Wow, I didn't realize I'd get that kind of a response. Oo blink blink Thank you guys soo much! I really wish that I could responde here. I HATE this rule...and I don't use that word lightly. sigh Anywho, enjoy! I'll try to respond to you all personally, but I really don't have the time to answer everyone. I'm soo sorry...I still love your reviews!
Danny and Tucker walked down the fairly-crowded halls of Casper High the next morning, glaring at Sam as she joined them. She took in their appearance with a sigh. Danny had a few band-aids here and there, not to mention a poorly wrapped bandage around his head. Tucker wore a neck brace over his usual high-necked sweater, and a bandage around his arm. She knew that they were just exaggerating their wounds to get on her nerves, but it worked.
"Guys, I said I was sorry," she said, exasperation lacing her words. "You can take that stuff off now. You got a full apology from Dash last night for the…'accidents'." They continued to glare at her. She threw her hands in the air. "I was just trying to help!"
"Sam," Danny said as he reached up to undo the bandage, "I appreciate what you did. I really do. I just hate being beat up by that…that…" his eyes flashed green in anger.
Tucker's expression hardly softened. "I wasn't even supposed to be there," he pointed out.
"Boys," Sam muttered to herself, and hugged the backpack she wore over her stomach.
"Um," Danny noticed her strange fashion statement. "Why do you have your backpack on backwards?"
Her face suddenly went pale as she glanced around. "No reason," she said hurriedly. "Look, I—" A blue mist coming out of Danny's mouth caught her attention, and she stopped.
"Er…" Danny looked around, not seeing anywhere he could really go ghost. 'I'll be right back," he smiled and dashed down the hall towards the Boys Locker Room.
'Go get him, Danny," Sam said after him, half sarcastic, half supportive.
"Why do you always assume the ghost is a boy?" Tucker asked her, still in a bad mood. "It could be a girl you know." She rolled her eyes at his comment and walked past him a few steps. "Hey," Tucker noticed her leaving, "Ghosts have feelings too, y' know." She turned to retort, but her eyes widened a look of surprise crossed her face instead. He took note of her look, and turned to see what she had shocked her into not defending herself.
"Or," he squeaked, "it could be two girls!"
"Yep!" one of the two heavily tattooed ghosts that floated behind them smiled and waved before brushing her long, midnight-black hair behind her shoulder. "HI!" her grin widened.
Of course, that's when people decided to take notice of them.
"GHOSTS!" someone screamed, and almost that quickly, the hallway had emptied, the echoes of screaming children bouncing through the halls. Sam and Tucker stood, almost frozen while facing the two girls.
The second girl (who, except for the facial decorations and opposite-colored clothes, looked exactly like the first ghost) simply floated there, with an expression that could have been carved from stone. She didn't say a word as the first, dressed in a tan, one-shouldered jumpsuit over a black shirt, floated up to them. Meanwhile, behind both of them, Danny phased through the floor, ready to attack. He paused when the ghost spoke again.
"I'm Abby!" her grin never left her face, and it was starting to creep Sam out, while putting Tucker slightly more at ease. "This is my sister Ash, and—"
"Ashlynn," the second corrected in a stern tone.
"We're here to find the ghost boy," Abby continued as if the other hadn't spoken at all.
Tucker and Sam exchanged a glance.
"Er," Sam spoke up, "why?"
"Because," Abby said, still smiling, "we want to help him!" For several seconds, silence blanketed the hall, until Danny shook his head and floated forward.
"Woah, woah…" both girls jumped and turned around. A green spear appeared in Ashlynn's hands, but when she saw who was there, she relaxed a little. The weapon didn't disappear. "You want to help me fight other ghosts?" Danny's eyebrow rose in skepticism.
"Fight…" Abby said slowly.
"..Other Ghosts?" Ashlynn finished, looking at her twin. Suddenly, she broke into the first grin they'd seen on her. "I told you not to get your hopes up, Abby."
"Aw man," Abby replied, folding her arms in a pout.
Danny blinked for several seconds, before shaking his head. "What did you think I did?"
"Don't you remember us?" Abby asked, still pouting.
"Hortensia," Sam said suddenly.
"How do you remember a name like that?" Tucker asked.
Sam rolled her eyes. "The lady with the weird green plate things that trapped other ghosts."
"Right," Abby nodded, grinning again. Then she seemed to remember that she had been pouting, and reverted to doing so. Ashlynn rolled her eyes at her sister and for the first time, spoke directly to the trio.
"Yes, we had been captured by her."
"You see," Abby dropped the hurt look altogether, and put her hand on her hip as she continued. "Hortensia used to be our friend, but she decided that power was more important, and snuck up on us one night with one of those green traps."
"Abby…" Ashlynn turned to her sister, who either didn't hear or completely ignored her.
"But she rarely used us because she had to defeat whoever she used to have full control, and then their power became hers…but she never beat us—"
"Abby!" Ashlynn said, a little louder.
Again, Abby ignored her. "So we were always her strongest, but most unpredictable—"
"ABIGAIL!" The first girl stopped and looked at Ashlynn. "We don't need to go sprouting off our life story to every person or ghost we meet! That's what got us in trouble the last time!"
She turned to Danny with a frustrated sigh. "We thought that we could come help you, because you saved ghosts."
Danny, Sam and Tucker repeated those last words simultaneously. "Saved Ghosts?"
"Well you saved us, didn't you?" Abby looked inquisitively around at the humans and Danny's faces.
"Oh, er…right," Danny said. "I…er…"
"You didn't mean to, did you?" Ashlynn sighed and shook her head with a disappointed scowl.
"Then why did you?" Abby asked, for once her energetic voice quieted down.
Danny bit his lip. "Well, I didn't realize…I…" he sighed. "Look, she wanted to defeat me, and trap me too, but I don't think people or ghosts should be mindless slaves to anyone." He shuddered, thinking about the blur in his mind that he could barely remember during the time Freak Show had come to town. "I didn't mean to free you, but I'm not sorry I did. Okay?" Everyone in the hall blinked at him, and Abby's smile returned, as bright as ever.
"Good answer, cutie," she winked at him.
"Cutie!" Danny asked, inadvertently backing away as a blush crossed his cheeks. Tucker started laughing, Ashlynn slapped her forehead, and drug her hand down her face with a sigh, while Sam narrowed her eyes into a glare.
Suddenly, a red ectoplasmic shot flew by them, hitting Danny squarely in the chest.
"AAARG!" he screamed as his muscles tensed and pain shot through his body.
"It's Valerie!" Sam hissed.
"Duh!" Tucker replied.
"Danny, run!" Sam said, grabbing Tucker's arm and pulling him down a side hall. Danny nodded, and phased into the wall, followed by the two ghost girls. He could hear Valerie's frustrated scream as her quarry evaded her.
On the other side of the wall, Danny de-transformed, only to run into the two, surprised ghosts who had followed him.
"Oh…hi," he said, rubbing his neck. "Er…you guys don't seem to be that bad…and you really came here to help me, even if you were misinformed. Just don't scare anyone, or steal anything or whatever, and you can stay. Otherwise…"
"You'll come after us?" Ashlynn scoffed.
Abby shrugged. "We agree."
"Abby!" Ashlynn looked livid, but Abby only smiled.
"Let's get out of here before that ghost hunter comes!" With that she grabbed her sister's arm, and disappeared with one last giggle. "Later, cutie!"
He quickly hid the blush that reappeared on his face by turning to find Tucker and Sam. That's all he needed. Now a ghost had a crush on him too.
