Melinoe huffed in boredom, she had cycled through all the channels on Tucker's TV at least twice and couldn't find anything to occupy her. Rusty was sprawled on the floor by her feet, his long walk finally catching up to the dog. Melinoe slumped in her seat as she glanced at the clock. She had been sitting in Tucker's living room on her own for almost two hours now. Tucker had excused himself, hiding himself away in his basement workshop to tinker with his numerous projects that Melinoe now knew more about than she had ever wanted to know. She blew her loose black bangs out of her green eyes before getting up. Rusty instantly sat up and ambled after her towards Tucker's workshop. Melinoe hesitated a moment before pushing open the door and picked her way down the cluttered, rickety staircase. Most of Tucker's house had been taken over by his work with the odd corner free from failed projects or spare parts. Melinoe spotted Tucker hunched over a clump of metal and wires wearing darkened goggles. She wrinkled her nose as an awful stench of burning hit her.
"What is that stink?" she complained, waving her hand in front of her nose, wafting the smell away. Tucker turned to her in surprise before grinning, his goggles reminded her of a praying mantis.
"I love that smell. Smells like technology," he retorted.
"Well I don't. What are you doing?" she pressed, venturing closer despite the odour.
"I'm soldering. I'm trying to make a custom shield for you actually. I already had this in the works, but I had been working on other projects," Tucker admitted. Melinoe blinked in surprise.
"Can't I just use one of the shields you have on the market?" Melinoe pointed out. Tucker hesitated a moment before shaking his head.
"I don't have any in the house. Besides, what you need, those shields don't provide," Tucker replied carefully.
"What do I need then?" Melinoe retorted in confusion. Tucker swivelled in his seat with a shrug.
"Trust me. I live and breathe this stuff. Those shields won't be enough to protect you," Tucker muttered. Melinoe frowned at the man before sighing and dropping the subject.
"Have you seen the time?" Melinoe asked.
"No. I don't have clocks in my work area. It becomes a distraction," Tucker confessed, turning back to the girl.
"It's getting late and I'm honestly getting hungry. Did you have anything planned for dinner?" Melinoe ventured. Tucker pulled off his goggles to blink dumbly at her.
"Dinner?" he repeated.
"Yeah. Aren't you getting hungry?" Melinoe confirmed.
"I guess now that I think about it. Thing is, I can't cook. Believe me, I tried to learn. Even took classes but I think the only edible thing I ever made was a smoothie," Tucker admitted.
"How do you survive living alone?" Melinoe wondered with a frown.
"Take-out and a girlfriend who stays over regularly who can cook," Tucker confessed with a shrug.
"Okay, do you want to get some take-out in?" Melinoe suggested.
"I usually go to Nasty Burger. But I know Sam doesn't like that place since it sells a lot of meat-based stuff. Do you like it there?" Tucker inquired hopefully. Melinoe wrinkled her nose. Nasty Burger had managed to survive the test of time despite its off-putting name, however Melinoe wasn't a fan of the overly greasy meat the building sold.
"I could eat there but I'd prefer a lot of different places," Melinoe answered gradually. Tucker nodded before blinking in surprise when the doorbell chimed upstairs.
"What time is it?" Tucker asked.
"Seven. Why?" Melinoe supplied. Tucker blinked before he gasped in alarm.
"What day is it?" Tucker exclaimed.
"You don't bother with calendars as well as clocks?" Melinoe retorted with a raised eyebrow.
"Smart aleck. Just tell me," Tucker grumbled.
"Thursday," she relented.
"Sh-er crud. I forgot I was meant to pick up Holly," Tucker growled, remembering his young company before swearing. Melinoe blinked in surprise as she watched Tucker expertly scale the stairs, dodging piles of metal and spare parts without even looking. Melinoe followed the man and saw him open the door with a broad grin.
"Holly," he greeted, loud and bright. The woman on the doorstep frowned at him, a bag on the ground beside her holding a few changes of clothes. She had short blonde hair and dark hazel eyes. Her petite nose was splattered with freckles and she wore a tight-fitting blouse and skirt.
"You didn't meet me at the airport," she pointed out with a pout, reminding Melinoe of a bratty cheerleader rather than a professional adult.
"I'm so sorry Holly but something came up," Tucker began, grabbing his girlfriend's bag and hefted it into the house, dropping it with a loud thud at the bottom of the stairs.
"What could possibly be more important to you than me," the woman asked, her tone light and curious but her eyes held her true feelings of hurt and jealousy. Tucker glanced at Melinoe, his eyes begging her to help. Melinoe sighed before stepping forward, drawing attention to herself.
"Tucker's been helping me. A ghost took my mom and he's been trying to protect me," Melinoe informed the woman. Sam didn't like Holly. She believed that Tucker could do better. Melinoe felt similarly but unlike her mother who had known the man since childhood, Melinoe didn't feel it was her place to lecture the man on who he dated or why. Holly frowned at Melinoe, glancing distastefully at Rusty beside her.
"I thought we were going to be alone," she whined. Tucker grinned nervously before he tried to put an arm around her shoulders.
"Hey, Mel's practically family. I have to help her. But I don't think it'll take more than a couple of days to fix all this," Tucker attempted.
"Days!" Holly exclaimed in horror. Tucker deflated.
"Tucker, I can just go home," Melinoe suggested, not wanting to be the cause of a fight between the couple.
"Perfect!" Holly agreed with a dazzling smile.
"No. That's not a good idea," Tucker refused before glancing between Melinoe and Holly.
"Let me try calling a friend, maybe they can help," Tucker offered instead, disappearing into the kitchen alone, digging out his cell as he walked.
"Better not be that loser," Holly grumbled. Melinoe frowned at the woman.
"You know, you're lucky to have a guy like Tucker, you should be more grateful," Melinoe pointed out.
"Kid, I know he's your mom's best friend, but he's my boyfriend," Holly retorted.
"So? If you two break-up, he's gonna go to my mom first. Besides you two have only been going out a couple of years, right?" Melinoe challenged with a raised eyebrow.
"Your point?" Holly growled.
"Tucker and my mom have been best friends for longer than I've been around. You can't compete with that," Melinoe concluded with a shrug.
"Okay, I called Danny and he's coming over," Tucker announced as he returned to the hallway, cutting off Holly's reply. Holly scowled at Tucker.
"You called that loser?" Holly retorted. Tucker rolled his eyes.
"You don't know Danny like I do Holly. He's a good friend to have," Tucker pointed out.
"Good friend my ass. He only turns up around here when he's strapped for cash," Holly growled. Tucker shook his head.
"Danny's always strapped for cash. I don't mind lending him some to help him out. He's just going through a rough patch," Tucker argued.
"A rough patch lasts a few weeks, maybe a couple of months. He can't hold down a job for more than a few weeks," Holly disagreed. Tucker shrugged.
"Like I said, you don't know him like I do," Tucker repeated before leading the way into the living room. Holly scowled at Melinoe before following her boyfriend, claiming the closest seat possible. Melinoe rolled her eyes before dropping into the furthest seat away from Holly as possible, pushing Rusty off herself as he tried to join her.
They sat in awkward silence for the next ten minutes before there was a knock on the door. Tucker extracted himself from Holly and went to the door.
"Hey Danny. Thanks for coming," Tucker greeted.
"You seemed pretty desperate on the phone," another voice remarked. Melinoe frowned. She recognised that voice. She didn't remember where, but she had heard that voice before. A man about Tucker and Sam's age walked into the living room and blinked in surprise at Holly scowling at him. He rolled his icy blue eyes.
"Hi Holly," he muttered neutrally.
"How much are you gonna ask Tucker to give you this time?" Holly growled. The dark-haired man scowled at her.
"I don't go around begging people to give me money. Besides, he hasn't given me nearly as much as you've forced him to spend on you," the newcomer retorted coldly.
"Don't start guys. Please?" Tucker begged, getting between his friend and girlfriend. Holly huffed and turned away from the men.
"Danny, I actually called you to help me out with Mel," Tucker admitted, gesturing to the bewildered girl. Danny, who Melinoe finally recognised from a fuzzy memory of a stormy night years ago, turned to Mel with a tender smile.
"Hey," he offered. Melinoe smiled uncertainly.
"Hi," she returned. She did recall liking this man when she was younger, but she didn't understand why he hadn't spoken to her mother since that night. They had seemed to get along fine.
"I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't remember me, you were pretty young but-" Danny began, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I met you when I was seven. Mom nearly ran you over," Melinoe finished causing Danny to flush bright red and Tucker to blink in confusion.
"Yeah," Danny confirmed.
"Why did Tucker call you?" Melinoe wondered. Danny glanced at Tucker before sighing.
"I've grown up around ghosts. I know when one's near and how to defend myself if one attacks," Danny began.
"We've all grown up around ghosts though. Ghosts turned up while mom was in school right?" Melinoe pointed out. Danny sighed before shaking his head.
"Have you ever heard of Fentonworks, or the Fentons?" Danny ventured. Melinoe nodded.
"The old people who terrorise everyone but the ghosts they're hunting," Melinoe supplied. Danny cringed.
"Yeah. Well, those old people are my parents," Danny confessed. Melinoe blinked in surprise before blushing in embarrassment.
"Sorry," she offered.
"Trust me, I'm used to it. But I literally grew up learning about ghosts since I was born. I'm guessing that Tuck's hoping my experience, no matter how much I don't want it, will help me protect you," Danny interjected, cutting off Melinoe before she made a fool of herself trying to apologise.
"How do you want to go about it then?" Tucker asked, getting straight to the point. Danny opened his mouth before hesitating.
"What happened exactly," he retorted. Melinoe sighed as she relayed the events that happened earlier that day for the man and Holly who was sitting quietly. As Melinoe talked, she got the impression that Danny wasn't listening to her attentively, but he nodded and hummed in the right places so Melinoe guessed she was mistaken.
"I don't think you should go home. The ghost could be waiting there, or it could be a trap. But… as much as I think it's a bad idea, you will need to pack a few things," Danny muttered. Melinoe nodded in understanding.
"But I think it should be a flying, supervised visit. Then, I guess, you'll have to stay someplace else for the night," Danny continued, turning hopefully to Tucker.
"I only got into town today. I think we need some time together, alone," Holly interjected. Danny frowned at her before returning his gaze to Tucker.
"Sorry dude, I have to clear out my spare room before anyone could sleep in there, even me," Tucker confessed. Danny sighed before chewing his lip.
"Can I borrow your phone?" Danny requested.
"Sure," Tucker agreed without question.
Danny stepped out into the hallway, grabbing Tucker's phone and dialled a number. Holly scowled at the ajar door.
"I don't understand how you could even affiliate yourself with people like him," Holly muttered unkindly. Tucker sighed tiredly.
"I know you don't like him. Honestly, I think he feels the same way about you. But could you please stop being so hostile to him," Tucker implored.
"He's taking advantage of you," Holly argued.
"Holly believe me when I tell you that Danny is not taking advantage of me. I owe him a ton of favours and even my life once or twice. The least I can do is be there for him when he needs me. If being there is only to give him a twenty-dollar bill when I notice his wallet is empty, I'll do it," Tucker revealed genuinely.
"He shouldn't accept your money though," Holly grumbled.
"He doesn't always. I know when he's really desperate for the cash when I don't find whatever I gave him in a drawer or the car or something," Tucker admitted.
A few minutes later, Danny returned to the living room with a nervous smile.
"Well, I found you a bed for the night," Danny announced.
"Where? An alleyway?" Holly scoffed. Danny frowned at her before shaking his head.
"I've been crashing on my sister's couch recently. She said you could take her spare bedroom tonight, but she'll need to discuss it with her husband before she can agree to more nights if you need it," Danny corrected. Melinoe blinked before smiling gratefully. She was hoping that it would only be the one night. Phantom had promised to investigate her mother's disappearance, so she just had to wait for the ghost to come back. It wouldn't take much longer; she was certain.
"We should head off then if we're stopping by your house. I don't want to linger out in the open too much, especially without proper equipment," Danny admitted. Melinoe blinked before nodding obediently as she got to her feet and grabbed Rusty's leash off the coffee table and clipped it on his collar. Danny threw a half-hearted farewell to Holly as he left the room. Melinoe followed the man and Tucker trailed behind them, tugging her into a hug.
"Stay safe Mel, just listen to Danny and you should be okay," Tucker muttered.
"Okay Tucker. Thanks for letting me hang out here," Melinoe replied with a smile. Tucker grinned before assuring her it was fine and turned to his friend.
"Broken, dead or out of credit?" Tucker asked, confusing Melinoe. Danny sighed in defeat before shrugging.
"Pretty low if not out. I kinda want to preserve my credit left for an emergency call," Danny confessed.
"You know I don't mind paying for your credit. I can afford a ten or twenty here and there," Tucker commented with a frown.
"But I mind Tuck. It's not your job to do that. I'll be fine. I don't use my cell much anyway," Danny replied with a shrug. Tucker huffed in annoyance but dropped the subject.
"Holly is only here for a week I think," Tucker informed his friend.
"Thanks. I do try to be diplomatic around her, but she just has this way of making me angry. I know you really like her and I'm sorry I make things difficult for you," Danny retorted. Tucker nodded.
"Maybe one day we could all go out and you can show her how great you are. I don't want my best friend and girlfriend hating each other," Tucker suggested. Danny snorted in amusement as he opened the front door and Melinoe stepped outside.
"Sure, thing Tuck, we'll schedule that awkward date for when pigs fly," Danny joked. Tucker chuckled before waving Danny and Melinoe and her dog off as they headed back to the Manson house.
And Danny Fenton has come back into Melinoe's life.
So, things don't seem to have changed for Danny during the time that Melinoe met him when she was younger and now.
Let me know what you guys are thinking of the story so far.
Until the next chapter.