How could the day fly by and drag on at the same time?' Fenton silently mused, as he walked out of the classroom and towards his locker. Somehow the school day was already over but it felt like just a minute ago he was sitting in the passenger seat of Jazz's car and pointedly ignoring her questions. (What was that, this morning? What's going on with you and Phantom? Are you okay?). He'd refused to answer, above 'nothing' and 'I'm fine' and 'stop butting in, Jazz.' She'd dropped it once she realized he wasn't going to talk but Fenton could still feel her glare as he walked away from her, once they got to school.

To the boy's relief, Sam and Tucker hadn't said anything either. Not about the brief awkwardness between him and Phantom last night or his mom's behavior. Overall his classes with them and lunch were normal: trading notes and whispering in class, talking and joking at lunch. It really should have been a nice day. Since it was an early release day, classes were short and laid back. They'd watched a movie in english. For once, he'd gotten to just walk around the gym and chatted with his friends during PE. Math and science hadn't been boring for once. But with the unease lingering in the corner of his mind, things seemed to drag on all the same.

Now Fenton was standing at his locker. His stomach churned, anxiety mounting at the thought of going home. Even if the school day hadn't been the most enjoyable, it'd been a distraction from...everything. But now he had to go home and face his sister, his parents, and…..Phantom. He didn't know how he'd face his ghost after everything but-

"Hey, Danny." Sam walking up beside him shook the boy out of his thoughts. "So, are we going to hang out at your house today?"

Tucker stood beside her. "Yeah! We've got two more hours for video games. And no homework!"

Fenton's stomach flopped again in indistinct worry but his friends were beaming at the idea of playing video games with presumably both of him. And well… Fenton wasn't really in a gaming mood but if it could make his friends happy…..

The human forced a slight smile. "Yeah, let's go."

After closing his locker, Fenton started walking towards his house with his friends.

Overall, the day had been good for Phantom. Well...after the awkwardness at breakfast and the guilt over lying to his parents, it had been good relaxing, playing video games, and letting himself get lost in his book.

Now the ghost lounged on the couch. He turned the page of his book, muttering to himself. "Man, this is good. I should have read this sooner."

Suddenly the front door opened, getting the ghost boy's attention. He turned to find Fenton coming through the door, followed by Sam and Tucker.

"Hi Danny." Tucker grinned at the ghostly version of his friend.

In response, Phantom sat up, tilting his head. "Hey, guys. How are you home so early?"

"It was an early release day." Sam said.

"Cool." Phantom nodded. He paused for a second, finding someone missing. "Where's Jazz?"

It was then Fenton finally looked at his ghost briefly before looking down again. "She didn't get here before us?"

"No." The ghost shook his head, answering the question. He felt his previous good mood evaporating.

"She probably had a club meeting or something." His human half suggested.

Phantom nodded, accepting the explanation and feeling a bit of relief; Jazz's questioning was delayed for the time being. But that relief was short lived as the ghost remained silent and his human didn't respond. The ghost boy shifted nervously in the air. It was getting awkward; Fenton was looking down and biting his lip, refusing to look at the ghost again. Sam quickly looked between the two Dannys with furrowed brow, a troubled expression on her face. Tucker appeared more bewildered than anything.

After a few moments, the technogeek coughed, breaking the silence. "So...videos games?"

Phantom and Fenton both turned to him. The ghost blinked, catching up to what Tucker was asking.

"Yeah." "Okay." "Let's play." Came the responses from the other teens in the room.

"But first." Tucker rubbed his hands together. "You guys got any snacks?"

Fenton replied. "Yeah. Let's go raid the pantry."

At the same time, Phantom couldn't help but chuckle, if a bit nervously. Leave it to Tucker to break the tension. The ghost watched as the two teenage boys almost jogged to the kitchen.

Sam walked up to him, gently elbowing the ghost boy. "Come on. Let's set up the game."

Minutes later, Sam and Phantom had turned on the console, loaded the game, and connected the controllers. Tucker and Fenton returned with bags of chips and cookies and all four picked up their controllers and started playing.

Fenton wanted to enjoy the video games. He really did and he tried but it just….

"Sam! That's cheating!" Tucker argued.

His stomach was flopping, his palms sweating. He looked at the screen. Where were they again?

"No it's not! You're just being a sour loser."

The tv showed their final times with a spectacular car crash in the background. Was that his car….and Phantom's? Huh, looks like they tied for last. Again.

"Danny! Come on you have to side with me!"

Sam and Tucker were arguing about something but he couldn't take in the words. All he registered…. Phantom glancing at him warily, neon green eyes shining. Dread balled in his guilt, his heart heavy. The human looked down, wringing his hands. Why did he keep feeling like this?

"You don't have to side with Tucker. We both know he's wrong."

The ghost glanced down again, eyes focusing on the floor and a greenish blush rising on his face. Fenton felt a lump forming in his throat.

"Are you okay, man?" Tucker was staring at the human version of his friend.

The human Danny shook his head. He couldn't do this right now. He couldn't keep doing this. He needed to do better, to be better, to be okay.

"Danny?" Came Sam's question. She looked between the two.

Both Dannys swallowed and Fenton cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just not…."

"Really that into this game today." Phantom continued his thought, sending a small wave of confusion through the human. He wasn't sure if the ghost was covering for him, also felt uneasy himself, or really just wasn't into the game today.

Sam put the controller down. "Alright." She said, a slightly raised eyebrow suggesting she didn't completely buy the excuse. "Do you want to watch a movie instead?"

Phantom sighed. "Not really."

Fenton shook his head, agreeing that another movie marathon didn't sound that appealing. "Nah."

Sam and Tucker looked between each other questioningly before the barrett-wearing boy shrugged. "We could get out a board game?"

Phantom just crossed his arms and shook his head, frowning. At the same time, Fenton gave his friends a questioning look.

"Well, what do you want to do then?" Sam asked.

The two Danny remained frowning with vaguely sad looks until Tucker snapped his fingers. "Let's go to the mall."

Everyone turned to the technogeek with wide, skeptical eyes. Then Phantom's frown deepened and Fenton could feel his other half's subtle annoyance. "How exactly am I supposed to go out in public?" He motioned up and down his body, a hint of hurt entering his voice. "I'll stick out like a sore thumb."

"Nah Dude." Tucker denied. "Not if you change your clothes."

Phantom's mouth fell open, then his eyes narrowed. "I'm/ he's glowing." Both Danny's said in unison, tone flat like it was the most stupidly obvious thing.

There was a brief gasp as Fenton noticed the duel speech but the human powered through. "Sam, tell Tucker this is a bad idea."

Turning towards his goth friend, it was then Fenton noticed her eyes lighting up in realization. "No. It's a great idea."

"Sam!" Both Dannys chided at the same time, only to be ignored.

"The glow's barely noticeable and if we put Phantom in normal clothes…." The girl's eyes traveled up and down the ghost's figure. "Your skin's kinda green but if we do long sleeves and some make-up." Sam grinned wickedly. "No one would bat an eye."

"But...but my hair's white….and my eyes?" Phantom started.

"Say it's dyed. Plus weirdly colored contacts are all the rage." Somehow Sam's grin looked ever more wicked. "You'll look so punk."

"Oh no." Fenton's eyes widened, realizing what Sam was thinking.

At the same time, Phantom crossed his arms. "You are not dressing me up as a goth."

"You're already wearing more black than me." Sam motioned to Phantom, before waving casually. "Besides, I was thinking more punk or...black with the white hair…..you could pull off emo."

The ghost blink bewilderedly. "I'm sorry but...emo?" He frowned. " Besides you're missing something important." He pointed to himself and then Fenton. "We're identical. How are people not going to notice that?"

Sam frowned disappointedly, looking between the two Dannys before Tucker spoke up. "You're not really identical though." Phantom's eyes widened, slightly alarmed before Tucker clarified. "I mean, your hair and eyes are different."

"Yeah." Sam agreed. "And if you're wearing really different clothes, no one will notice how similar you look."

"I don't know…" The ghost bit his lip.

"Dude, we're losers. It's not like anyone will pay enough attention to us to notice anyway." Tucker said.

Fenton furrowed his brow, debating the merits of his friends' arguments. He looked between Sam and Tucker's eager faces and soon enough his resolve broke. "Fine." Fenton sighed. "I'm in." He glanced at his ghost, asking. "Phantom?"

The ghost boy leaned back, sounding resigned. "Yeah. Let's do it."

"Yes!" Sam hopped up, looking satisfied. Grabbing Phantom's hand, she pulled the ghost boy off the couch. "Let's go to your room. I was thinking, those black jeans you never wear. And a hoodie. I've got some makeup we can use." She pursed her lips. "We'll have to scrounge up some accessories...I might have some stuff in my bag."

Phantom raised a brow at her as the pair started up the stairs. "Did you plan this?"

"What? No." Sam scoffed, faux offended before grinning. "Maybe a bit…."

"You have been wanting me to go goth for years." The ghost shook his head before smiling teasingly. Sam's excitement was clearly brightening his mood. "And you just found the perfect opportunity, right?"

"I mean...come on." Sam raised her arms, turning towards him as they got to the top of the stairs. "What's more goth than a ghost? I can't not use this chance."

Phantom rolled his eyes, good naturedly. He playfully elbowed the girl in the side and quipped something back. Tucker jogged up behind saying something that earned a laugh from Phantom and a scowl from Sam.

But meanwhile, Fenton lingered a few steps behind. It was ironic really. Phantom looked to be in such a good mode, relaxed, bantering with Sam and Tucker like he should. But his human's stomach was in knots. He should be happy to, at the prospect of a fun afternoon out but instead…..

Fenton bit his lip. Tucker's statement about the two not being identical rang in his head, stinging. And not for his friend treating the two as different but...as a reminder of the truth. Fenton knew the two of them had contrasting features but over all, they were the same. Fenton knew he'd (they'd) been able to look like Phantom before the ghost catcher but…..

His own fear-filled eyes in the mirror after uncontrollably transforming, flashed in his mind. Denial, that hadn't been his face because he wasn't a ghost. Well, neither of him was in denial anymore but even still, looking at Phantom was like looking in a funhouse mirror. Like seeing himself, but not. Like he knew that's what he looked like, but it wasn't HIS face. The human looked down, guilt spiking. Maybe this difference between what he knew and what he felt was from seeing his ghost self from the outside or just because being a ghost was still so new. But he still wished he could just get over these feelings, just be comfortable like he should be.

Fenton arrived at the door to his room and stepped inside. Sam was looking through his closet, pulling out garments and shoving them at Phantom while Tucker smirked on the bed.

"Oh! How about this!?" Sam pulled out a hoodie- black and white patch work with holes and many zippers.

Phantom inspected it. "When did I even get this?"

"I think it was that time we went thrift shopping. "Tucker smirked. "You bought it because Sam thought it was hot on you."

The ghost boy (and his human counterpart) blushed while Sam gave an offended gasp, glaring daggers at Tucker.

Despite his embarrassment, Fenton relaxed. Maybe his friends were right. This is what he...both of him needed. To get out of the house. To act like a normal, human teenager. A change of scenery. A distraction. A chance to act like everything was okay.

Phantom wasn't as relaxed as he pretended to be, at least at first. But he tried and well….bantering with Sam and Tucker always made him feel better.

After getting over his embarrassment (he remembered buying this hoodie and it wasn't because Sam thought it looked good on him!), the ghost boy took the jacket from Sam's hand. He studied it with furrowed brow before nodding. "I guess this will work."

"It is really different from what you normally wear." Tucker added.

Phantom glanced at his human self, clad in mid-wash jeans and a white and red shirt.

"That's true." Fenton said, eyes focused on the hoodie.

Sam rolled her eyes before throwing a pair of black jeans at the ghost. "Stop gawking and get dressed. Then I'll do your makeup."

The ghost groaned. "Do we have to?"

In response, Sam gave him a pointed look. "Yes."

Phantom wrinkled his nose in disgust but did as he was told. A quick trip into the bathroom and he soon returned, finding Fenton sitting on the bed beside Tucker with Sam occupying the desk chair.

Again, a wave of awkwardness passed through him. The three were relaxed, talking and laughing. His human half was actually smiling for once. And it, everything, was so strange. Is this what him hanging out with his friends looked like from the outside?

The moment passed when the other teens turned towards him.

Tucker whistled. "Man." He grinned. "Don't you think he looks good Sam?"

Phantom's face lit up green in embarrassment, Fenton's also turning an equally vivid shade of red. Sam however looked torn: a blush covered her face but at the same time she looked like she wanted to hit Tucker. In response, the technogeek cringed, leaning away from the goth sheepishly.

But no blows came. Sam dislodged whatever she was feeling away with a shake of her head. "Come on. " She waved Phantom over. "I want to actually have some time at the mall."

Sam stood before ushering him into the chair. And what followed was a whirl of motion. Powders the boy couldn't identify, soft makeup puffs(?) patting his face, pointy things uncomfortably close to his eyes.

Sam brushed something over his closed eyelids. "And...there. You can open your eyes." The boy did, just as his friend took a step back and assessed her work. "Pretty good, if I do say so myself."

Sam's self satisfied smile had Phantom looking at the girl warily. He then glanced at Tucker who still sat on the bed. The ghost boy swallowed. "Tuck. Be honest. How bad is it?"

Sam gave an offended gasps but before she could retort, their other friend cut her off. "You should… check it out yourself dude."

The lack of a real answer made the ghost tense but he obeyed, floating off of the chair and towards the mirror hanging on his closet door.

His eyes widened in pleasant surprise at the sight. Instead of the dark, obvious gothic makeup he had expected, it was light, subtle, almost natural. His stomach flopped, complex emotions pricking his core as he assessed the outfit as well. On one hand, it was so strange to see himself (his ghostly self) out of his jumpsuit and in clothes so out of his comfort zone. A feeling of unease, of displacement rose. He barely looked like himself, like Phantom. Again, like after right after the accident, he was practically looking at a stranger in the mirror.

But on the other hand, he was in normal (ish) clothes. With the makeup, the sickly, greenish undertone was almost nonexistent. Instead, he looked almost….human. Like just a normal, if pale, kid. And at once it felt so good (he missed looking like a human, being a human, being normal, alive so much). But his stomach also flopped anxiously. That, in the mirror, wasn't really him. The image, the illusion, wasn't real. He wasn't human anymore and no amount of makeup would change that.

Movement behind him, reflected in the mirror, caught Phantom's attention. His eyes feel on his black-haired counterpart, his human counterpart. The ghost shook his head; maybe the 'fact' that he wasn't human anymore wasn't actually true. He was part human even if he didn't feel like it. And he didn't need to be so negative.

The ghost almost smiled, watching Fenton muttering something to Tucker, earning a chuckle from the geek. Then the human looked up and their eyes met through the reflection. A second later, Fenton looked away and Phantom's core fell.

Tension rose again, making the ghost stiffen but before he could react, something poked him on the shoulder. He whipped around to find Sam looking at him expectantly. "So what do you think?"

"I think…." another side glance at the mirror. "I'll pass as human."

What could be a concerned look passed over Sam's face at the neutral answer and another spike of guilt ( from constantly worrying his friends) prickled his core.

"A very goth human." Fenton added, swallowing.

Sam turned towards the human version of her friend. "Oh, so you approve?"

Fenton put his hands up. "I didn't say that but….I don't think anyone's going to notice us now, with Phantom dressed like...that." He motioned up and down the ghost's boy.

"Yep, just a normal, human teenager." Phantom rubbed the back of his neck. "Definitely not actually a ghost...or looking strangely similar to a certain someone."

"You're going to be fine." Sam said, surprisingly understanding.

"Yeah dude." Tucker stood up. "And we're going to have a great time. Now let's go!"

With no more debate, the group of teens left Fentonwork and walked a few blocks to the mall. Phantom forced a smile, trying to believe it.

The four chatted during the walk to the mall. Like his ghostly counterpart, Fenton started the journey nervous. What if they got discovered? What if someone noticed the two near identical teens? Or that Phantom was a ghost? But then again…..no one believed in ghosts, except his parents. And Phantom looked so different from normal, compared to his more ghostly appearance. So who would possibly notice?

"We were in...fifth grade when that happened, I think?" Sam was asking.

"Yeah. We had that teacher with the buckteeth and a wig. She was always carrying a cane too." Phantom stuffed his hands in his pockets and idley kicked a rock on the sidewalk. He was making a concerted effort to walk, instead of floating, to Fenton's relief.

"Mrs. Graves." Tucker added. "Man, she was creepy."

"The way she'd just stare at you like she could see into your soul and that scratchy voice." The ghost shivered.

A second later Fenton also shivered, remembering. "Yeah, She freaked me out man."

"I don't know." Sam shook her head. "I kinda admired her ability to strike fear in her victims…..I mean students."

"Because you weren't in her class!" Tucker argued, putting his hands up.

"Seriously Sam? She was awful." Phantom crossed his arms.

"But that witchy aesthetic! And that attitude? That was a woman who wasn't taking anyone's crap." Sam shrugged.

"Sounds like you have something in common." Tucker muttered, earning a elbow jab from Sam.

Just then the group walked through the front doors of the mall. Fenton stopped, taking the area in. The lit store fronts, the play area at the far end, the benches and potted plants in the long, carpet stripe between stores. All the people milling about- a few eldery couples, mothers with small kids, a frowning man carrying many bags and trailing two women, even some kids he recognized from school. And….he looked side to side, tension rising. In front of him, Phantom had also stilled with shoulders raised.

"You're fine. No one's looking at you." Sam muttered to the ghost who relaxed slightly.

"I….yeah. I'm fine." Phantom swallowed. "Thanks Sam." Tucker then patted him on the back. "Thanks Tuck."

A second later, Sam turned to face Fenton, sending him a concerned look. "Are you good too?"

The human Danny swallowed as well. "Yeah. I'm….I'm fine."

Was it the truth? Or was he saying it in hopes he'd feel fine? Despite himself, the boy shifted awkwardly. With one eyebrow raised, Phantom turned towards him but the human averted his eyes again.

"So…." Tucker cut in. "do you guys wanna go to Gamestop?"

"Sounds good to me." Sam shrugged.

"Sure." Phantom said as Fenton nodded.

"Awesome!" Tucker smiled. "Come on. We can check out that new Zombie Slammer Game!"

Zombie Slammer? Oh yeah, that had come out recently. A hint of excitement tickled Fenton's mind. He'd been looking forward to that. "Yeah. Let's go." He started after Tucker with Sam and Phantom just behind.

"Is this it?" Fenton stopped in front of the display.

Tucker's eyes widened. "Yeah. Oh man, look at this!" He pulled the case off the shelf.

"Woah." Sam pointed. "That's a nice cover." She scanned the blurb on the back. "I heard they did this cool thing with a branching storyline. So I was reading this blog post and…." She trailed off, eyes focusing on a tv and console set up a few shelves over. "Look, they have it on that console."

The four quickly walked over, huddling around the display.

Tucker's eyes widened. "Look at those graphics."

Taking in the screen, Fenton's eyes lit up. "It's so…."

"That's so…." Phantom started.

"Realistic" Both Dannys mouthed at the same time, eyes wide with awe before both blushed realizing the reaction.

Sam and Tucker just laughed in response. Sam's smile turned up and she pointed at the single available controller. "I'm gonna try it out."

The boy watched Sam play for a few minutes, a smile slowly growing on Fenton's face.

"No. No. No. Ugg Come on." Sam muttered as her character died.

Several laughs rang out at her distress but the girl just groaned, putting down the controller.

"Oh, oh. Me next! Me next!" Tucker exclaimed, shuffling to the spot Sam was previously occupying.

The technogeek enthusiastically pressed the buttons on the controller. "Come on. Come on. Yes!"

The other teens also gave a cheer, earning a glare from some adults passing the store.

Both Dannys blushed self consciously before turning attention back to the game. "Tuck! Look out." Fenton admonished, purposefully quieter than before.

"Ahh." A slightly startled cry came from the barrett-wearing boy as his character dodged. Then he sighed in relief. "Thanks man."

"No problem." Fenton smiled.

More quips and laughs came as they watched Tucker play and then Phantom took the controller. The ghost smiled at the screen. Fenton could see and feel his ghost relaxing and his own body, his own mind (part of their mind?) relaxing in kind. This was nice, being at the mall, just hanging out with Sam and Tucker. He was glad he'd, both of him, had agreed to do this.

"Shoot." Just then Phantom's character died but he stayed smiling comfortably. "Here you go." He handed the controller to his human self who took the device.

But before he started, the human boy suddenly stiffened, feeling eyes on him. He looked up, eyes falling on a red-haired teenage boy about his age who was standing outside the store and staring at the group oddly.

"What is it?" Sam asked, noticing his sudden change in behavior."

"Someone's staring at us." Fenton whispered.

Beside him, Phantom also stiffened. "Who is that?"

Tucker squinted, also studying the figure. "It's that kid on the basketball team who's always going on about aliens in Area 51. Name starts with a W." The boy started snapping his finger, trying to remember. "Will, or Walt, or Wayne, or…."

"Wes." Phantom suggested.

Fenton nodded in agreement; that name did ring a bell.

"That's it." Tucker confirmed.

"What should we do?" Fenton hissed quietly.

"Just ignore him. He'll go away if-" Phantom started, equally quietly.

"Fenton!" Wes barked, walking towards them.

"Or not." Fenton muttered, crossing his arms.

The redhead stopped in front of the group. "Since when do you have a twin brother?"

Fenton gaped, mind screeching to a stop. "What...what are you talking about?"

Wes pointed at both Fenton and Phantom, clearly bewildered. "You two look pretty much identical."

The two Dannys exchanged panicked looks. "He's my...my" "I'm his..his.." Their eyes widened at the dual speech and Phantom's mouth snapped shut.

Fenton swallowed. "This is my...my….cousin?" It sounded more like a question than a statement but he pushed forward. "Ummm His name is….uhhh."

"James." Phantom blurted out. "James….uhh...Fenton. Cause we're cousins on Dad's side."

"Both our dads' sides, Cause they're brothers…." Fenton stuttered.

"Yeah. We're definitely not more closely related than that. Nope. Don't even look alike, definitely not secretly the same-" A sudden kick in the shin from Sam silenced the disguised ghost.

Wes glanced between the nearly identical boys, an increasingly confused and exacerbated expression growing on his face. "Bull-"

"There you are Wes." Just then a dark-haired football player who Fenton recognized as Kwan and presumably one of Wes's friends walked around the corner. The newcomer approached the group, stopping beside Wes. "Why are you talking to these guys?"

Wes's frown deepened. "Fenton has a secret twin brother."

"No, he's not…" "We're..we're..cousins." "Yeah, we're cousins." "not twins, that's...that's ridiculous." Phantom and Fenton sputtered, talking over each other but at the same time, harmonising oddly so even Fenton could barely tell which boy was saying what.

"You're identical!" Wes exclaimed, cutting through the rambling.

"No they're not." Kwan cut in tilting his head. "He's clearly taller." He pointed to Phantom, who looked wide-eyed between Fenton and his own chest. "And the hair and eyes are different."

"He clearly dyes it, Kwan." The red-haired boy put one hand on his hip, pointing at Phantom with the other.

Kwan shook his head. "You can't dye dark hair that light."

"How do you know that?" Sam finally cut in crossing her arms.

The football player blushed. "No reason." He cleared his throat, addressing Phantom. "But still, are you naturally platinum blonde or…?"

The ghost's brow furrowed. "Uhh….yeah. This is all…. All natural."

Kwan nodded but Wes looked unconvinced. If anything he looked more vexed. He took a step forward, glaring at Phantom's head. "But that's white. Like actually….." His eyes widened, nose wrinkling. "Are you….glowing?"

Phantom took a step back and Fenton fought to not do the same as his heart pounded in his chest. He glanced at his ghost who was blushing vividly. And….was that green, actual visible green?! Crap.

"Uhhh…." The ghost boy blink startledly, unable to verbalize any response.

But Fenton could feel his panic, their shared panic. At being discovered as a ghost, a freak. Everyone would find out and they'd be a social pariah. People screaming, throwing things, kids crying. Monster. No. NO he's not, Phantom's not, they're not….

A snort for Kwan stopped the panicked spiral. "So that's what this is about?" The boy wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at his friend.

"No. It's….I'm not…." Wes blushed tomato red. "He's...there's something…."

Kwan patted him on the back before the other athlete could respond. "If you're done, let's go. We're meeting Dash at Smoothie Shack, remember?"

Wes's mouth opened and closed for several moments before he swallowed. "Yeah...sure. Let's go Kwan."

The football player gave the group a wave as he ushered the redhead away. "Nice to meet you, Fenton's cousin."

Wes glared at the pair, human and disguised ghost, while both tried not to grimace… or hyperventilate. But soon enough the pair was out of earshot and both Dannys started rambling.

"I thought no one would recognize me!" "Wes….Wes he….how did he see that?" "And Kwan thinks Wes...yuck." "James! Our middle name! Really?" "I can't even believe this...we should just go home." "Pack up! Let's go before...before…"

"Danny!" Panicked whispers from Sam and Tucker stopped the rant and hands suddenly gripped each boy's shoulders, Sam in an effort to calm the human and Tucker to push down the unconsciously floating ghost.

Fenton's breathing slowed as he stared at Sam who was holding his shaking shoulders. "Sam?"

The girl nodded. "It's okay. It's going to be okay."

"Yeah." Tucker added. "It was just Wes, the kid everyone thinks is a conspiracy nut. The worse that will happen is a rumor about you having a secret twin."

"Secret twin?" Fenton's voice rose on the last word.

Sam glared. "You're not helping Tucker." She turned attention back to Fenton. "Even if anyone else at school hears, they'll dismiss it and forget it five minutes later." She turned to Phantom. "It's going to be okay, both of you. Okay?"

"Okay." Phantom said.

After a pause, then Fenton said. "Okay."

The human sucked in a breath, shaking his head. It was okay, He was okay. They were okay. Sam was right. No one would believe Wes. It was crazy and they'd forget soon enough.

Seeing both Dannys calm, Sam and Tucker both stepped back before looking at each other. Tucker worried his lip. "If you guys still want to leave we can but…."

Fenton swallowed. Tucker looked disappointed at the thought of leaving, his shoulders falling. But what really pricked the human Dannys heart was his and Sam's wide, worried eyes. The human boy shook his head. "No. I'm fine. Let's get some food. Pha-" he cut off, finally noticing some of the other shoppers glancing at the teens either worriedly or judgmentally after the panicked outburst. "Uhhh cuz? You okay with staying?"

Phantom nodded. "Yeah…..I'm fine. Let's do that, yeah."

Even to Fenton it sounded forced but he said nothing as Sam and Tucker started walking towards the food court with both halves of their friend following.