A/N: Hi everybody! Thanks to all my awesome reviewers! Just because I feel happy today, I'm going to dedicate this chapter to all of you! "All of you" includes: stormrider7, the last kiwi, weirdIT, Writer's-BlockDP, Bob Zox, Ghostboy814, Kirstyn.T, and phantomshadowdragon. Those are all the people who reviewed chapter seven.
So... I bet you're all wondering what happened to Danny... and you know what? At the end of this chapter, you'll be wondering the same thing, plus more! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry, I'm hyper right now. Warning: There is one swearword and two MINOR references to religion in this chapter. Here ya go!
Chapter Eight
When boiling a pot of water, it's necessary to have a heat source of some sort. Only then can the water boil. But what happens when you take away that source of heat?
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Valerie just stood there after she had shot him, an angry expression frozen on her face. Ever so slowly, she lowered the ecto-gun and let it drop to the floor with a thump.
She had been so angry at Danny for being the ghost kid, her enemy, that she had taken it out on him in the worst possible way: violence. That had somewhat satisfied her need to vent, thereby draining her of the irrational part of her anger. It was only then that she began to comprehend what was going on.
The ghost hunter walked across her room to the window through which Danny had fallen less than a minute before. She stuck her head out and searched around for the half-ghost, soon finding him sprawled on the sidewalk, seemingly unconscious.
With most of her fury gone, her confusion returned to her. Her mind just could not understand what she was seeing. So, she pulled her head back into her room (her hair was now somewhat wet from the rain), closed her eyes, and took a few deep breaths, calming herself and attempting to sort out the mess. Then, she looked out the window again. This time, she realized what had happened; she realized what she had just done.
Her composure flew out the window faster than Danny had.
"D-danny? I… I… holy s--t," she croaked, barely able to find her voice. All of a sudden, she felt rather dizzy. Valerie wavered slightly before collapsing to the floor and promptly fainting.
It was a bit past seven-thirty when the news came on with a story that caught my eye. That rarely happened unless it had to do with Danny Phantom; he fascinated me, so I liked seeing what he was up to. Then again, I suppose that the report on TV wasn't actually unrelated to Phantom.
Apparently, Jazz Fenton had been hit by a car that afternoon, and she was in the hospital. I felt sorry for her family, especially Danny. I'd barely ever spoken to him, but I was weirdly gravitated to him; never close enough for him to notice I was there, but close enough for me to get to know him a bit… He was a unique person. Even though his grades suggested otherwise, he was actually a very complex guy… And he was good at keeping secrets…
While I was reminiscing, I heard Lance Thunder mention that the driver of the car that hit Jazz didn't want their identity revealed, and I turned my full attention back to the report. I saw that the driver was a woman. Although the camera blurred out her face, I could see that she had shoulder-length, light brown hair, and she was wearing a light blue t-shirt and a long, flowing skirt with pink and blue flowers. I could've sworn I recognized that skirt.
Suddenly, I heard her speak: "I – I didn't mean to hit the poor girl! It was an accident!" I recognized that voice…
"Mom?" I exclaimed in disbelief. My own mother had just hit Danny's sister with her car? There was no mistaking her voice.
Good lord, I'm glad she didn't show her face on the camera! I thought. If she had, my friends might've recognized her, and big stuff like that didn't just stay within a group of friends. If someone had recognized my mom, it would've been all over the school the next day. Even though she had hidden her identity, I felt like holing up in my room forever. And I did, but mostly because that's what I usually did anyway…
I just couldn't believe what I had just seen on TV. I figured I would visit the Fentons sometime the next day (you know, to show support and stuff like that). Maybe I would be able convince my mom to go with me, if she hadn't already.
I continued thinking about things while just staring at my computer. Then, the light sprinkle of rain outside turned into a downpour, and I closed my window. I feel sorry for the suckers outside right now. Thank God I'm not one of them.
Danny laid on the ground for nearly fifteen minutes after falling from the window. Though his eyes were closed, he was conscious. He just didn't have the will to get up just yet; he was too lost in his mind.
Valerie's reaction had shocked him. Sure, he had known that, sooner or later, she would find out about him, and that she would be upset with him, but he had been completely unprepared for anger of such magnitude. He hadn't expected her to get physical and actually harm him… He thought she would be able to accept him – all of him – eventually.
But he was proved wrong, as he usually was. What in my fourteen years have I done to deserve this? he thought sadly as he opened his eyes, vaguely directing his question to the sky; to any supreme being that might've had the answer. Nothing but more rain and another bolt of lightning flashing through the sky replied.
Then, Danny finally realized that he was lying in a puddle of rainwater, soaked and ice-cold. He attempted to sit up, but cried out in pain and fell back to the ground. All of his previous numbness to bodily hurt was gone, and pain flooded him. He was a mess, physically and mentally.
Taking a deep breath, Danny tried to calm down. He focused solely on his effort to sit up, and prepared himself for the pain. Squeezing his eyes shut as his back and chest throbbed agonizingly, he finally managed to sit upright. He put one hand on the ground behind him for support. Then he could finally assess his injuries.
He was mostly sure that he hadn't broken any bones. That was good. On his chest, there was a slight burn from the ecto-gun. It wasn't bleeding, but it stung badly. With the hand that wasn't supporting him, Danny felt his back. He touched a sore spot and quickly drew his hand away. There was blood on his fingers. I must've been hit so hard that I skidded along the ground. It also seemed as if something ached inside his back. Maybe I pulled a muscle?
Even in his thoughts, Danny danced around the fact that Valerie had done this to him. He refused to think about it, not wanting to break down while he was outside, in the rain, and vulnerable to ghost attacks. He needed to get home, or somewhere else safe, before he could worry about anything else.
Danny closed his eyes and prepared for more pain as he attempted to stand up. But, strangely, he felt no pain (well, no more than he felt already). Then, he found that he hadn't even moved.
What? That's weird. I could've sworn that I tried to stand up. Now he was slightly concerned. This time, he kept his eyes open as he attempted to bend his knee. And that's when he realized that he couldn't feel his legs.
A/N: I told you you'd still be wondering what happened to Danny! I feel so evil. Heehee.
And for the first time, I wrote a section in the first person POV. That's mostly so I could hide that person's identity. Although, for those people who can read between the lines, you might be able to get a small idea of who it might be... Kirstyn.T, I would expect you to be one of those people, seeing as I told you about the "watch from afar" thingy.
Hey, while I still have your attention... What do you guys think of Karli so far? I know you haven't seen much of her but... Does she seem believable? And do you think she's evil, good, or neither? I forgot who, but someone said that they wondered if Karli was "in cahoots with Vlad." Tell me what you think of her. Please.
And for you awesome readers STILL reading this nonsense... I got an Evanescence CD last Sunday. And every time I listen to the songs, I'm reminded of Sam. Isn't that weird? I don't know why... It's like there's something about her voice that sounds like Sam... I don't know.
Okay, I'll stop abusing the attention of my dedicated readers. I think this story will end up stretching to ten chapters. I'm trying to wrap it up, but I can't think of any way to do that yet... And I'm still thinking of a title for the sequel... Anywho, seeya later! Next chapter will be up within two weeks!
