Dash Baxter would be lying if he said he hadn't screeched like a sissy when he climbed out his window and saw a ghost sitting on his favorite rooftop spot.

The ghost in question, who had shoulder-length blonde hair and giant platform boots, didn't even flinch at the sound of Dash's voice. Rather, he turned, sent Baxter a two-fingered salute, and then turned back towards the falling sun without a word.

"What the hell are you doing up here?" Dash finally spoke, still shaking like a leaf. He was nursing a growing bruise on his forearm and was not, under any circumstances, prepared to kick a ghost off his roof. But he also wasn't prepared to go back inside, where sounds of his father's screaming voice sounded from Dash's still-open window.

The ghost hummed and jabbed his thumb in the direction of the window without looking back. "I'm here to beat the shit out of your old man."

"What?"

"Is there an issue?"

Dash sat down, though only because he was afraid of tumbling two stories down into the petunias. "Uh, yeah! You can't fight my dad. That's . . . that's not okay."

"And that nasty bruise on your arm is?" The ghost turned to face him and Dash noticed the spray of freckles across his cheeks and the stubble on his chin. He extended a fingerless-gloved hand. "Name's Johnny 13."

"Dash Baxter." He wearily took the hand and they shook awkwardly. His nerves slowly ebbed away upon realization that the ghost in front of him, Johnny, wasn't there to hurt him. Dash sighed. He still couldn't let him hurt his dad, though.

"So what's your old man mad about this time?" Johnny asked, picking distractedly at his nails.

"He's just drunk," Dash responded quietly. "He'll get over it."

Johnny snorted. "Yeah. That's what I thought too, Baxter. And then my old man killed me."

"He what?!" Dash straightened, suddenly keenly aware of the familiar shattering sound of a bottle breaking.

The ghost huffed, offering a little grin that didn't quite meet his eyes. "Yeah. He didn't mean too. 'He was just drunk,' right, Baxter? Like your dad is right now."

"How'd it happen?"

Johnny sighed and fidgeted. It was obviously a subject he was uncomfortable with. "He started screamin' at my mom. Told her he was gonna leave and take me with him, so he grabbed me by the wrist and put me on the back of his motorcycle and started driving away. Hey, surprise, surprise, driving drunk on a motorcycle isn't typically a good idea. He smashed into the side of a bridge."

Johnny pulled back his gray jacket, revealing an ugly purple and yellow bruise that wrapped around his wrist like a bracelet. "Now I get to wear this reminder around for the rest of eternity."

Dash was silent for a bit. "Jeez, man. That really sucks."

"Eh, it's whatever. I got my girl Kitty and I got my old man's motorcycle. And my mom is back in Jackson growing old with someone that's way better than my dad ever was."

"You're not mad about dying?" Dash asked, surprise lifting his eyebrows and widening his eyes.

"No, I am. I'm pissed about it. That's why I give abusive fathers a taste of their own damn medicine. Someone's gotta put them in their place."

"That's why you're at my house, huh?" Dash muttered.

"Yeah. I'll be back out in a little bit and tell you how it went with your old man." Johnny 13 stood and a giant, black shape that was Johnny's shadow swirled around him excitedly. Last time Dash checked, shadows weren't supposed to be able to move by themselves. Or have fangs.

"No, no, hey, wait!" he shouted, standing so suddenly that he had to take a second to steady himself on the slanted roof. "I don't want you to hurt him!"

Johnny 13 wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Why the hell not?"

When Dash opened his mouth to speak, he was cut off by an iconic, echoing voice from above. "Because he said so, Johnny."

"Phantom," he growled, and Johnny's eyes flashed greener than they already had been. It was the first time since Dash first saw him that he looked genuinely terrifying.

"Does Kitty know you're out this late at night?" Dash looked up at his hero, who was floating high above the roof with his hands on his hips and his white hair tousled by the breeze.

"She knows I have shit I need to do."

"Beating up drunks isn't something that you need to do, buddy. Go back home before I have to deliver you on Kitty's doorstep all wrapped up like a present."

Johnny's shadow growled. It's tail wrapped around Johnny's waist protectively, daring Phantom to come closer. "You wouldn't dare," Johnny spat.

"So what's it gonna be? Thermos Express or your own free will?"

Johnny cussed under his breath, pointed at Dash, and muttered, "I'll be back for your old man later," and proceeded to jump off the roof, closely followed by his shadow. A motorcycle sounded from below and faded away over time. Silence covered the rooftop like a blanket, only disrupted occasionally when Dash's father let out a colorful curse.

Phantom landed on the roof easily, never once making a sound. "So, uh, your dad."

Dash looked down. A blush crept up his neck and turned his ears pink. He self consciously covered the bruise on his arm. "Yeah."

Phantom sighed and ran a gloved hand through white hair. "I'm sorry, Dash. I never knew."

"Not even my friends know, Phantom. I wouldn't expect you to."

"Oh, right." Phantom coughed, sounding a bit nervous for a second. It faded just as Dash noticed it. "I don't know you that well. Yeah."

Dash sent him a strange look but said nothing.

"I can say something to him if you'd like," Phantom said, green eyes studying Dash's. "I won't beat the shit out of him, but I can talk to him. I can tell the police, too, you know."

Dash sighed. "I got it handled."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure."

Phantom stood there awkwardly for a few more seconds, swaying uncomfortably from heel to toe. "Well, okay then. If you ever need me, just, uh," he paused, glanced around, and closed his eyes like he couldn't believe he was doing this. "Just call me. My number is–"

"Woah, woah, wait, hold up," Dash said, eyes widening. "You're giving me your phone number?"

"Well, yeah. " Phantom sighed. "You can't let anyone else know you have it, though, or I'm changing my number."

"Deal," Dash said, pulling his phone out of his jean pocket. "K, here you go."

He stood, shaking in silent excitement, as Phantom typed in his number and handed it back to him.

"Danny?" Dash asked, staring down at the contact name.

"If someone looks over your shoulder, I don't want it to say 'Phantom.' That'll be a dead giveaway. Danny's my first name."

Dash shook his head. "But there's this nerd at my school named Danny. I'll be ruined if anyone thinks I'm talking to him. Can I put your name in as Dan?"

"Hell to the no. I hate that name." Phantom's expression darkened, though Dash didn't know why.

"Put it in as Daniel or something, then. Honestly, you could put it in as Salamander the Fourth and I wouldn't give a fuck. Just not Dan or Phantom, okay?"

"Salamander the Fourth it is, then." Dash grinned. "See you around, Salamander."

"Did you actually–for fuck's sake, alright then." Phantom hopped a bit, now floating a few feet over the roof. "Bye."

Dash watched as Phantom flew off. He couldn't stop looking down at the contact information in his phone and grinning.

Ghosts were weird.

id like to start by saying sorry if you find any weird formatting in here. i created this and the next two oneshots on the mac downstairs, and therefore saved them on an application called pages (which ffn does not support. just my luck, right?). i then sent this oneshot and the next two oneshots through my gmail to this computer and proceeded to do a very lengthy process in which i copied and pasted the text into a word document and then spent forever attempting to fix the strange format. here's where you guys collectively offer other ways to do this that are probably much easier and i smack myself on the head and cuss myself out (but trust me, i tried to many other options. it kept repeating the self damn message: file corrupt. wonderful, right? JUST. MY. LUCK). sigh. the whole thing took an hour or so to do and now i have to do the same thing for two other oneshots (on of which is twice the length of this one) and then continue to work on dannymay oneshots, seeing as i haven't had time to do them these past two days due to work. yay. wonderful. perfect.

please review. this took way more work than it should have and you can bet that i am never ever ever writing something for ffn on the downstairs mac. ever. again.

xx