Being Else

(chp11 is still in progress, and I have many works on that to finish that, so until then, I felt I should share before that this little concept, about Danny learning his future self's name and stuff like that)

(right between chp10 and chp11)

The engine slowly stopped, making the silence within the car even harsher. For a while, only that was present. In the first hour, Jazz had switched on the radio, feeling maybe that would ease a bit on the awkwardness after their latest, not so calming abrupt stop. And that had worked, finely, as long as the programme hadn't started an interview with someone unknown to them, and she had had to turn it off. At least while the music had filled the air within the car it made the whole thing almost normal, but the lack of it… so then, there was just the three of them, without any illusion of a daily situation, taking the road to a final destination. In their case, there was hardly anything mundane about this travelling. Now, without the humming of the engine, the all formed again into a tensed state.

Jazz grabbed the key, and turned towards the seat next to her. The ghost was staring outside of the window since they had hit the road again, but now she wasn't sure whether it was still about a mindless gazing or-

"Are you awake?" Jazz asked in a low voice if he wasn't. It took a second until he started to get alive (in his case, only figuratively speaking), and with a very slow-motioned movement, he shifted a bit in the seat, heading to her.

"Yeah, I'm awake…" he said, with a very tired, rather raspy voice. And then, he looked around, seemingly perceiving just now, they had arrived. "Hm." that hardly counted as a reaction, but it told more than any word.

Jazz stared at him, as his eyes nervously were crazily moving, up and down, right to the left, trying to catch a thought or to just- Jazz grabbed his hand, squeezing it softly.

"Hey, are you alright?" his eyes shut closed, along with a deep sigh.

"I'm fine, I just-" he started, pinching his nose, visibly collecting himself to the fact that they were here now, where he had wished to be then two days ago. It took a breath, then another, maybe a third one too, when he then could look up, with a forced half-smile. "It's just funny. I mean… I so wanted to come here, but I didn't- I didn't think it would feel this odd."

"You're afraid." Jazz pointed, realising.

"Afraid?" even the scoff had a panicked edge. "I'm not afraid, Jazz." he repeated as it would be ridiculous stating that, though it clearly sounded as a transparent defensive mechanism, she rather didn't want to clarify it either. And on the other hand, it seemed he already had enough things in his mind, like hundreds of worrisome thoughts racing up with each other. So instead, Jazz took a check at the back. His younger version was still sleeping like a top, snoring quietly. She wasn't sure they had to wake him up, but-

"Danny will freak out if I go inside alone..." the man was thinking aloud, and clicked on the glove compartment, getting out the only bag of chips that he had accepted when they had stopped at the gas station many hours earlier.

Jazz still could recall how much Danny had questioned that his older self would need to eat, but she had refused to listen – that time she hadn't been aware how much Danny was right, she had just thought her brother didn't like his future alteration and that partly it was just frustrating, that Jazz had bought Danny's favourite flavoured chips to him...

The bag easily got opened. For a second, Jazz marvelled at the movement, curiously if he would take out a slice, but then he just stared at her.

"Do you think he'll freak out if I wake him up?" to that, Jazz identified, he really asked that seriously and he was on to use the strong flavour of the chips grabbing the boy out of the dreaming, instead of just simply poking his younger self, and that, technically, it was calculated as a kind of peace offering to his other self. "Worth a try, doesn't it?" he stared into the bag, thoughtfully. "I mean, I remember I liked this type and Danny already ate his, so-" he started the explanation, leaving the rest of the sentence unfinished.

Jazz just gave him an encouraging smile. Then he just clicked off his belt, slipping slightly between the two front seats, reaching out as he could with the bag towards the boy, moving under the nose the strongly pizza-flavoured chips a bit. To the frowning and the little moving of the lashes, it hit the hoped aim. A satisfied smile appeared on the older's face. The half-ghost's eyes only slowly got opened but widened in a shot as it became clear who was right in front of him.

"Well, at least you didn't throw me an ectoblast instant as a reflex to my lovely face." was it noted, with a sneer. "I count it as an improvement then." the man shook the bag in the air, meaningfully. "Chips?"

Danny with narrowed eyes looked at him, hesitating, but then accepted it. "I can still do that, you know. Throwing a nice blast." he cleared.

"Sure, you can." agreed the ghost, drawing back a little, observing as a hand disappeared into the bag, getting out five slices at once.

"What is it?" Danny asked immediately as the patient waiting became obvious.

The older one just shook his head, enjoying himself. "And I thought it would be harder buying you…" to that, the slices fell back to the bag, it got closed, and became shoved away to the empty seat with crossed arms, meaning it wasn't that easy getting to him. With an eye-roll, he explained. "I'd like to say something, and with a full-mouth, you wouldn't be capable of biting at me, so-" tilted his head towards the neglected makeshift tool. "Don't be such a child."

To the first sign of an on-going retort, before the half-ghost could have opened his mouth to a comeback, Jazz put a hand on the man's shoulder, stopping the coming debate at the start. "Danny…"

"All right," the older version heaved a sigh, withdrawing a little, without a beat, obeying without any further word. "Still, you know it'll be easier if he can't poke at me." he clarified to her. Either Jazz could argue that.

"You- you what?!"

"Hm?" the ghost asked to the shocked tone, only making out the reason about it a second later. "Oh. Danny. Yes. Well... I- I've just wanted to talk about that." he scratched his temple embarrassed, gazing ahead. "Uh- I really appreciate it, Jazz, but- well, I'm not Danny, technically, I'm not even your brother, so- uh- can we rather stay at not calling me 'Danny'?" he peeked up to her. "It's- it will be a bit confusing. That was kind and I get it, but-"

"Sorry." Jazz breathed out, realising that indeed she should have better asked about that, than mindlessly using the old nickname and knowing everything now, undoubtedly it must have been a very bad reminder. She grimaced, trying to comprehend how it must have felt for him. "I didn't-"

"No, it's- it's okay…" he cut her off, waving in the air, like it would be really nothing, not saying anything else for a long second then. Somehow it gave an impact that he might have- that he might have not been against it as much as it seemed, but presumably, that could be hardly admitted, especially in front of someone who was wearing the same name and whom against he-

"Dan," he said abruptly after a minute long stillness, directing to the boy the clarification, without turning back and facing with his younger self. "I doubt you'd ever ask it, Danny, but if once you'd call me somehow, it's Dan."

There was a short silence, but then after a processing minute, the younger breathed out the other's name. "Dan… it's so weird. At least that proves, we are not the same after all, I wouldn't ever be called Dan, not even as a hundred years old. It sounds like a creepy uncle's name." was it voiced. "Since when are you calling yourself 'Dan' anyway?"

Jazz snapped her head to the other, that question... she hadn't taken it, and it didn't even appear in his mind either, but Danny was right. The name – or nickname – had an adult ring on it. A simple, short version of being Daniel, but her brother had a point, she couldn't imagine either Danny to be called 'Dan' later, though in the man's case it was fitting. It was one thing, that she was referring to him like that in her mind earlier, and that she was unsure how to title him since- since the all imagine collapsed about him, but- in truth, Jazz never said aloud this chosen name either. Now, it became clear too.

"A couple of days," was it said, with a shrug. "I like it. I mean… people stopped calling me 'Phantom' since you know, their perception about the town hero and me, well… they couldn't equal the two, and, in a way, they were right, the two wasn't the same. And they thought I killed myself, I mean as, their precious Phantom killed Danny, so yeah... I didn't really have any name until- well, until Dan. So, it's quite new to me too." he scratched the back of his neck, continuing. "I'm still getting used to it, having a name after such a long time, I mean… it's nice. And I- I really shouldn't be called 'Danny' or Daniel, after everything, that would be rather strange and kinda violating towards the dead, I'm not the same either, and…"

"And sharing a name with me, not a good idea, not even for your messed-up measuring." came the note from the back. To that, the ghost paused, opening his mouth, but then closed, raising a pointy finger.

"Yeah, that's the other reason too, yes." he agreed, suddenly freezing, and blinking startled, gaping as the realisation reached his brain. Jazz cracked a silent smile, to the two shocked figures as they put together, against everything else, for once, they were on the same side about something. She really liked to enjoy the sort of synched bewilderment, but just as they were here, the all, going inside couldn't be delayed anymore, though she would definitely cheer to watch the two slowly getting along in fine. Unfortunately, that needed more time than that too.

Jazz clicked on her door, noting the others to move, or at least to start their next round of bickering outside of the car. And on the other hand, it was time to pay off her part of the deal with Dan too. She really should have started to call him again Dan, after all… she doubted 'a couple of days' and his aim to come here would have been unrelated, just as-

Suddenly a reached out object, stopped her, as she was walking towards the threshold to catch up with Danny. "Could you pack this for me?" the man explained, stopping too, along with her, tilting his head towards his younger version. "Danny has an eye on it and… I am not finished yet." he tapped on the cover. Jazz stared at the familiar psychology book, dumbfounded, for a moment, she forgot he had it with him during the whole time, even going back for it, as they had been on to leave from home, and- she took it, receiving a thankful nod. It needed a bit of switching with the clothes in her backpack, but then even the book fitted in nicely. Before Jazz could zip it back, the slightly sticking out papers from the pages got her attention, knitting her brows, wondering.

"It's the-" Jazz started, but no one was around. She shook her head, but got back the bag on her back, letting the thought rather not folded out, and to tell the truth, she didn't have to take the question. Even if she got some answers for the one-sided inquiring by Danny's earlier description about his future self, she knew the rest was still unexplained. And even though she might have never got the reason – from his pointing out, that if he started to answer her question, she shouldn't know those, so according to him, it was just pointless... –, but, just as she had said to him, it would help to rearrange the things in his mind, and- albeit he couldn't directly talk about those certain things, in a way, she played a part in his mental wellbeing.

So, by that, Jazz rather pretended she hadn't seen the hidden notes within the pages, keeping the camouflage that it was just about reading one of her psychology books. Maybe, at first, it had been about that, but- right now, it was just an illusion, like everything else about him. Jazz glanced at the tall figure, who was already in a heavy debate with this younger self whether they should ring the bell or knock on the door. The thought of how much this future version was still hiding behind this outlook, about his aim, or about why he needed to come here and what he needed that much from Vlad, occupied Jazz's perception more than trying to follow up with the discussion between the two. In a way, she feared, the forming concept in her mind was standing really close to the truth about his final goal, because that- that would have explained kind of everything about him, about being Dan. And much to say, she didn't like it at all. She just hoped that it wasn't about that, and that, for once she was wrong.

A/N:

I'd liked to introduce 'Dan' to Danny, but it turned out as a sort of in-between state within chapters… yeah, I know, some things are messy - not a bit - but soon everything will be explained (or later…). And I really liked to add, Jazz's sharp thinking, that slowly, even from the pieces, she starts to have a building-up concept about the reason why he is here and what he wants to reach, from the information she learned during the days.

(Side note: I would have liked to write the 'gas-station scene' first, but that's not really important. And either it was, but just as during chp11, I'm on to refer to Dan as 'Dan' in front of Danny, thus it needed a point when the boy learns about his future self's name, so here it is. Also, I have some ideas about shorts, within 'Bits' and about seemingly off-handed and not (yet) fitting notes or references to expand and explain from the previous chapters/shorts, but currently, I am focusing on the mainline. So, I know it would be weird reading about earlier happened stuffs, especially out of sequencing, but- yeah, forgive me, and the WTPH is more important than these shorts, I guess… /debatable )