The wind picked up around Danny as he flew invisibly but slowly on the wind, as if drifting aimlessly with it, heading in the general direction of his friend's house. His mind had gone almost completely blank with shock, to a point where he couldn't seem to remember anything more than Jazz's words, which he clung to like a lost sailor clung to a life-raft.
Of course, Sam's house would be the first place they'd look for him. His eyes snapped open and he stopped in mid-air as his mind suddenly jumped from almost no conscious activity to high gear. He'd be on the run for the rest of his life now...from his own parents. He'd have to go into hiding. At least How long would it be before his parents told the town...the mayor...the nation? The last thing he needed was another run around with everyone on his heels trying to capture him and turn him in.
Would the Guys in White come after him again? Would they team up with his parents? He shuddered. If that ever did happen, he'd have to leave town to say the very least. But where could he go? Where could he hide? Was there anywhere besides the ghost-zone that someone like him could stay?
It would have to be a large city or a non-existent town. Some place like New York, with enough people here and there that he could just get lost in the shuffle, or some place so remote, that no one would know it was there to look for him in. Of course, in a place like that, a random 14-year-old wandering into town would probably draw too much attention--
"Focus, Danny," he heard himself say, and took a deep breath. The last thing he needed to do right now was put himself into a panic. First thing first. He get to Sam's so Jazz would know where to find him, and plan everything from there.
Of course, there was one other option...but he would rather die than take it. The last place he wanted to end up was with his arch enemy, and he'd have to have completely lose his mind to even seriously consider it. Of course, if it ever came down to that...
"Worry about it when you face it," Danny muttered to himself, half to reassure himself and half to force his mind onto something else.
Get to Sam's. Then they could plan something. He doubted things would ever get that bad. And if they did...
Growling to himself, he continued towards Sam's large mansion, forcing his mind once again to other thoughts, knowing full well that he could never fully erase it from the back of his head, and that sooner or later, he'd have to come up with some sort of solution to all of this.
That thought did little to calm him.
oOo
Finally, he turned onto a street with fairly large buildings lining both sides of it. His mind had slowly drifted back into a daze with the lack of answers he had been able to come up with. Vaguely, he wondered if he felt badly about this regression or if he actually liked the state of numbness better than the hyper-active, adrenaline pumping thought processes his mind had suddenly thrown him into.
Without so much as a gulp, he landed and detransformed between two buildings a few houses down from Sam's. After a few seconds of simply standing there, he reached down and hefted the suitcase/backpack onto his shoulder, and stepped out into the afternoon sun.
The heat that usually blanketed the days this time of year had only recently begun to dissipate, but the warmth did nothing to penetrate the shield that had seemed to build itself around his brain. He felt cold; almost distant from everything, including himself. Vague segments of questions drifted across his consciousness, but he no longer paid them any heed.
Get to Sam's house.
The one coherent thought that he clung to coming from his sister's worried face flashed before his eyes, crowding out everything else. One foot in front of the other, he made his way down a few houses and stopped in front of the familiar staircase leading up to the large door that he'd come to know so well. Tightening his grip on the suitcase strap. he swallowed, wondering how he'd explain this to her...or worse yet, her parents. Maybe he'd just tell them he'd be there for the evening. He'd probably have to leave before night-fall anyway, he sighed, concentrating on placing one foot on the next step until he reached his best-friend's door.
Well, he thought to himself, at least here he had a sanctuary for a short while. Her parents wouldn't be happy he was over. They didn't like him much. Of course, what would their response to his secret be? And what would the kids at school say? Had their opinion suddenly changed too? Of course, if his parents were after him, he couldn't go back to school. He snorted and rang the doorbell. He never thought he'd feel upset about not going back to school.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs next to the door from inside, and for a moment, he paused and wondered if he should go to Tucker's house instead. Almost as soon as it came to mind, though, he dismissed the thought. Jazz would try to get ahold of him here, so he needed to stay here until something forced him to leave...
Suppressing a shudder at that annoyingly recurring thought, he turned and focused on the door and approaching foot-falls. To his surprise, Sam opened the door. Normally at this time of day it was a maid or one of her parents who answered the door, especially if Sam didn't expect him. She peeked around the door, looking as if she were in a slight daze herself.
"Danny?" She asked.
He looked down. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything."
"Uh," she stood slightly straighter, but didn't open the door any more, choosing to peer through the slightly ajar opening, "not really."
He smiled sadly. "You know," he bit his lip and shook his head, "you were right. I should have waited for a better time to tell them."
"Huh?"he heard her reply as if through a heavy fog, kind of distant despite her being only feet away.
"Mom and Dad," he replied, "they...they kicked me out." He waited several seconds, and when no reply came, he looked back at his friend. She stood in the doorway, with her arms crossed, glaring at him and shaking her head.
"Of course I was right," she said finally. "And I'm not surprised that it took you this long to accept it." She looked up, the glare changing from gloating to disgust. "So the poor ghost-boy who can never accept that he was wrong is finally crawling here to get help from a friend who he never listens to?" She chuckled mirthlessly and leaned close to him. "You know what? I'm sick and tired of always having your back, and you never giving anything back! I'm tired of getting bad grades for you, and I'm completely tired of getting set up with you by everyone else in the school! I was going to tell you tomorrow that our 'friendship' is off. Guess I won't have to now." And with that she slammed the door, leaving Danny staring at the heavy oak of the one place he thought he would always have refuge.
Before, he'd felt numb, like someone had pumped him full of Novocaine or something, but he could still sense his feelings below all of that. Now, as he slowly turned and dragged his suitcase down the porch stairs, he realized that he couldn't even feel the numbness anymore.
