Lancer worries about a different Danny while the boy in question endears himself to yet another medical professional, even if he isn't aware of it.

Chapter 8: Familiar Yet Not the Same


How does one go about finding a ghost? William doesn't have an answer to that question, but he needs one. He can't forget Phantom's face right before he disappeared. So much panic in his eyes. If William's assumption is right, he can't blame the boy. How must a secret like that weigh on someone so young? He has other concerns, too. What happened to Phantom to make him like this? Does he have a family that thinks he's dead? As an avid reader, a hundred explanations pass through his mind: experiment gone wrong, accident, someone who died but didn't stay gone. Experiment gone right. That last one makes him shudder.

The questions keep William awake all night. By the time his morning alarm goes off, his eyes burn from the lack of sleep. He is tempted to call out of work, so emotionally drained from yesterday's events, but he can't do that to his students. Plus, if he goes in, there's a chance he could see Phantom. It's slim, especially after last night, but not impossible. At the very least, he would like to catch a glimpse of Phantom, just enough to know if he's okay.

William hopes he is taking his meds and resting as Dr. Alejo instructed. He should speak to her some time today. Phantom being alive changes a lot when it comes to his treatment, or so William assumes. The dead can't die again, but Phantom can.

"Please be okay," William whispers to himself on his drive to work.


The school day begins normally. William doesn't have a class during the first period, so he decides to spend the hour in the office, taking care of some administrative matters. He has some messages from fussy parents, book orders to go over for next semester, and the librarian wants to start an afterschool program. Principal Ishiyama has the final say on every task, but William likes to go through everything himself before passing it along to her.

He sits with the secretary rather than in his private office. She is good company, even if they spend most of the time working in silence. Halfway through the period, the silence breaks.

"Note?" Ella says.

William doesn't look up from his work until he hears a ragged voice reply.

"Hi, Mrs. Carrol. I don't have one."

Danny Fenton stands in front of the administrative desk, head bowed. If William thought he sounded bad, he looks even worse. Bags under his eyes, a pallor to his skin. It's a humid day, thanks to the rain yesterday and the storm they are expecting again tonight. Too hot for anything other than t-shirts and shorts, but Danny wears a dark hoodie and baggy sweatpants. Despite how much Danny has grown over the years, he has yet to reach his father's great height. The hoodie—Fenton brand—looks several sizes too large for him. It makes William think of a child playing dress-up with his father's clothes.

"Are you sick, Mr. Fenton?" William asks.

Danny's head whips toward him, eyes blown wide. He takes a step back toward the door, a reaction that shocks William. He likes to think that he and Danny get along fairly well for a teacher and student, even if he does have to reprimand the boy from time to time. He wasn't lying yesterday when he said Danny is his favourite student. Only last week Danny had come to William during his spare for help on his poli sci essay.

Danny drops his stare after a moment, lowering his gaze to the floor. "I'm fine. Didn't sleep well."

"I see. Is that why you're"—William checks the clock—"twenty minutes late to school?"

Danny nods.

"With no note." Ella's voice is stern. "I told you to make sure you have a note next time."

"I remember," Danny mumbles.

William rises from his seat. "It's alright, Mrs. Carrol. He clearly isn't feeling well. I'm sure we can give him a pass this once."

Ella scowls. "Pardon me, Mr. Lancer, but Danny Fenton has the most tardies out of any student in Casper High, probably since the school first opened. He has gotten enough passes."

William reaches out to set a hand on Danny's shoulder, but the boy flinches away. William's hand hangs in the air a moment before he lowers it back to his side and tucks it in his pocket as if that's what he meant to do all along.

"It's fine. Mrs. Carrol," William insists.

She drops the subject, although the scowl doesn't leave her face. As William ushers Danny out of the office, he hears the secretary mutter, "That boy isn't worth the trouble." The door falls shut behind them.

"You didn't have to do that," Danny says.

"And yet, I did."

"That's the problem, isn't it?" Danny mutters.

William raises an eyebrow at that remark but holds his tongue. Danny had spoken under his breath and didn't mean for William to overhear. The comment stings, but Danny is going through something right now. William can let it slide.

"What class do you have right now?" he asks instead.

"Health, I think. Or gym. I don't know if it's a gym day."

"It is."

Danny groans.

"Mr. Fenton, if you're not feeling well, you should go to the nurse. Or I could call your parents for you."

"No!" Danny finally meets William's eyes. "You can't tell them!"

"Inside voice," William reprimands out of habit. He stops in his tracks when he finally registers Danny's words. "Is something wrong at home?"

"No. Yes. Sort of." Danny scuffs his shoe on the floor. It looks like he has gone back to avoiding eye contact. "I just don't want to disappoint them."

It's a common feeling among many of William's students. He checks the time on his phone. "There's fifteen minutes before next period. Why don't you go sit in the nurse's office until the bell? Gym class is all about physical health, after all. It wouldn't do to have you straining yourself, especially when you've already missed this most of the period."

"Are you sure?"

"It's enough time for a half-decent nap."

"I don't need that," Danny insists. He grimaces and presses a hand against his chest. "Maybe I do. Thanks, Mr. L." He heads off toward the nurse's office, leaving a stunned William behind him. Something about the way Danny said that just now... he shakes his head. Leaps of thought, while helpful at times, can also be a scholar's worst enemy. Nothing can set you up for failure more than making assumptions without concrete evidence. Still, he can't help but watch Danny limp out of sight.


William returns to the office.

"Ella, can you call Sam Manson and Tucker Foley down?" he asks the secretary. "And have Mr. Falluca cover the start of my next period. There are some workbooks in my desk drawer that he can hand out to the students."

"Yes, sir," Ella says. Her voice rings out over the intercom. "Samantha Manson and Tucker Foley are to report to the front office immediately. Manson and Foley to the office."

Two minutes pass before the first of them arrives. Looking through the window in his door, William watches Tucker trudge into the office, backpack over his shoulder. Ella points him towards William's office and Tucker's face falls. By the time Tucker slips through the door, William is seated at his desk.

"Mr. Foley," William greets him.

"Hey, Mr. Lancer. Uh, if this is about that virus in the computer lab, I swear it wasn't on purpose. And I fixed it right away!" Tucker says.

"I wasn't aware of any virus on the computer lab."

"Oh. Don't worry about it, then." Tucker slinks toward one of the two available seats in front of William's desk. He shoves his backpack under the chair and gets comfortable, crossing his legs on the seat. "Am I in trouble or something?"

"Let's wait until Ms. Manson gets here before we begin."

A few minutes pass before William's door opens again and Sam ducks her way inside.

"Sorry. Gym was outside today; someone had to come and get me," Sam says.

"Was he..." Tucker asks.

Sam shakes her head.

"Mr. Fenton is in the nurse's office," William says, hazarding a guess at who they are talking about.

Sam jumps to William's desk, slamming her hands down. "He's here? Is he hurt?"

"He insisted that he's fine, just tired. I sent him to the nurse's office to wait out the rest of the period."

Sam glances and Tucker and the two of them exchange nods. William suspects Danny will be in for an earful the next time he sees his friends.

"So, why are we here?" Sam takes the seat beside Tucker.

William carefully considers how to say what he wants to say. Technically speaking, what he wants to ask them isn't appropriate. Danny said his piece and, as a teacher and authority figure, there are steps for William to take if he has concerns about Danny's home life. But there's something about the situation that bothers him. He has to be sure before he does anything drastic.

"I'm aware that Daniel is..." He searches for the right word but can't find it. "There are things going on in his life that most people are not privy to, but they see the results of those things and make assumptions. I would like to avoid that."

He watches their reactions carefully. Tucker's hand slips into his pocket, where he likely has some kind of electronic device. He doesn't pull it out, just grabs it in his hand and squeezes it tightly. Knowing Tucker's affinity for technology, it's not a reach for William to assume this is some kind of comforting action. Sam, meanwhile, straightens in her seat and lifts her chin. She looks very much like her mother at that moment, nose turned up, eyes criticizing. Unfortunately for Sam, William has had plenty of experience dealing with her mother and that stare is not as effective as she thinks.

"I know what kind of person Daniel's sister was. She would not, under any circumstances, put up with him being injured in their home. But he is injured. You three think you hide it well, but you don't. All I ask is that you watch out for him. And remember that there are adults you can trust, myself being one of them. I would like to help if I can, but I need you to meet me halfway."

Having said his piece, William leans back in his chair and folds his hands over his lap.

"Take a moment and think it over."

They take several, waiting out the last few minutes of the period. Neither Sam nor Tucker say anything, but they exchange loaded looks, speaking without words the way only the closest friends can. Even if nothing comes of this meeting, William is glad he can at least see that Danny has some kind of support system. The boy needs one. Not unlike another Danny that he knows.

"We don't know what you're talking about," Tucker says after a long silence.

William expected this, but he still feels disappointed. He makes sure the two students before him know as much, giving them his best disapproving frown. Sam remains unmoved. Tucker squirms.

"But... if we did—"

"Tucker!" Sam hisses.

"—if we did know what you're talking about, which we absolutely don't because Danny has never even gotten a paper cut—"

Sam slaps her hand against her face.

"—we would tell you that Danny is okay. Things can be rough sometimes, but he's always okay in the end." Tucker bites his lip and looks away.

"I see." William mulls over Tucker's words. Considering the circumstances—William could face serious repercussions for calling students down to ask about another's home life—he appreciates that Tucker gave him anything at all. "Thank you for speaking with me. I won't hold you back from class any longer. Mrs. Carrol can write you both notes to explain why you're late. Just don't forget what I said."

"Don't worry, Mr. Lancer. We won't." Sam's tone is not a polite one, yet it comforts William. Danny has good friends by his side.

"That's all I ask."

They enter the main office just in time to see Ella hanging up the phone. She eyes Sam and Tucker for a moment before focusing on William, wearing a look that screams I told you so. "That was Mr. Falluca. He said Danny Fenton hasn't arrived at his second-period class, your class, even though I said he would be there."

She looks upon them with triumph in her eyes.

"I bet he never even went to the nurse's office. Want me to call?"

"I'll go down there myself," William says. It seems he has to amend his earlier statement. Ella Carrol is good company only some of the time. Right now, he's a little sick of her voice, and her face. And pretty much everything about her. "Please write up notes for Mr. Foley and Ms. Manson here to excuse them for being late."

"We want to check on Danny with you!" Sam says.

"I'm sure he just fell asleep. Everything is fine. You can see him at lunch, or whenever your next shared period is."

Neither one looks happy about it, but they don't protest further. William nods to Ella before he leaves—he doesn't want to be rude—and heads for the nurse. He knocks on the door and enters. The school nurse, Anthony Wyatt, sits at his desk going through some papers. He looks up when William clears his throat and sits straighter.

"Mr. Lancer, can I do something for you?" he asks.

"Just here checking on a student."

Anthony points over his shoulder with his thumb. "Danny said you sent him down. I told him to take a bed until his next class. The kid must be pretty tired. He hasn't made a peep since."

"He didn't leave when the bell went?"

"The bell went?" Anthony tilts back in his chair and checks the clock above the door. "Oh, geez. I didn't even notice. I probably didn't even hear him go."

"Mr. Falluca said he never made it to class."

Anthony kicks off the floor, rolling his chair to the doorway that separates his office from the patient room. William follows him, peeking through the arch to look inside. A privacy curtain is pulled around the furthest bed, but it doesn't cover the whole thing, leaving Danny's red sneakers exposed.

"Must have fallen asleep," Anthony says. "Poor kid. Looks like he has it rough, you know? I kind of want to leave him to it."

As an adult in Danny's life, William agrees. As an educator... he still agrees. It's hard to do well in school when you have poor mental health. But, as the vice-principal, he should check and see if Danny is up for going to class at all that day. Just to say he tried if Ishiyama feels the need to ask why he let Danny skip all day.

"Mr. Fenton?" William asks, keeping his voice low just in case. "Are you asleep?"

Danny doesn't stir. Even when William reaches the bed and draws back the curtain, he remains oblivious. William sighs. There's no harm in letting Danny sleep one day away. He needs it. He will have to call the Fentons about this, though. If Danny is so exhausted that he needs to sleep at school then something has to change at home. They can't let this become a regular thing.

Now he has an insurmountable task ahead of him: figure out how to tell the Fentons that they need to pay more attention to their son without sounding rude. He doesn't know if he can manage it. First, however, he has a class to take over. Falluca must have things he needs to get done during his free period and William doesn't want to keep him away from that any longer.

He should go.

But he doesn't.

His feet stay grounded despite knowing he should move. Something about this situation is familiar. A sense of déjà vu washes over him. It takes him far too long to figure out what's wrong. When he does, everything seems to slow down while his mind works in overdrive. William feels like he's moving through molasses as he throws himself forward. He notices everything. The harshness of the lights above him. The squeak of his shoes on the tile. The panicked breaths leaving his body quicker and quicker. The still, so still, too still form of Danny Fenton.

William presses two fingers to the side of Danny's neck and feels nothing.

"Call an ambulance!" he cries to the nurse. His body moves on instinct, pushing Danny onto his back and starting chest compressions. "He has no pulse!"