Jazz was wrong.
Things did not get better.
Jack came back but he and Maddie had been arguing non-stop for days ever since. Sometimes they'd fight about petty stuff like not washing dishes or not agreeing on inventions but tonight it was serious.
An invisible Danny phased his head through his bedroom door. He watched as Jack followed by Maddie came storming out of their bedroom.
"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?!" Maddie said as she grabbed Jack's arm, tears streamed down her cheeks.
"You think saying sorry will make this go away?!" Jack said, snatching his arm free. "You caused this Maddie! You lied to me for years!" He sucked in a breath. "I can't do this anymore…"
Her breath hitched. "Jack, please, what about Jazz and Danny?"
"This is about us, not them! I'll always be there for them no matter what!"
"But not for me!"
Jack scoffed and pounded down the stairs at each step the feeling of dread in Danny grew. And with a slam of the front door nausea bubbled in his gut. Having seen enough, Danny pulled his head back into his room. His heart thundered in his chest. Dad left and probably wasn't coming back and he was positive that if he asked mom what was really going on she'd lie and say everything was fine.
Like always.
xxxx
Danny sighed as he sucked yet another ghost into the Fenton thermos. For some reason the ghosts were more active tonight. He floated over to a nearby tree and sat on the branch, looking up at the night sky. It had been a week since the big blow up and dad hadn't come home. And just as he predicted mom lied about everything.
Everything is fine, she said. Don't worry, she said.
She was such a fucking liar. How could he not worry? Especially when the inevitable divorce was right around the corner? His thoughts were filled with so many what-ifs that he could barely sleep at night.
A blast to his side broke him from his thoughts, he screamed as fell to the ground. Jolts of pain racked his body.
"I've got you now ghost!" Maddie yelled as she pointed an ecto-gun at Danny.
He grit his teeth and was about to teleport away but when he tried it didn't work. His eyes went wide. "My powers!"
She smirked. "It's my latest invention. Can't hide from me now."
Dread washed over him, he got up and pounded down the sidewalk. Maddie was hot on his heels.
"I can't wait until I get my hands on you Phantom!" she snarled. "I'll rip you apart molecule by molecule!"
He might actually get caught tonight! He cursed under his breath. He needed to get away, but how?! His powers still didn't work and he didn't know when the effect would wear off! He could hear the ecto-gun fire but before he could dodge the shot hit his back. Searing pain tore through him, sending him to the ground.
Maddie ran up to him and pushed the gun hard against his forehead.
He bit the inside of his cheek, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth. His body shook, his pulse raced.
She grinned. "It's been fun, Phantom."
He squeezed his shut, expecting pain but instead he heard Maddie scream. His eyes shot open. Plasmius stood in front of him with clenched fists and an unconscious Maddie laid on the sidewalk. Plasmius helped Danny stand, and in a flash they were at Vlad's office.
Plasmius dropped his ghost form. "Daniel, are you alright?"
Danny bit his lip and shook his head. Tears pricked his eyes, and a lump was lodged in his throat.
"Why do you put up with Maddie and Jack's abuse?!" Vlad said.
"They don't know that it's me," he whispered.
"Daniel, none of that matters! You were terrified and she didn't care! She was going to kill you!"
"I know that!" he cried, hot tears fell down his face. "I know!"
"Then why?!"
"Because it's my fault!" he screamed. "I turned on the portal. I caused the problem. I have to be the one to fix it!"
"Daniel, are you the one telling the ghosts to attack?"
"No but–"
"Exactly! You have no control over their actions! And you are under no obligation to protect normies that hate you!"
He wiped away his tears and stayed silent.
Vlad sighed and shook his head. "If you want to continue playing hero I can't stop you but please think about what I said."
xxxx
Danny pushed his lunch tray away and laid his head on the table, closing his eyes. The cacophony of the cafeteria drilled into his ears causing his already pounding headache to get worse.
"You okay Danny?" Tucker asked.
"Yeah, just tired," he replied, hoping Tucker would drop it. He hadn't told his friends anything about what was happening at home or with Vlad. So he really didn't want to get into it now. Tucker thankfully took his answer at face value and went back to talking to Sam.
Exhaustion crawled over him and the bruises from yesterday night throbbed. He got no sleep last night, his racing thoughts kept him awake. Vlad was right. No matter what good he did he'd always be hated. Phantom would always be nothing but an unholy creature in the eyes of his parents and the people he protected.
Mocking laughter from beside him broke him from his thoughts. He looked up and glared. It was Dash and his cronies.
"Aww! Look at poor little Fenton. Sad you're such a loser?"
He scowled. "Fuck off Dash. I'm not in the mood for your bullshit today."
"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to you freak!"
He clenched his fist and stood up. "You."
The cafeteria went silent. All eyes on the feuding pair.
"Danny, don't! Sit down!" Sam said.
He ignored her.
"You think you're tough shit huh?" Dash spat. "Let's see if you can talk after this!"
Dash threw a punch. Danny dogged and punched Dash hard in the gut, not holding back his enhanced strength.
The force of the blow had Dash crashing into a nearby table, knocking him unconscious.
A series of gasps rippled throughout the room. Danny ignored the commotion and walked out of the cafeteria. He could hear Sam and Tucker follow after him.
"What the hell was that Danny?!" Sam cried.
"That was me not giving a shit. Dash deserved it!"
"But, dude, he could be really hurt!" Tucker said.
"He'll be fine, he has a thick skull."
"What is wrong with you Danny?" Sam said.
"Nothing is wro–"
"Mr. Fenton!" Mr. Lancer yelled from the top of the hallway. "My office now!"
He groaned. Just what he needed.
Danny stomped over to Mr. Lancer and followed him into the office. "What you did to Mr. Baxter is completely unacceptable!" Mr. Lancer said as soon as they entered the room.
"He started it first!"
"That's not what I heard. Mr. Baxter came over to you to talk and you attacked him unprovoked!"
"They're lying! He came up to me! He threw the first punch!"
"Lying isn't making things better for you Mr. Fenton." Mr. Lancer said as he handed Danny a paper. "You'll be suspended for three weeks."
Danny looked at the paper, jaw slack. "No fucking way."
"Watch your language young man!"
Danny walked out of the office ignoring Mr. Lancer's protest and ran right into someone he did not want to see.
A very upset Maddie Fenton.
"Hey, mom..."
"Mr. Lancer, I apologize for Danny's behavior." Maddie said. "I'll make sure that this won't happen again."
"Please see that you do."
xxxx
"What has gotten into you Danny?!" Maddie said, her hands on her hips. "Your grades have been plummeting and now this!"
"You're seriously asking me that?" Danny said as he rose from the couch. "After all your bullshit arguing with dad, after all your lies you're asking what has gotten into me?!"
"Don't you dare take that tone of voice with me, young man."
"I'll stop this tone of voice when you tell me why dad left!"
"Danny, we're here to discuss you, not your father!"
He shook his head. Of course she wouldn't tell him. He needed to get out of here, He pulled out his phone and sent a text. Hey Honey, can we hang out today?
Yeah sure! Meet me at my dorm!
He walked toward the front door, opened it, and left. Ignoring his mom's demands for him to come back.
He was done.
Done with his mom, the school, the ghosts, the hate.
He was done with Amity Park.
xxxx
Danny stood outside Honey's dorm room, staring at the closed door. He was going to tell Honey he was a halfa. If she couldn't accept who he was he'd be done with her too. He took a breath and knocked.
Honey opened the door with a smile. "Hey Danny."
"I have something to tell you." he said as he walked in, eyes glued to the floor. He couldn't face her, afraid of what her reaction would be.
"Danny, what's wrong?"
He dropped his transformation. "This is what's wrong...I'm half-normie."
"Danny, look at me. Please."
He sighed and looked up. Honey placed a hand on his cheek. His face heated up at the contact.
"Danny," she said softly. "There's nothin' wrong with you. The monster world is filled with hybrids and some of them are half-normie."
"So you don't hate me now?"
"I could never hate you. In fact I have something to tell you too, though maybe it would be better if I showed you..." she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
And before he knew it Honey's lips were on his
He froze for a moment before melting into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. The feeling of her body pressed up against his caused him to forget about everything else in that moment, except for her.
After a while they broke apart.
He grinned. "So I guess Cupid wasn't being stupid huh?"
Honey giggled. "No, she wasn't."
His phone started ringing, interrupting their moment. He huffed and pulled away from her, taking the phone from his pocket. He scowled, it was his mom.
"What's wrong?" Honey said.
"It's my mom, we had a fight and I ran away from home."
"What?!"
He sighed and told her everything that happened earlier.
"So you're really not goin' back home?" Honey said.
He nodded. "Yeah, I'm over it."
"Well you should at least let your friends know that you're okay."
"Yeah, you're right…" he video called Tucker.
"Dude!" Tucker yelled as soon as he answered. "What happened?! Are you expelled?!"
He shook his head. "Nah, suspended. Is Sam there?"
A glaring Sam appeared on screen. "Danny what's going on?" she asked.
"I'm running away from home so don't tell anyone where I am."
"What?!" they cried in unison.
He told them everything. Meeting monsters, Vlad, and his family drama. The only thing he didn't tell them was his new relationship status. He had a feeling Sam had a crush on him. She was already pissed at him, he didn't want to make it worse.
"Dude, are you fucking serious?!" Tucker said. "You're at a monster school?!"
"Yup."
"How could you not tell us?! You said you'd tell us the truth!" Sam said.
"I'm telling you now! And technically, this is kind of ghost related!"
Sam scowled. "What about Phantom?"
"There is no Phantom! I'm over it!"
"So you want us to handle everything on our own?!"
"No, you can do whatever you want!"
"Whatever, Danny. Have fun running away from your problems!" Sam snapped.
Tucker sighed. "Don't worry Danny. I got your back, see ya."
"Thanks, Tuck." he said as he ended the call. He rolled his eyes. "Well that went well."
"I'm sure Sam will come around. So it ain't nothin' to worry 'bout." Honey said.
He shrugged. "I guess…"
She grinned. "Y'know what'll cheer you up?"
"What?"
"Since you're here you can attend Monster High!"
He grinned. "You're right!"
Monster High was about to get a new manster.
