Chapter 9: REAFFIRMATION

"Hi, Jazz" Danny tried timidly.

"Oh thank God, Danny, where are you? Are you alright? Why weren't you answering your phone? Are you alright? Danny? Talk please" Jazz was hysterical, but was trying her best not to rise her voice.

Danny grimaced when hearing her sister's frantic words. She was talking softly, but her voice was rough underneath, as if she'd been shouting or crying for hours (probably both). His cobardly actions had not only hurt his parents, but his sister too. And there it was, that dreadful road again.

"I'm good, Jazz, I'm-" 'At Vlad's?, yeah, why don't just give her a heart attack too?' "I'm safe" 'Are you?' Danny's brain could maintain his cool in the most fierce of battles, but was his worst enemy in moments like these.

"What do you mean by safe, Danny? What happened?" Jazz asked worried.

'Oh, good job Fenton' Danny was getting exasperated, and guilt and exasperation didn't do wonders to Danny's speech.

"No, I mean, nothing-" Danny tried to reassure his sister, but she didn't let him.

"Stop, please Danny. Look, whatever happened last night, you don't have to tell me anything if you are not ready, ok? Just, don't lie to me, yes? Don't try to push me away, please." Jazz pleaded.

Danny wondered if it still hurt her that he had seeked the confort of his friends after the accident, instead of hers. He dreaded asking. 'God, Fenton, just change topics, quickly!'

"Emmm, sure, so...How is mom and dad doing?" 'What?!, What?! That's it. I can't believe myself.'

"They are in a guilt induced, scientific spree. For the moment, they refuse to see reason, keep saying once they finished, everything will get back to normal and you'll never be afraid of them again. I'll give them some days before we have a stern chat about their obsession with 'fixing' you." The annoyance was clear in her voice, but she composed herself quickly. "Don't worry, little brother, I'll make sure they eat properly and don't blow up anything." Jazz hadn't realise how tense she was until she let herself relax a little.

"Do you need anything, Danny?" Once the worry started to recede, exhaustion washed over her, but even then, she sounded more earnest than tired.

"I'm fine, Jazz, really" And it was true. If his parents believed they could fix all this, then he haven't screwed up so badly, right?

"I already transfered 200 to your bank account-" Jazz stated matter of factly.

"What?, no Jazz, I'm not taking your money. I'm a growned up man and-" Danny was having troubles to keeping up with Jazz.

"Yes, you are. And you'll always be my baby brother, so-" Jazz tone was almost cheerful now.

"I'm transfering it back" Danny cut.

"Oh, came on, Danny. Take it as a graduation gift" Was Jazz comeback, and Danny just huffed, it was useless to fight Jazz on this.

Silence stretched for a moment then.

"Congratulations" Was Jazz's chosen word to shatter that silence. "I never get to congratulate you in your graduation day, so... congratulations, I'm very proud of you, baby brother" And the pride was perceptible, but also the sadness it was laced with. The combo, making a lump formed in Danny's throat.

"Thanks" He managed to say without sounding too much like a dying toad, although rought enough to be a cue for his sister to end the phone call briefly after that.

Danny found himself lying in bed, he closed his eyes for a moment, trying to make sense of the emotional roller coaster that had been his last few days. He opened them again to the sound of someone knocking at his door.

"Lunch will be served in fifteen minutes, at the little tea room facing the greenhouse, Danny" were Clare's polite words, muffled by the big oak door.

Danny didn't respond, and went back to sorting his situation. He'll give his parents a few days, let them work in the lab all the time they wanted it. Their experiments always get them in a good mood. He'll let Jazz have all the talk she wanted too. Once the things had settle down at home, he'll face his family properly and he'll apologise for the troubles he had caused. It was a foolproof plan, most of it consisting in him doing nothing, he couldn't ruin it. And in the meanwhile, well, in the meanwhile...

His musing had been heard by Clare, because she barreled in with the answer. That, or she was fed up of being ignored all day, the halfa had the faint suspicion she had being knocking at his door a few more times in the course of the evening.

" .Masters" Clare made an overacted emphasis in each word.

"Oh, God, that's so not my full name" Danny jumped to a sitting position with an expression of horror subdued by the amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Shut up, you are taking me out of character" Clare hushed.

"Shutting up" Danny couldn't help but answer with mirth in his voice, mimicking to zip up his mouth.

"You, young boy, are coming down to dinner right this instant" Clare commanded while pointing with an accusing finger at Danny.

Her posture made him think of his big sister, even when the ghost girl could'n have been more than twelve when she died. There was just something in Clare that filled him with fondness and made him feel at ease.

"As you command, oh smart and beautiful head maid" Danny said with mock reverence.

"Your sugar-coating wont work on me Danny" Clare went for her scolding face and failed miserably.

It had totally worked.

NOTES: I'm such a lazy writer, sorry u.u

Sorry for the chat with Jazz too. It was so awkward, and I didn't like it when I read it again before publish it, like at all. But didn't occured to me how to make it better, and the promese to release this chapter quickly was sounding so fake already... Anyway, poor Jazz, she must think her little brother is in a cheap motel or something, but we know better (writer laugh aloud over her own creation's ignorance. She doesn't feel bad about it).

Next chapter, dinner with Vladdie ;)