Finally, chapter one is here.

Btw, I finally have a proofreader!


CHAPTER ONE


So here I am, the same situation as usual when Casper highs most popular guy, Dash, failed a test. Dash is that typical guy that could get away with just about anything. He's selfish cruel and a bully to those who dwell on the bottom. Unfortunately, teachers and adults give his behavior a pass most of the time because he's a victorious football player. Short blond hair and dark blue eyes describe Dash the best. He is very muscular and fit, he usually wears the standard uniform of the jocks: a red-and-white letterman jacket, with a black t-shirt underneath, dark blue jeans and white shoes.

"Come on Dash! Do you need to do this every single time? It's not my fault!" I said while trying to remove Dash's hand that was currently grasping my shirt, pushing me up against a locker.

Whenever something goes wrong for him, Dash will most likely take his frustration out on innocent students, like me, his favorite target to bully and humiliate.

"Yes, Fen-turd! Your face asks for it." Dash sneered and laughed, as he mocked my last name.

My surname is Fenton, thank you very much, I wanted to scream at him, but knew better than to provoke him even more. Dash drew back his fist, ready to punch, but was interrupted by our teacher and vice-principal- Mr. Lancer calling a few meters away from us with a frown. Clearly displeased with the situation going on in front of him.

"Next time, Fen-turd," Dash said irritated, dropping me on the floor and walking away. I could hear Lancer and Dash start discussing his failed test and how that would affect his football career and yada yada.

"Man, are you okay?" Asked Tucker. One of my two best friends and a huge techno-geek. He has brown skin, turquoise eyes, black hair, a yellow long-sleeve shirt, green cargo pants with a black belt, and brown boots along with a red beret. You could say that he was that typical nerd, but still not. I don't think he is that nerdy. Yes, he's smart, but he's not that involved with school. Quite the opposite really. Why everyone called him a nerd, is probably thanks to his glasses and PDA.

"Yeah, I'm fine Tuck." I sighed and tried to straighten my shirt back down, but it looked like it would be permanently wrinkled in the center. Which I frowned at.

"What's the next class?" I asked to change the subject.

Tucker's pity look quickly morphed into a big smile.

"PE." He said and his smile grew even more.

"And since when do you like PE?" I asked, stepping back from him. He must be sick or something, Tucker never liked PE.

Tucker noticed and laughed.

"Calm down dude, I still hate it. I'm happy about the fact that Ms. Tetslaff is home, puking her guts out. Or well, that's what the other guys say."

And with "other guys", Tucker probably means the victims he eavesdropped on.

"Really?!" I hate that class. Not because I hate running, but because I share that class with Dash and his 'kind' friends.

"Yup, so we can basically just go home now. Well, at least you can, I have an extra science class." He said while yawning.

"Jeez, that's gotta suck," I said and wrinkled my nose.

"I guess," Tucker said with a shrug. "It's not that bad though, I chose it voluntarily."

We walked to our lockers. I put back the books I didn't need to bring home, then I took my plain grey jacket out before closing the locker.

I looked around the mostly empty hallway and noticed how quiet it was. And it felt like something was missing. It didn't take long before I realized.

"Hey, Tuck," I said.

"Yes?" He closed his locker, holding his science book. Which looked to be really heavy by the way.

"Where's Sam?" I asked, letting my arms slide thru the sleeves of my jacket.

"Also home, puking." He answered. "You didn't notice she was gone until now?" Tucker added and frowned.

I rubbed my neck, slightly looking away from Tucker.

"Well, sorry. We only share PE on Wednesday, I didn't notice until now."

Tucker smiled at my shy behavior, probably because he enjoys toying with my feelings towards Sam.

Paulina and her bestie Star walked by, which finally stole Tucker's attention away from me. The reason Tucker now stood, following them with his gaze -weirdly of course- is because they are, after all, two of the most popular girls at school- Casper high-. Paulina looking hot with Dark black hair, tanned skin and teal colored eyes. Star looking cute with light skin, blond hair and blue eyes. Though students are wondering if Star's popularity only exists thanks to Paulina.

I kinda had a thing for Paulina once. Not anymore though.

Not since Sam stepped into my life. That was around 2 years ago, and no, we're not together. I can't make myself tell her my feelings, so we're still stuck in the friendzone.

However, Tucker is still interested in Star... And every other existing girl at this school that has blond hair and a pair of boobs.

But the thing is, no one knows that we exist. So that's tedious. Poor Tucker.

"Do you think Sam needs something. You know like, painkillers, Tylenol or whatever?" I asked and succeeded in bringing Tucker's attention back to me again.

"Nah, her rich ass family has her covered," Tucker said, looking down at his PDA for a second. Probably checking the time.

Yes, Sam is rich. Well, her family is, which makes her rich too. Though she's not like Paulina or Star who run around and spend their money on expensive things they don't need.

Sam doesn't 'look' like she's rich. That's probably why we didn't believe her at first, but then she showed us her house and holy moly! It's big. She has a bowling hall in her basement for god's sake.

Well, I have a lab in my basement. I don't know how my parents could afford that, but they did.

I nodded at Tucker and grabbed my backpack from the floor.

"We should call her though. Just to check how she's feeling. " I said and Tucker agreed.

"Anyways, I gotta go and study," Tuck said and pointed with his thumb behind his shoulder.

"Yeah? Good luck with that." I said and chuckled. Knowing that he would probably sit in the cafeteria with his PDA up in his face.

Tucker frowned like he could read my mind. He shook his head and smiled.

"See ya!" He ended up saying while he turned around to walk away.

I saluted him and turned to walk the opposite way.

Our lockers were pretty close to the main doors so it didn't take long before I was outside with fresh air blowing my way. It was quite windy today, but the sun was bright and warm so the wind fit in perfectly. Summer is closing in and soon I will be free for around 2 months.

Awesome, I smiled for myself.

The front of the school had a big lawn that was filled with reading and speaking students. I walked past them and headed home.

I used to be accompanied by Tucker and Sam, but since Sam is home sick and Tucker has an extra class, I'm walking by myself.

To be alone wasn't that bad actually. It was kinda peaceful. I can get lost in my own thoughts for once. I can process the day.

I decided to take a shortcut, so I turned right and into a small alley between two medium tall red brick houses. There were several deep green colored containers placed along the sides.

I usually didn't take this way since it stinks there, and it's creepy. but yeah, whatever.

I sighed when I heard my phone ringing. I reached into my jacket pocket and looked at the screen.

'MOM' it stood.

"Yeah, mom?" I tried to sound as happy as possible. Not that I minded her calling. It's just that she usually didn't call for any specific reason.

"Hi sweetheart, are you on your way home?" her cheerful voice asked.

"Yeah, why?" I asked while rubbing my eyes.

Another student passed by me. Short blond hair, amber eyes, and long black coat. We made eye contact, but when she smirked I blushed and looked away. I could hear her silently laughing behind me and I looked back at her disappearing figure.

That wasn't weird at all.

"Just wondering. I got an email saying that your teacher is sick." My mom said.

"Be careful Danny, wash your hand before you eat anything. It seems like many are getting sick these days. We don't want you to catch it." She added and I could hear that she was frowning.

I removed my phone from my ear to groan and roll my eyes.

"Yes, mom," I answered.

"And I just wanted to remind you to lock all doors and windows before you go to bed"

"Yeah mom, I know. It's not the first time you and dad leave town, I'm 17 years old, I can take care of myself." I said and looked up for no reason. Clothes were hanging to dry on ropes between the houses. I stopped though when I saw a surveillance camera staring at me. Well, it's not weird that people care about their safety, but that camera looked extremely expensive. Right now the camera zoomed in and out on me. like it tried to focus.

"...ny, Danny?" I heard mom ask nervously.

"Sorry, Mom, I got distracted. What did you say?" I apologized and started walking again. It almost looked like the camera moved after me to keep me in sight. I frowned at that but kept moving.

"Are you sure you feel okay, Danny?" Mom asked, worry in her voice.

"Yes mom, I just saw something weird, it's nothing," I answered her.

"You know that your father and I can stay right? Your sister would understand."

"No!" I almost yelled at her. " um.. I mean, You don't have to do that. Jazz would be happy to see you both at her college."

I heard my mom chuckle.

"Okay, Danny. Just remember to lock the doors and windows."

Before I could say anything mom continued.

"Well, your father needs my help with the bags, we have to leave soon if we want to catch the train. I wish there was more time to say goodbye face to face..."

"It's okay mom, you said goodbye yesterday like a thousand times." I smiled and looked down at my shoes for a second.

"But I'll call you tonight mom." I quickly added.

"That's right Danny. I'll hear from you later Sweet cake!" Mom replied.

"Yes. Bye for now mom"

"Bye!" Mom finished and I could hear dad yelling bye too in the background. After that, she ended the call.

I shook my head and put the phone back in my pocket.

My parents are leaving today to visit my sister Jasmine -I call her Jazz though- at her college in a city five hours away so I will finally have the house for myself. It will be awesome. If I remember correctly, they'll be away for around four days. My parents were muttering about maybe staying longer if needed. They'll be staying at one of their friend's house, so money won't be a problem.

The best thing about all of this, is that I will finally have the house for myself.

I kicked a rock and then kicked it again when it came in my way once again. This time kicking, it flew away to the side.

I sighed.

The houses were currently blocking the sun, making the wind an evil thing at the moment. The alleyway was cast into slight dull darkness from the shadow. I shivered and zipped my jacket closed, putting my hands in my pockets.

I could hear cars driving in the distance and the wind doing its thing. The alleyway was getting more narrow which gave me the creeps.

Since I started to miss the sun's warmth, I decided to speed up and walk faster.

I turned left into another dirty alleyway and stopped.

A boy stood a few meters away from me. Both of his arms were around his middle, hugging himself. Leaning forward, his forehead resting on the brick wall. His shoulders going up and down like he was trying to catch his breath after a marathon.

'Boy' was maybe the wrong word since he looked nothing like a little boy. He's really tall. He looked to be something around 6'2 feet. Me myself standing 5'8.

The teenager had long(ofc), slender legs, dressed in black sweatpants. He had white sneakers and he was wearing a really worn out dark blue hoodie. I couldn't see his face since his hood was on.

I didn't really know what to do, maybe he needed help? Should I walk forward and ask what's wrong, or should I walk past him? Maybe I should just turn around and take another way.

I mentally sighed.

I took a few steps forward.

"Hey, are you..."

His head jerked to the side and his eyes met mine. My breath halted. I could only see his eyes since his shoulders were slightly in the way. His eyes were enough for my heart to beat faster.

They were so green, so green that they practically glowed. I was now convinced that whatever sickness that's going around in school had caught me. My mind must be playing tricks. What other explanations are there?

I took a step back and the boy pushed himself off from the wall. He seemed uneasy on his legs, but he still tried to take a few steps towards me.

Now I can see his face more clearly. He had that typical face that would swoon the ladies. High cheekbones, strong jawline and dark narrow eyebrows. If I were Paulina, I would be drooling right now.

Though I'm not her, and what I'm seeing is an intimidating ̶G̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶l̶o̶o̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ scary dude.

Something else I noticed was his hair. His hood was covering much of his head, only showing small parts of his white f̶l̶u̶f̶f̶y̶ hair. Or well, it looked almost grey in the darkness of his hood.

"Mhm." The boy groaned and winced as he struggled to get words out.

His ̶b̶e̶a̶u̶t̶i̶f̶u̶l̶ face frowned into what looked like pain as he wobbled. He tried to catch himself with the help of the wall but failed to do so. He went down on his knees and that pushed me into action.

I took four fast steps forwards and quickly but gently went down on my own two knees in front of him. He may look intimidating but he clearly needs help.

"Are you okay?"

Stupid question Fenton. Try something else.

"Um, How can I help you? Should I call an ambulance?!" I hastily asked and put what I hoped to be a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

He looked up at me once again and this time his eyes didn't glow. So I must have been imagining that before. Now his eyes looked 'normal'. Dull light green.

More pain cast over his face and he almost collapsed. I leaned forward to catch him before he could make contact with the ground. His head was now heavily leaning against my shoulder, and his arm circled me to clutch the back of my jacket.

The situation was becoming more and more awkward but I still tried to do my best to help.

"What's wrong? are you hurt somewhere?"

He started shaking and his head turned so his face was facing my neck. I tried to not think about it but when his arms tightened around me I started to doubt everything I had calculated.

What if he's some kind of rapist or drug abuser. What if he's both?!

Or maybe he's a murderer or thief. Perhaps he's trying to steal something from my pockets right now.

But then he spoke and my heart melted.

"Please help me..." He moaned, he sounded so young. I heard raw pain only.

What if he's a victim. Some bastard must've robbed or beat him. Maybe both.

"Do I need to call an ambulance or the cops?" I asked again since it looked like he was now capable of speaking.

He didn't speak, but the shaking of his head answered for him.

"but, dude. You really should go to the hospital if you don't feel well…" I tried to convince him. Since my parents aren't home, I can't just take him there. He's still a stranger after all.

I felt his hand travel up to my right shoulder blade, his fingers spreading wide. His head turned towards mine.

"No ambulance.." He slowly and quietly said, he then added, "And no cops.." He said it so calmly that I felt my eyelids slightly drop and I suddenly felt a little light-headed.

"Okay, I understand." I agreed and all the unease I had about him before suddenly went away.

The grip he had on me slackened.

"Um, What if I take you to my place, and we'll see what to do after that?" I asked him, since I knew he wouldn't hurt me. How did I know that? No clue. Just a feeling.

I could hear an Alarm Bell Going Off in My Head, but it quickly went away.

He didn't answer at all this time so I proceed to make us stand up. That's easier said than done though.

When we were finally on our feet, I sighed and rubbed the strangers back when he groaned in what I assumed to be pain again.

"You'll be fine," I said and we started walking together. His arm over my shoulders for support.

After a while of walking it looked like his strength was coming back, because he didn't lean on me much anymore.

We finally exited the narrow alleyway and the warmth of the sun came rushing back.

"So… What's your name?" I decided to ask. Better knowing something about the stranger I'm about to invite to my house.

"... Phantom." He murmured after a while. Like he had to think before he could answer.

"Phantom? Cool name, sounds like a superhero's name". I said, trying to lighten up the mood. Phantom didn't do more than snort. Then that uncomfortable silence crept into the atmosphere. I slightly looked down at the ground at the cars on the road beside the walkway. I looked at Phantom sometimes just to see if he was okay. Then I stared back at the road,

"Name?" Phantom murmured, and I turned to look at him once more.

"What?"

"Your name?" He said again and I wanted to smack myself.

"Oh yes, of course". I chuckled and rubbed the back of my neck. A bad habit when I became nervous.

"My name is Danny Fenton".

Phantom nodded his head again.

It became quiet again until I saw my house. I sighed in relief. If I can't even speak to students at my school to make friends, then how did I expect this to go?

"So, home sweet home I guess." I said since we had arrived at my house.

A two-storey house, light red/purple bricks and to my dismay, a big signboard with the text - 'Fentons Works'. My parents had this weird interest in the supernatural and tried to make a living off of it…

I took out my keys from my back pocket and unlocked the door.

It was here, where it all began. One different choice of pathway home and I don't even see the danger coming my way.

...

TBC