In flash, he forced the sleeves of his jacket back down, hiding his arms and scrambling to his feet and facing the three of them, but more so looking around into the auditorium, or more like, what was left of it, the older teen spotting the great swathes of broken seats, the stage, left in shambles, and a distinct splatter of green left in the center of it all, and if he hadn't believed his eyes were fooling him, it looked as though there were footprints right in the middle of it.

As if the threat had been stomped, crushed...destroyed.

Completely.

But there was someone that was missing, that someone that made his heart tremble in panic as he scanned the room, left and right, up and down, but he was gone.

And Dash?

He was angry.

The three before him were still in-front of him, stock still as they watched him stand, coming to his feet, but they stood back a bit, Sam concealing the Fenton Thermos behind her back as Danny spoke.

"Oh, uh, Dash. What a...surprise? What are you doing back here?" Danny grinned nervously at Dash, though the former didn't miss the slight twitch of his lips as he looked to his right, as if watching for something that would be coming their way, but he didn't care.

He wanted to know where Phantom was.

"Ah, cut the crap, Fentoni. Where is he?!" Stepping forward, he began to close the distance between them, not even having to feign the angry grimace that pulled his former smile in a frown, furrowing his brow at the three. Tucker was the first to motion to cover his nose, and a flicker of memory told him to step back, suddenly a bit embarrassed but his agitation didn't waver, though a sudden wave of nausea from his empty stomach made his stagger for a bit, but he quickly regained himself, pushed forward only by the fumes of his anger.

Anger for what exactly, he couldn't exactly remember, really.

Danny wasn't given pause, focusing back on the much taller boy, putting out his hands in ease as he attempted to pacify the other's growing anger.

"Who are you talking about, Dash?" Closing his eyes, he smiled sheepishly as both Sam and Tucker shook their heads in mock confusion. The taller student didn't waver, though, furrowing his brow as he tried to look for any sign that he was feigning his expression.

If Dash were being completely honest, his thoughts that ringing with anger and agitation, it was sort of fortunate that they were here at this specific moment in time.

They would have to do.

They would do really nicely to take his frustrations out on.

"You know who the fuck I'm talking about. Where is Phantom?! He was just here! You were there with him, and just like that, he's gone? Why were you even in the auditorium in the first place?" The three of them exchanged quick glances between before stepping back more, crossing the border from the hall into the decrepit auditorium, the taller student following suit.

If there was one thing Dash could always rely on, it was them, or more like, him, eying the much shorter teen with a sort of hunger that manifested his dangerous tone.

There was just something in the way he looked at him at times that made him want to hit him.

Kick him around a little, anything.

Was it his perfect, scar-less skin, the way it seemed to glow in the sunlight? The way his baby blue eyes shimmered with youth? His raven-black hair falling about his hair in silken droves? Those perfect lips, set in a smile that made him want to-

'Fuck him. You know you want to.'

'You could make them watch.'

'Bend him over and-'

'Focus, Dash, focus!' Shaking his head, he stepped forward again.

"Well?! Where did he go? Did you get the chance to see 'em? Why the hell aren't you answerin-," Sam chimed in, sensing the tension in his voice and body.

"He's gone, okay?! God, do you see him? Look,-" Dash's eyes narrowed into slits, snaking his way toward her as he snatched her arm into his grasp.

He wouldn't have some goth bitch talk down to him.

No, he was the one in charge here, not...not them.

"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to, bitch?!" Throttling her around, he shoved her back and threw to the ground, Danny running to her side, ensuring that she was alright, and Dash watched them, his face contorted into a sort of grin the widened as his stomach lurched with a strange feeling, and not just the hunger.

It felt uglier, stickier, as he watched her nurse her scratched arms, her sunken expression...

Was it...shame?

...

...

...

No.

No, it was her fault.

Her fault for talking to him like that.

She should...she should know her place, the boy tried to convince himself.

'That stupid bitch. You liked pushing her around, didn't you?'

'Do it again. She should learn how to talk you the right way.'

'Fuck her, the cunt.'

'Yeah, fuck her,-.' Turning back to Danny, he nearly jumped back at the ferocity of his expression, and even more so at the fact he was being shoved by of the former, pushing him back into the hallway and into a wall far from the door to the auditorium, ocean blue eyes wide with surprise and terror as the smaller, but clearly stronger, boy held him there, his grip like steel and iron, one that made his shoulder sing in pain.

Distantly, the voice and image of his father appeared in his vision.

"I don't know what your problem is, but you should back off before I do something that I'm really, really going to regret." Pressing harder into Dash's arms, he missed the subtle sucking in of air, or the way that the former flinched at the contact, but quickly composed himself, trying to regain some sense of control even he spotted the awestruck faces of Tucker and Sam behind Danny, clearly enjoying the show, and how much of an idiot he must look like right now.

No, he had an image to maintain, to uphold.

He couldn't look weak.

No, no he couldn't.

Not again.

Puffing out his chest, or doing the best rendition of that as he could since his ribs pressed against his dark shirt, thankful that they couldn't see them, he tried to make himself look bigger, using his height to his advantage, but Danny looked unfazed.

"Oh? Finally gained a pair, huh, Fenton? What are you gonna do, huh? Hit me?" Going to return the favor, he went to push his arms away when he found it difficult to do.

In fact, he found, it seemed all but impossible to come from the wall as the other's grasp tightened, and continued to do so until he began to feel the beginnings of panic set in.

"Maybe...you'd be asking for it, wouldn't you?" Gripping the older boy's arms harder, he took one fist and clenched it, bringing up before landing a hit next to Dash's head, stunning him into a silence as Danny's fist was pulled back, leaving a hole in its wake. At this point, Tucker had grabbed the halfa, pulling him back until Danny followed through, making one last motion to look him in the eye before helping Sam to her feet.

The three of them began to make their exit, but Dash could only stand there, frozen as his heart pattered and jumped in his chest. Just as they'd made it a good distance away, Danny turned around and spoke, his tone dark...ominous.

"You're only standing because I let you. Don't forget that. You don't just get do what you want...not anymore." Turning around, his voice rang out coldly through Dash, and after a moment or two, he was alone.

Alone as his mind raced, his heart, too, and the only thing that he could think about was the fear.

The anger was gone.

The agitation was, too.

He was afraid.

And of Daniel Fenton no less.