very many times when Paulina didn't show up to class.
"Oh, I'm not. Daddy would kill me if he found out. Or worse, take away my allowance." Paulina made a horrified expression, grabbing two cokes. "We don't skip entire classes, just the final half. And with permission. As long as we finish our assignments, the teachers don't care."
Ah yes, how could Danny forget the Casper High perks of being popular.
Paulina shut the fridge, reaching to rummage in a box beside it. "Oh! I have some snacks here too! Don't tell anyone though, Ms. Coach is being extra strict this cheerleading season."
With a rumbling stomach, Danny leaned over to look, grinning at the variety. "Impressive. Can I have those Oreos?"
"For you, anything!" Paulina grabbed him multiple packets, overjoyed at the idea of hanging out with Phantom. Soon enough, the room was filled with chatter about the upcoming football game and whether Danny was willing to make an appearance. Dash had been boasting about his encounter with him all week, and the rest of the school was hoping it meant he would be less flighty around them.
He gave a vague answer, assuring Paulina that he would try, but couldn't make any promises as the ghosts were more active when big events took place. Satisfied, she moved on to talking about ideas for how he could incorporate the school colors into his jumpsuit. It was a complete shift from the demeanor she'd had walking in, but couldn't altogether distract Danny from the puffiness still lining her eyes. Even her usual shiny hair looked messed with, as if she had been running her hands through it anxiously.
He hummed along to the conversation, adding his own input here and there, but leaving most of the talking to her. Talking seemed to put her at ease, making it easier for him to finally bring up the elephant in the room.
Once Paulina had finally quieted down, he put down his Oreos. "You mentioned not being the ditching type."
Open-ended enough for her to elaborate if she felt comfortable.
"I didn't mean to," she bit her lip, fiddling with her bag of Cheetos. "I just got...distracted. By something. And then I was really hungry for some reason." Danny blushed at this, thankful that she didn't notice. "Then I found you."
"You found me," Danny shot her what he hoped was a comforting smile. "And now that I'm here, is there anything else you want to talk about?"
Paulina wiped her hands, reaching for her bag and pulling out her makeup set, handheld mirror and all. "Do you mind?"
"Nah, go ahead." Danny mimed looking into a mirror, exaggeratedly inspecting his face. "I could use a touch up too, been told I'm deathly pale."
His pun was met with a surprised laugh, Paulina not having been around him long enough to hear his death jokes. She began to gently wipe off her mascara, using the gesture to piece together what she wanted to say. Eventually, she settled on, "Can you keep a secret?"
"I think so."
"No but like, a real secret. Not some funny gossip about Dash with his teddy bears. Or Valerie still using a photo of her and Fenton as her lockscreen." Danny perked up at this, storing that information for later. "This is real, Phantom."
He picked up the undercurrent of anxiety in her aura and decided he needed a more serious approach. He looked her directly in the eye, conveying his understanding. "I promise I won't tell."
"Okay," Paulina sighed, reaching into her bag with shaking hands. "You know how I mentioned coming here with a friend?" Danny nodded. "Lately we've been hanging out alone a lot. We've been close for years, but something changed. Yesterday we even kissed."
"Did he do something to upset you?"
"No, no it was so fun! I've never felt so happy kissing anyone." She fidgeted with her lip gloss, contemplating. "She's the best."
"She? Are you talking about Star?"
"You know her?" Paulina's eyes were wide, and then realization dawned. "Wait, of course you do! We're like the most popular girls in the school! You don't...you don't think it's weird?"
"No, not at all." Danny grinned, thinking back to times where Star would pull her friend to safety during a ghost fight. Or run to her first when she was excited to share something. "It makes sense actually, that you would develop feelings. I've seen how much you care about each other. Is that what you're worried about? Are you afraid?"
"Yeah, a lot." She began reapplying her makeup, putting on an air of indifference. It worked only so much. "And not even about how my friends would react really. We're all assholes. I know that, I'm one too. But even Dash, he bullies the nerds and geeks cause they're easy to pick on. No one cares about sexuality or ethnicity, whatever."
Her eyes began to well up again with tears, and Danny quickly handed her a tissue. Sam made him carry them around, something about encouraging him to cry instead of holding it all in. Probably Jazz's idea. Didn't work, but hey, at least they came in handy now.
"Thanks," She sniffled, dabbing her face delicately. "It's my parents. They're pretty um, homophobic. Not to the point they'd never change, but I'm really scared about their reaction. I know they'd eventually accept me, and I don't feel unsafe. But if I ask Star out, I'd feel pressured to tell them right away. I don't want to wait, I want to be with her now, but I can't tell my parents yet!"
By then, her attempts at makeup had gone down the drain, and she quickly dissolved into full blown sobs. Overwhelmed with the sudden barrage of despair, and honestly pretty emotionally constipated himself, Danny reached out and began sending a wave of comfort in Paulina's direction as he had done with Jazz. It was weak, weak enough that she could shove it away if she wanted to, but it seemed to help.
"A-are you doing that?" Paulina hiccuped.
"Yeah, is this okay?"
"It feels nice."
"Good." Encouraged that he was doing well, Danny continued his ministrations, picking out his next words carefully. "I've seen how much your parents love you. What is it that they always call you? Pricita?"
Paulina giggled, apparently finding his butchered pronunciation amusing. "Mi Princesita. It means 'my little princess.'"
"Yeah, that." He let out a chuckle of his own. "They're the first to get here after a ghost attack. No matter the time. You know they love you, I know it, but that doesn't give anyone the right to pressure you into telling them anything. It's your secret. Your life. I know coming out is a big thing, and you're not obligated to do it unless you feel absolutely ready."
"Even if they're my parents?"
"Especially if they're your parents." Danny eased his hold on her emotions, letting her ease into relaxation on her own. "You know, my parents are still alive and don't even know I'm here."
It was risky, a half truth too close to the complete story. But sharing it felt right. Somehow, he knew this wasn't a secret she would spill.
"What! You really became a ghost recently? Why not tell them, so they know you're with them?"
"They hate ghosts. Me even more. Anti inviso-bill and all." Danny sighed. "Except, I also think they would accept me if they knew I was their son. Dead or not, they'd love me. But…"
"But you're not ready," Paulina finished. "Even if you know that, it's not an easy secret to tell. You're a superhero, you're not doing anything wrong. But it's hard."
"And you have a big heart, you care about someone very deeply. You're also not doing anything wrong. But..."
"It's also hard. And it's my secret to tell, when I'm ready." Paulina sighed deeply, smoothing her hair as she calmed down. "I didn't know we could have anything in common. I promise not to tell your secret too, on my new convertible, I swear!"
Paulina's protectiveness over her pastel pink car was well-known throughout the school, leaving Danny at least slightly comforted. He'd probably panic about it later, but for now, he'd take it as it was.
"No problem! Thinking about it, it must've been annoying to have been flirted with by so many guys here, no?"
Danny thought back to his own painful attempts at flirting back in freshman year, back when he'd cared so much more about being accepted by the school's most powerful social circles. It had taken him many attempts to realize that there were more important things to chase after in life.
"Not really, as long as they were normal about it. I like guys too, but all the ones here are so gross."
He recalled the instances where he'd caught Kwan sticking his boogers onto his locker door and the many accidents he'd initially had as Phantom, when his pants were constantly falling. Not to mention the infamous fart jar stashed away in a hidden corner of the school by the entire football team.
"That's fair."
"Obviously I don't mean you! You're hot. But everyone else? Gross." Paulina smiled sweetly in his direction, lips twisted in a mischievous manner. "You're great as a crush. Pretty, brave, smart. But Star is all those things too! Plus she's not dead. Sorry."
"That's fair," Danny shrugged, nibbling on another Oreo.
"Paulina Phantom was only meant for my imagination," She continued, voice gaining a touch of dramatism. "But Star Sanchez? We'll be the cutest couple Casper High has ever had! Literally. Our matching outfits are gonna be perfect this Homecoming! I just um…" The same unsure expression from before creeped back onto her face. "I have to figure out how to ask her out."
"Easy, go up to her and tell her."
Paulina shot him a scandalized look, implying he had made the most ridiculous comment in the world. "I can't just tell her! It has to be romantic, with flowers and cute little caramel chocolates. I'm not even confident enough, what if she doesn't feel the same way? Or I back out at the last minute? That'd be so lame."
Danny thought back to the interactions he'd witnessed between the two girls, the aura of absolute adoration that surrounded Star when Paulina was by her side. Their bitchiness combining to create the ultimate Mean Girls of the school. He had to admit, it was only a matter of time before they were the power couple of the school.
"I don't think that'll happen. Trust me." He assured. "And if it's confidence you're worried about, I have control over emotions, remember?"
Paulina didn't look all too convinced. "Okay, ghostly confidence. Check. But what about the romance? I want to ask her before the game, but I don't have time to get everything."
"You got twenty bucks on you?"
Paulina nodded.
"Leave it to me. Bring her to the picnic tables after school around seven." Danny grinned. "If there's anything I've learned as a ghost, it's how to be extra as hell."
In the end, Paulina had given him a hundred dollar bill instead. It was enough to have the picnic table decked out to the tens, pastel pink tablecloth, a full set of silverware, and a fancy dinner for two. Lighting candles were unfortunately prohibited on school grounds, and would land them into a world of trouble if caught, but Danny had compensated for that by instead filling the vicinity with an invention he'd come up with on the spot.
Using a similar design he'd seen at the Far Frozen, Danny created heart-shaped ice crystals that were hollow on the inside and able to withstand orbs of ectoplasm. He was pleasantly surprised to find out that he was able to make them float, dazzling the area with a warm blue glow.
With the money that was left, he'd ordered a set of roses and placed them tastefully around the area. He was no good with decorating, his first design making Paulina visibly cringe, before she took it upon herself to personally guide him through the process. With the addition of a romantic music playlist, and a curtain behind where Danny would take their food from, it was complete.
Unbeknownst to Paulina, he had secretly bought a quart of rocky road from Baskin Robbins on the off-chance that anything went wrong. As it was, the night went by smoothly, with Star tearfully agreeing to be Paulina's girlfriend, and admitting that she'd wanted to ask for so long. It brought Danny back to his own brief outings with Valerie, and he internally wished that Paulina and Star would have a better ending.
At one point in the evening, his ghost sense had gone off, and he was forced to leave the picnic table to lead whoever it was away from what was meant to be a ghost-free night. He'd flown towards the general area where the ecto-signature was strongest, finding himself head to head with Johnny Thirteen and Kitty. To his immense misfortune, or as he would later find, unexpected blessing, they forced their way past him to see what he was hiding and found out about his efforts towards uniting Casper High's biggest cheerleaders.
Without further preamble, the couple had announced that his speaker was garbage and that the night could only be saved by live music. According to Kitty's boastful account, her and Johnny were often headliners for Ember's concerts back at the ghost zone. This proved to be, to his grudging acceptance, a strong indicator of their talent, with Johnny mastering an acoustic guitar, that was really Shadow shapeshifting into the instrument, and Kitty hitting notes almost as high as Ember herself.
An hour into the date, Danny found himself joining in as well, laughing along with the surprisingly funny conversation the girls and ghosts were having. It was unconventional, a far cry from the A-lister's usual retreats, but both Paulina and Star didn't seem to mind. They would've been there for who knows how long, if it wasn't for Star receiving a call from her mom that it was time to go home.
As he flew his way to Fentonworks, Danny was caught up in an aura of giddiness, having been affected by the positive emotions of the last two hours. It wasn't a story he thought he would repeat, partly because Star and Paulina decided to wait a few days longer before coming out to the school, but mostly because he would never live it down. His friends were going to tease him without mercy once they found out he was now not only Amity's hero, but their resident matchmaker in training.
He'd expected the night to turn out much worse than it had, what with his barely there restraint on his abilities, but grew a greater fondness for his skill as an empath. Out of all his powers, this was the one that brought others the most joy, and he couldn't be more grateful.
Danny dropped onto the front porch of his home, shifting back to human as he entered. He'd been hoping to end the night on the positive note it began, but had those wishes quickly crushed when he was hit by a barrage of anger and bitterness.
"Jazz, we understand you're protective of the ghost, but we can't let him manipulate more people." He recognized the voice of his mom, barely restrained by a thin layer of control.
"He's not manipulating anyone," Jazz retorted, staring their parents down from her seat on the couch. "He's using his powers for good, like he always has. He's helping people."
"Helping people by taking advantage of their vulnerabilities? Using mind-control?"
"It's not mind control! It's called being empathetic, not that you would know what that…" She caught sight of him standing uncomfortably at the entrance. "Danny."
His dad was the first to react, plastering on a fake smile and waving him over. "Hey Danno! Just having a little family debate, but it's all good now." He shot a strained look over at Jazz. "Right?"
Her expression said that it was definitely not a topic she wanted to drop, but she nodded, letting it go for his sake. He felt a tingling sensation building behind his eyes, and he glanced down, wary of slipping up. It was definitely ghost-related, he told himself, he was absolutely not about to get upset over something so dumb.
Not even when say, a part of himself was beginning to question his true intentions. He couldn't control the powers that manifested from his core, his obsession, but he hadn't particularly minded this one over time. He helped, didn't he? Made what he could out of the situation?
He thought about his first few accidental incidents, back when Dash wanted to beat him up, and Lancer was prepared to call his parents. That hadn't been his plan, and he'd only really picked up on the emotions that were already there. But what if he was more self-serving than he gave himself credit for? What if he'd failed at protecting them?
That thought made his core throb painfully.
He stuffed his hands deep into his pockets, trying to assume the posture of someone who cared so much less than he really did. "Okay then, guess I'll be heading upstairs. Homework and stuff."
"Wait," Jazz donned a steely expression, stopping him in his tracks. "I have one more question."
Their dad looked nervously between her and his wife. "Jazzy pants, I don't think that's a very good idea."
"You told me it's good to ask questions," she rebutted. "And this is just for fun, to cut the tension. That okay, mom?"
Their mom stayed quiet for a moment, shoulders tense as she tried to read her daughter's expression. After a few strained seconds, she shrugged and sat down. "If only to prove that I'm not as unwilling to listen as you say I am."
Jazz's features smoothed down considerably. "Okay, say that you were an empath? What would you do with that power?"
"Phantom's not an empath, honey. He's a-"
She shook her head, cutting off their dad. "We're not talking about Phantom, that conversation's over. I'm talking about mom."
The woman seemed to turn the idea over in her head, taking it surprisingly more seriously than her husband. "I suppose I would use it to understand you and Danny better." She glanced over at him, melancholy flickering briefly across her aura. "Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough to understand you, and I just wish I could help."
Despite the still lingering sadness from before, he felt the corner of his lips twitch slightly at her concern. It was times like this where living two lives at once got incredibly confusing.
"And what about if I had that power?" Her eyes flickered over to him. "Or Danny? Would you trust us to use it for good?"
"Now what kind of question is that?" Their dad frowned, affronted. "Of course we would trust our kids!"
Their mom hummed in agreement, fondness bleeding into her voice. "If you or Danny had something like that, I wouldn't be worried at all. You're both the best gift we could've asked for, and you've always had the biggest hearts." She gave them both a meaningful smile. "I couldn't be more proud."
Danny took a step back at that, having a much harder time controlling the lump in his throat than he had before. He hadn't heard those words in such a long time, not after the dive that his grades had taken, or the constantly missed curfews. He'd begun to think he would never hear them again.
He let out a choked sob, covering it up hastily with a cough. "Well, um, gotta get upstairs now. Call me down for dinner?"
A deep crease formed between his mom's brows. "Danny, are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah," he rushed, hiding behind his bangs. "Just got some-some crazy catching up to do."
"Oh! That reminds me, I promised to help out!" Jazz jumped up, wrapping her arm around him to shield him from view. "He's learning some pre-calc this week, real tough. See you at dinner!"
"Danny-"
They hurried their way up the stairs, knowing their family all too well to predict that the conversation was not yet over. That was fine, as long as Danny could avoid becoming a blubbering mess in front of his parents, he was willing to talk. It was too bad he'd given all his emergency tissues to Paulina, now that he actually needed them.
Jazz led him gently to her room, solving his mental dilemma by tossing him over a box from her desk. At his confused reaction, she shrugged. "No better catharsis than a good cry."
Danny snorted, wiping subtly around his eyes. "Thanks. Not just for the tissues, but for fixing that whole thing downstairs. Was getting ready for another night of misplaced aggression."
She frowned. "Danny you can't just beat up ghosts when you're angry."
He shrugged. "If it's Skulker, I have no regrets."
Jazz rolled her eyes, but he could see that the frustration wasn't really all there. "I just wanted you to see that behind all that ghost prejudice, they really do care. And if they knew who you were, they would keep caring. Sometimes you get so locked up in your world, that you forget there's more to being a good person than being perfect all the time."
He smirked, eyeing the mess of textbooks strewn on her floor.
"Oh, shut it." She waved him out the door. "Now go grab your backpack, I meant it when I said I would help you."
"Ugh, Jazz!" He groaned, even then unable to contain the burst of happiness that coursed through his chest, an outpour of his most homely emotions.
"No whining," she clutched at her head. "And a little warning next time you shoot me with an army of serotonin."
"Sorry, still getting a hang of it." He gave her a quick hug, running out the door to avoid further embarrassment. He was getting better at other aspects of his powers, but this one would take much more practice than one that manifested physically. It was why, after something as simple as an embrace, he couldn't bring himself to stay long, missing out on its effects.
Had he turned around, he may have seen Jazz's affectionate smile, not altogether a result of the emotional spike. Would've caught her making a note to add the newfound ability in her Phantom scrapbook, muttering all the while how much she truly appreciated the family she was given.