Disclaimer: I wish I owned Danny Phantom! Desiree: -turns me into Butch Hartman- AHHHHHHHHH! CHANGE ME BACK CHANGE ME BACK! -is changed back-
I had a few people question who Danny will eventually be shipped with since I plan for this fanfiction to eventually be Tucker/Sam, and I just want to let you know ahead of time that you will likely be disappointed. I apologize for it, but I feel like the ship makes the most sense given the context of the type of character I've made him in this AU. I don't want to reveal it before the time comes (the beginnings of it will begin to show in the next chapter or two), but just prepare for that.
"Would you like some tea?" Dr. Spectra offered. Tucker noticed that she had a small tea arrangement occupying half of a shelf. He felt too nauseous to drink anything, but he found himself giving a nod of agreement as he took a seat in front of her desk.
Dr. Spectra hummed as she went to prepare a cup, and soon, she was presenting Tucker with a cup. Their fingers brushed, and he jumped. The static shock was much more powerful than anything he had ever experienced before. Dr. Spectra didn't even seem to notice, as she was already on her way back to sit behind her desk.
"So, Tucker," she said slowly. "Tell me a bit about yourself." She gave a soft, breathless chuckle. "It's alright, sweetie. It's just us here. Nothing you say go past this room. You can trust me with anything you have to say. You don't need to open up right away, of course." The therapist shot him a smile that caused a cold tingling to overwhelm Tucker's senses. It seemed too...he didn't know how to describe it.
"I...well some stuff's happened lately. A lot of changes," he confessed. Despite his nausea, he forced himself to sip the tea to avoid having to say more.
"Life's full of changes," she said. Her tone remained soft and even, pleasant, like a mother. But unlike a mother, she had a coldness about her that put him on edge. He couldn't place it. "I know that you just began high school. That's a huge change." Tucker nodded wordlessly, keeping the tea cup to his lips. He was pretending to sip as he tried to calm himself down. Anxiety was beginning to steadily build at a painfully slow pace. "Did you do anything exciting this summer, Tucker?"
The summer. He choked a bit on his own spit, and he put the tea cup on her desk, coughing a bit. He didn't even know where to begin. The summer was definitely...exciting to put it lightly.
"Well, I went to Egypt to visit my grandparents for a bit." Dr. Spectra looked genuinely surprised. "My mom's parents are from there, and I got to go visit them and some of my cousins."
"That sounds fun," she said, giving a nod. "Do you enjoy going to Egypt?" Tucker nodded, and he took a deep breath. He was beginning to relax.
"Yeah. I love it. I love seeing my family," he found himself smiling over the fond memories. Hanging out with his cousins, cooking with his grandma, listening to his uncles tell stories. Dr. Spectra nodded.
"You also got to hang out with your friends, right?" she questioned. Tucker nodded.
"Of course," he replied. "I hung out with Sam and Danny all summer when I was home."
"And that lead to the little accident, correct?" Tucker's mood instantly dropped, and his heart fell into his stomach. The accident.
"Y-yeah." Tucker's eyes focused on the teacup.
"From what I've heard, you saved Danny's life." Tucker's head jerked up to her in complete disbelief. Is that really how Danny phrased it?
"N-no," he stammered. "I just...I-"
"Oh Tucker, you don't need to be so modest," Dr. Spectra assured him with a warm smile. "Danny spoke so positively of you. You said that you insisted you take his place while you guys were working on your robots. He said it should have been him, and that you were a hero."
For a moment, Tucker was confused before he remembered the lie the trio had come up with. They were working on their robots for the competition in Danny's lab since he had all the cool tools while Sam nerded out over the ghost plants when the robot malfunctioned.
He felt guilt wash over him over the memories. Danny was so pale and shaking at how Tucker looked when he came out of his parents' portal. The shock had been so painful, and he gave an unintentional shiver at the memory. It was so...so painful. He had never felt that much pain in his life. But the accident in itself wasn't so bad in comparison to Danny.
"It should have been me. It's my fault. It's all my fault. Tucker died, and it's all my fault. I killed my best friend." Danny's guilt-ridden sobs, the breakdown he and Sam both assumed that Tucker didn't hear, haunted Tucker more than the shock of the portal itself.
"N-no. It...it wasn't like that at all," Tucker slowly insisted. The words he wanted to say died before they could be said.
"From how Danny described it, you saved him from an absolutely miserable existence," Dr. Spectra commented. She looked sympathetic. Was...that how Danny was describing his half-ghost situation? A miserable existence? Did Danny think lesser of him no? No! No no no! Danny wasn't like that.
Well, it's not like Tucker didn't think about how awful it'd be to have ghost powers and ghost hunting parents. Granted, his dad was now, as of yesterday, Guys in White. That had to be worse. Right?
"I...It hurt, but…" Tucker stiffened a bit, thinking over his words. He straightened up. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Danny's my best friend." Dr. Spectra smiled.
"You two have such a strong friendship. I hope you can survive this little bump in the road," she replied. "Especially with how much trouble you put Danny through the last couple of weeks." Tucker's stomach knotted. How much did Danny tell her that he didn't even tell Tucker? "He did describe Sam as being his closest friend."
Tucker put the teacup on her desk. His hands were beginning to shake a bit. His friends had grown super close as of late, but he assumed it was due to nerdy ghost biology stuff. But…
They went school shopping together alone this year. They had a sleepover without him once already, even though he was home from Egypt. Were they texting and calling each other more? A pang of jealousy began to course through him. Danny was his best friend. Sam was...she was one of his best friends too, but was she replacing him? Were they slowly excluding their newly freak of a half-ghost friend? A friend...who didn't even go to check on his best friend since elementary school when he left the therapist office crying after finally seeking help with dealing with the guilt that that said friend caused to begin with. Tucker swallowed.
"I...I think I need to get to class," he spoke up. Dr. Spectra nodded in understanding, and she reached into her desk.
"You're not quite late, but just in case!" she chirped. Tucker stared, solemnly blank at her. How was she so chipper after this? Maybe that's how she just got through the day.
He accepted her note with a half-hearted thanks, and he left as quickly as he could.
Tucker let out a weak smile at his friends when he entered the classroom door, thankfully not late. They both glanced at him. Danny looked a lot better, head on his arms on his desk. His arms were covered by Sam's purple sweater, and the nerd herself was in her normal pastel-green t-shirt. They both didn't return the smile, instead looking away awkwardly. Tucker's smile dropped.
"It should have been me. It's my fault. It's all my fault. Tucker died, and it's all my fault. I killed my best friend."
He quietly went to his seat. Danny shifted to sit up in his seat a bit as Tucker took his normal seat next to him. The goth let out a long, pained sigh as he stretched a bit. Tucker could tell that his friend had put some makeup around his eyes to cover the redness and dark circles.
"Hey," Danny said softly. Tucker smiled. Good sign, right? "How was Dr. Spectra?" Even when he felt like shit, Danny was always like that.
"I should be asking you that," Tucker insisted. Danny didn't say anything for a moment.
"Hard," was all he said, exhaling the words deeply. "Jazz's always said the first few sessions are the worst though."
"Gotta break down the problems before you can rebuild into something new," Tucker remembered. Danny forced a small smile.
"Yeah." Sam was half-turned in her seat, smiling sympathetically towards the two.
"We'll be there for you every step of the way," Sam spoke up, and she reached out to pat Danny's arm. He smiled, and he bundled her sweater in a ball before returning it to her. She took her glasses off for a moment to put the sweater back on.
"Tuck, are you sure you want to come this weekend?" Danny suddenly asked. "To the conference?" Tucker's heart dropped a bit.
"Do you not want me to be there?" Tucker questioned.
"No!" Danny blurted out. "I really want you there. You're my best friend, I just...I just don't want to see you get into trouble or like, get hurt. There's so many things that could go wrong, and just, I already caused so much-"
"Dude. I'll be great," Tucker interrupted him before Danny could say anything. "I really wanna meet the mysterious Mr. Vlad Masters, billionaire scientist tycoon." Danny grinned.
"Vlad's great, man," he confessed. "I wish you could have met him sooner." He sighed. "I wish he wasn't always so busy too so he could come by the house more, but I guess you're always packed in your schedule when you have a business empire."
"He's staying for the weekend, right?" Sam questioned. Danny nodded.
"Yeah. He's actually coming tomorrow, but Dad's really trying to push for Vlad to stay a few extra days though," he explained. Tucker was grinning.
"So you're saying that FentonWorks Bed and Breakfast is possibly open to two more weekend guests?" Tucker teased. Danny chuckled.
"I'll have to ask, but yeah!"
"If he's coming tomorrow, does that also mean that we can come to dinner tomorrow?" Sam asked hopefully. Danny nodded.
"I actually already asked on that upfront. We're going out to eat. Vlad normally wants to take us all out to eat the first night he's here."
"I'll ask my mom right now if I can come over!" Sam chirped, pulling her cell phone out. Tucker did the same, shooting off a text to his mom.
"Will Mr. Technus be there too?" Tucker questioned, putting his phone on his desk. Danny nodded.
"Of course. Vlad and Nico normally both stay with us when they come into town." Before Tucker could ask, Danny snickered at him. "So yeah, you can have a full 24 hours to bug them about their inventions." Tucker grinned.
"Can't wait."
"You two have fun at your dorkfest," Sam playfully teased her friends. Tucker grinned as he opened the door to the classroom. There was already a poster on the door announcing "FIRST ROBOTICS CLUB MEETING TODAY!" on it.
"Well, it's just probably going to be a bunch of boring politics style stuff. First meeting," Danny reminded her as he slipped in past Tucker. Sam waved a hand dismissively.
"True, true, but still. Have fun, okay? I'll talk to ya later," she called out as she walked down the hall. Tucker watched her group up with a female friend of hers before entering the classroom, going ahead and leaving the classroom door open.
The classroom was already partly full of students, all nerdy-looking individuals. Tucker saw the teacher advisor at his desk, flipping through what he assumed to be some sort of class assignments. Mikey and Nathan were sitting at some desks that had already been moved to form a small circle in the middle of the classroom, talking deeply with each other. They both paused to smile and wave in greeting to the duo. Tucker and Danny took seats next to each other in the circle close to them.
"God, I hope we can build robots soon," Danny immediately spoke. Mikey laughed.
"Unfortunately, can't for a while. Gotta get down to business first," Nathan explained, and he stood up to go and shut the door. Soon as he shut the door, the announcement speakers hummed a bit before a voice came over.
"Daniel Fenton, to Dr. Spectra's office. Daniel Fenton, to Dr. Spectra's office."
Danny froze in his spot. Everybody turned to look at him, and his cheeks flushed red.
"You gonna help Dr. Spectra move more boxes?" Tucker asked lightly. Danny paused, but nodded.
"Yeah," he said slowly. He stood from his chair to leave. Nathan opened the door for him, and closed it behind him. A strong, cold tingly feeling hit Tucker, and he had a horrible feeling.
Hey, you coming back?
Things okay?
Danny?
Sorry for all the texts, just lmk when you're done
Please pick up
Danny?
Tucker scrolled anxiously through the texts he had been sending to Danny all night. What worried him most was that the texts were all delivered, but not even read. The last message he had sent his best friend was asking if he was still meeting them at the normal corner to walk to school together.
He finally pocketed his phone, glancing over at his sister. She was quietly looking down at her feet.
"No lunchbox today?" he questioned. She scowled at him.
"I'm too old for a Barbie lunchbox," she informed him. "I asked Mom for lunch money today." Tucker frowned.
"You're not too old for a Barbie lunchbox, Liv. Danny's almost 15 and he still carries a Crash Nebula lunchbox." Mentioning Danny made Tucker's stomach drop a bit. Olivia didn't say anything in response, just shrugged.
"Hey Tucker!" Sam's voice called out. Tucker smiled, only for it to fall when he realized Sam was standing at the corner by herself. "Hey Olivia!"
"Hi, Sam," Olivia's voice came out a bit quietly. Sam tilted her head.
"No lunch today?" she questioned. Olivia scowled once more.
"I'm too old for a Barbie lunchbox," she insisted with a frown. Sam didn't say anything. "I'm gonna go."
"Call if you need me!" Tucker yelled after her, earning an annoyed "I won't!" back. He sighed, and he gripped the straps of his backpack, clutching them tightly. "Have you heard from Danny?"
Sam shook her head no. She pulled her phone out, showing him her message log.
"I've been texting him all night, but he isn't even leaving me on read," she said. She pulled the device back to her, staring worriedly at the log. "Does he have a Dr. Spectra appointment today?" Tucker shrugged.
"I dunno. He was called to her office instead of going to First Robotics, and I waited by her office for almost an hour before Jazz told me that Danny had already left. I've been calling him and texting him ever since but with no response. I even called Jazz, and she said Danny's been in his room all night," Tucker's voice grew more and more worried. Sam's lower lip wavered.
"Well, we will be seeing Jazz at school, we can ask her," Sam mused. Tucker glanced at his watch before scrolling through his phone to Jazz's contact. He called her, putting the phone on speaker. Sam leaned in to properly listen.
"Hello?" Jazz's voice came through the cell. "Tucker?"
"And Sam!" Sam piped up.
"Hey, is Danny okay? I've been calling and texting him since yesterday and I know I already called and stuff but." Tucker forced himself to pause. "Is he coming to school today?"
"Yeah, he's running a bit late. I'm going to be driving us both to school soon, do you two want a ride?"
"Oh, uh, we'll just see Danny in homeroom," Sam spoke up. "Tell him we miss him though, okay?"
"Alright, bye!" The call ended. Sam and Tucker exchanged a worried look.
"Danny always walks to school with us," Sam eventually sighed. "Even when he's running late." Tucker simply nodded, and he slipped his phone into his pocket.
Danny was already in his usual seat when the duo walked into the classroom. He glanced up at them, and they shot a worried look between each other. Danny looked like he hadn't slept all night, heavy bags under his eyes and no makeup covering it up, as well as like he had spent that entire night crying. He didn't look at them long before he returned his attention to look back at a piece of paper that laid on the desk in front of him.
"Hey Danny," Sam said, forcing cheer into her voice as she moved to take her seat. "What's up?"
"Not much," he whispered. Tucker slipped in the seat next to him.
"You alright?" Tucker asked. Danny took a deep breath and exhaled.
"I dunno," he muttered, and he rested his head in his arms.
"We've been messaging you all day yesterday," Sam brought up. Danny didn't reply. The announcement overhead began to make static noises before a voice came over the loudspeaker.
"Daniel Fenton to Dr. Spectra's office."
"Again?" Tucker questioned, raising an eyebrow before he studied Danny. "Dude, are things getting worse?"
"They get worse before they get better." Danny's smile was forced as he slowly pulled himself to his feet. He passed Mr. Lancer, muttering something his friends couldn't hear as he exited.
"Something's up," Tucker announced with a frown to Sam. The girl had been watching Danny closely, and she didn't even look back at him as she nodded.
"Do you think…," she spoke softly, "Do you think his depression's a lot worse than he's been letting on?" Tucker clenched his fists.
"No, Danny would tell us," he insisted. Sam gave a half-hearted chuckle.
"Tucker, that's like, one of the biggest signs and symptoms of depression. Pushing people away," she reminded him. She drummed her fingers on her desk, humming softly. "Maybe Mr. Masters visiting will help cheer him up. Danny's always in a super great mood when he's in town." Tucker grinned.
"Yeah, and we finally get to meet him," he replied. Sam smiled for a moment before it fell. She glanced at the door.
"I've never heard of somebody having three therapy sessions in such close succession." Tucker nodded in agreement. "I just...I wish Danny would talk about it. Like what's going on. What they talked about. What exactly made him so upset."
"It should have been me. It's my fault. It's all my fault. Tucker died, and it's all my fault. I killed my best friend."
"From how Danny described it, you saved him from an absolutely miserable existence."
"You two have such a strong friendship. I hope you can survive this little bump in the road. Especially with how much trouble you put Danny through the last couple of weeks. He did describe Sam as being his closest friend."
Tucker's hands gripped the sides of his desk.
"I know a way I can find out what they're talking about," he suddenly spoke up. Sam glanced at him before double taking at Tucker's glowing eyes. She gave a disapproving look.
"Tuck, that's an invasion of privacy," she lightly scolded. "Danny will open to us when he's ready." Tucker's eyes returned to normal, defeated.
"Sam, there's something just wrong with everything," he argued. "You said it yourself. He's been in her office three times already in barely two days. And when I talked to her...I dunno. She just rubbed me the wrong way. I can't describe it. Maybe she's a bad therapist." Sam looked skeptical.
"I dunno...I mean, it is really weird," she trailed off. Her eyes moved to stare at the floor as she absentmindedly began to braid a small section of her hair. Tucker nudged her upper arm, and she returned her gaze to him.
"You should schedule an appointment with her," he suggested. Sam stared at him. "And let me eavesdrop on in." Sam bit her lip. "It's for Danny."
"Why are you so sure that it's Dr. Spectra and not just Danny's mental health getting worse?" Tucker exhaled deeply.
"Man, I dunno, I just…"Tucker moved to lean against the back of his chair, his arms dangling to his sides as he slumped down. "Sam, I'm just worried, and I don't know what else to do."
"We be there for him," she told him. "We be there, let him know we care, and we stick through it with him. Look, we're all hanging out later today after school, Mr. Masters is going to be there, we can all work on homework together and jam out together. My cousin actually just recommended this new indie pop artist. You know how much Danny's always going on about commercialized music artists, I figured he'd love her."
"Oh, what artist?" Tucker questioned, raising an eyebrow. Sam pulled out her phone, pulling up her music app.
"Her name's Ember McLain. She's quickly becoming popular, but she's not quite there yet so Danny can be his hipster self and like her before she's the hottest pop sensation," Sam lightly joked. Tucker snorted in amusement as he looked at the album cover. The album was called RemEmber, featuring purple and blue and an incredibly pale, blue haired woman singing with a guitar on the front. She was pretty.
"Alright, alright. Cell phones away," Mr. Lancer's voice spoke over the eager chatter of homeroom. Sam slipped her phone into her pocket and turned to face the classroom. Danny did not return to homeroom.
"Do you think he left without us?" Sam asked worriedly as Tucker followed her to her locker. She began to quickly fiddle with her locker, but let go as Tucker put a hand out. He phased his hand into her locker and opened it for her. "Thanks."
"I hope not. He didn't show up to lunch. Or any classes," Tucker said, leaning against the lockers as Sam exchanged her items out. He pulled his phone out. No new messages from Danny. "Did he text you?" Sam shoved a book into her bag before pulling out her cell phone. She shook her head no. "Do you think he's still in Dr. Spectra's office?"
"Let's check," she suggested, and she shut her locker door. Tucker nodded, and they quickly walked towards the school psychologist's office. Sam paused. "Tucker. It's Thursday." Tucker stopped as well, looking back at her in confusion.
"Yeah? And?" Sam began to walk again, this time a bit slower.
"I thought Dr. Spectra was only here Mondays and Wednesdays." Tucker felt himself shiver a bit and his stomach knot up.
"Maybe she dropped by because of appointments," he suggested.
Sam didn't say anything as they approached the school offices. She stepped up to the front desk, resting her hands on the desk.
"Hey, is our friend Danny still with Dr. Spectra?" she questioned. The receptionist shook her head, pointing towards the nurse's office.
"No, he's with the nurse right now," she replied.
"What happened?" Tucker questioned. The receptionist shrugged.
"He came out of Dr. Spectra's office just looking awful, so we had him go sit down for a bit, and he passed out." Upon seeing their panic, she quickly added, "Oh he's fine though. We think he was just exhausted. We already called his parents, but they had some family things to take care of. They're on their way now."
"Can we go see him?" Sam asked. The receptionist held up a finger as she got up from her chair, shuffling over to the door. She opened it, poking her head inside and having a quiet, but brief, conversation before she opened the door further, moving and gesturing for the duo to go ahead on inside.
"Go ahead," she told them as she returned to her desk just as the phone began to ring. She picked it up, and Tucker and Sam eagerly rushed inside.
Their friend was laying on one of the beds, eyes half-closed and focused on the ceiling. Sam's eyes welled up with tears as she rushed for him, wrapping her arms around him.
"Danny, we were so worried about you!" she spoke, voice cracking a bit. Danny gave a half-smile, wrapping one of his arms around her in a half-hug.
"I'm fine. I was just...I was just so tired after seeing Dr. Spectra that I needed to sleep a bit," he confessed. Tucker grabbed a chair, pulling it up and sitting in it backwards.
"Dude, are you okay?" Tucker questioned. Danny shrugged.
"You know you can tell us anything, right?" Sam questioned, untangling herself from him. She also pulled up a chair, sitting in it normally. "How was your session with Dr. Spectra?" Danny shrugged once more, staring down at his boots.
"I…" Danny trailed off before shaking his head. "I dunno. I feel like she's not making me actually feel any better. I've never felt worse. I…" Danny plopped his head back against his pillow, staring up at the ceiling. Tucker reached out to pat his shoulder.
"You're not alone," he told him. "You got us, and Jazz, and your parents. Plus Mr. Masters. He's still coming today, right?" A warm, genuine smile.
"Yeah," Danny agreed, and he seemed to finally perk up. "You guys are still welcome to come out to eat with us. But only if you want."
"Of course we want to!" Tucker exclaimed. "And we wanna hang out afterwards, and still have that sleepover this weekend. You're our best friend." Danny looked relieved.
"So I'm...not intruding on you guys?" Sam frowned in confusion.
"Intruding?" she questioned. Danny flushed a bit.
"I mean, like intruding on you two having alone time, cause like, you know," he moved his hands as he talked, gesturing wildly as he tried to convey his feelings. Tucker immediately turned red as well, and Sam turned pink too. They glanced at each other.
"We're just best friends. Just like how we're best friends with you," Tucker insisted. "What ever gave you the idea that you're intruding?" Danny opened his mouth to speak but cut himself off. He grinned, looking over their shoulders. The not-couple glanced over to see a tall man in the doorway. He had long, dull black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, blue eyes and was dressed neatly in a fancy-looking, yet casual, suit. While Tucker had never met him before, he was immediately familiar to him from magazine cover and TV appearances. Vlad smiled warmly at them.
"Hello, little badger," he greeted.
Danny immediately shot up, leaping out of bed and past Tucker and Sam to hug the billionaire. He laughed, returning the hug and patting his back. Danny pulled away, looking at his friends.
"Guys, this is my Uncle Vlad. Vlad, these are my best friends, Sam and Tucker." Vlad nodded at them with a smile.
"It's great to finally meet you!" Sam chirped, hopping to her feet. She bounced up to him, putting a hand out to shake his. Vlad smiled, returning it.
"Nice to meet you two as well. Daniel talks about you two so much." he greeted them. He wrapped an arm around Danny's shoulders. "I heard that you two were going to tag along with us. Would you two like a ride over to FentonWorks?"
"Please!" Tucker agreed, standing up and eagerly pushing the chair back to it's normal spot. "I have so much to ask about Axion Labs!" Vlad chuckled.
"Well, Nico can tell you much more about Axion Labs than I could," he confessed. "I handle the business side, Nico is admittedly the genius behind most of the technology. The man can do incredible things with just a simple toolkit and some electrical wiring."
"Is Nico here?" Danny asked. He moved from Vlad's touch to grab his backpack from it's previous resting place next to the bed. Vlad nodded. "Is Jazz coming with?"
"Nico flew in with me. He's waiting in the car." Danny flashed a grin at Tucker. "But Jasmine said she drove here, so she'll meet us at home."
"Here's your chance, Tuck. Nico never shuts up," he told him.
"Daniel," Vlad scolded, opening the door to the nurse's station for the trio.
"Am I wrong?" Danny questioned. Vlad didn't reply, simply roll his eyes. "Exactly."
"There is a reason I handle the press conferences," Vlad admitted. He began to walk down the hallway, the trio following. Tucker sped up to walk next to him.
"Mr. Masters, I know you said Mr. Technus is the better person to ask, but I was still wondering if you know what kind of programs you used to power your devices?" he questioned. "It doesn't look like any pre-made one, it looks like it was made from scratch."
"Ah, yes. All technology that we use, we use as much of our own programs as possible. Most of what we use and write is based on the programs Nico's written," Vlad replied.
"Oh yeah! I heard that he wrote a program that's currently used now in forensics," Tucker spoke up, and he pushed one of the double doors to the school's entrance open, holding it open for his group. Vlad looked impressed, giving a nod.
"Indeed. Nico's program made it easier to keep digital forensic records," Vlad replied. "I'm sure if you bring it up to him, he'll pull out his laptop and show you it in detail." Tucker perked up at this.
"Really!? I really, really wanna get into computer forensics," Tucker confessed. Vlad smiled, patting his shoulder.
"You seem like a bright young man. I'm sure you'll do great," he replied. He motioned towards a car. "That's our ride."
A black man with long black hair, tied back in braids, was leaning against a limo. He was dressed in a suit similar to Vlad's, staring at his phone. He glanced up, and upon seeing the company, smiled and put the phone away in his pocket.
"Hey, Danny," he greeted. Danny waved.
"Hey, Nico!" he replied, and he gestured to his friends. "Nico, these are my best friends, Sam and Tuck. Guys, this is my Uncle Nico."
"It's great to meet you," Nico replied, and he held out his hand. Sam and Tucker both shook it. "Danny talks a lot about you, so I'm surprised it took us this long to meet. But then again, normally when Vlad and I come into town, we can't stay long. Or we take the family out for vacation, like we did over the summer. You remember that, Danny? We got to go to the NASA exhibit in Florida, and you went nuts when Vlad was able to get you backstage and got to touch moon rocks and all that other cool shit? And that little burger joint, oof. I-"
"Nico, let's get going," Vlad interrupted him. He opened the limo door, gesturing for the trio to go ahead and get in. "We have all weekend to talk, and you mustn't bore them before the conference."
"Oh, yeah. I'm hungry anyway," Nico agreed, and he slipped into the vehicle with them. Vlad entered last, shutting the door behind them.
To clarify before people question/bring it up: Vlad isn't half-ghost in this. It's a role-reversal based-AU, so the half-ghost antagonist is different in this one. I also apologize for the lack of...actual action here. This chapter feels very dialogue heavy, but it should pick up again next chapter.