The wind swept the white hair out of his eyes as he swooped down towards the park, Danny intended on running a final check over the area before ending his nightly patrol. He silently hoped he wouldn't find anything, it had been a quiet day and he wanted it to end that way.

Hoping to get a few minutes of relaxation on the swings without any kids around, he mentally crossed his fingers and flew around. Danny grinned widely at the absence of his ghost sense before making a nose dive toward the swing set. Even if he could literally fly towards the stars, the swings gave Danny a sort of nostalgic pleasure as he was reminded of the days he would try to launch himself to the moon.

He landed on a swing, propelling it forward by the momentum of his flight and was about to transform back to his human form when his heightened hearing picked up something that sounded like coughing. Holding back the ring of white light, he flew out of his moving seat to investigate the sound. As he approached the direction he thought the coughing originated from he heard a ruffling sound of something shifting in the grass below him.

It was way past midnight on a Sunday, nobody should really be at the park. With all his guards up, Danny turned himself invisible and approached the area. There was a large oak tree, it sounded like there was someone behind it.

Cautiously he made his way around the thick trunk, painfully aware that it could be a trap. The figure he was met with caused the tension in his shoulders to relax, he almost laughed but was too concerned with the condition of the presence to do so. There was a boy hunched over, sitting at the base of the tree. It was Dash's cousin, Buster, and it looked like he had been crying.

Danny's heart dropped at the lost look on the small boy's face, he had the sudden urge to comfort him or do anything to help. He hadn't seen much of the kid since the incident two weeks ago but he noticed that he didn't make it a habit to sit with the A-listers at lunch, however this did not skew Sam and Tucker's opinion on him.

To Danny, the kid seemed like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Danny knew how that felt.

He silently floated in front of Buster while he contemplated making an appearance. He knew that Buster was scared of him, he didn't want to make it worse. But the Baxter residence was pretty far, he wanted to help get the boy home.

Before he could make a decision, Buster's body language changed as if he sensed someone was watching him. He straitened his back and stiffened his shoulders as he moved his gaze around the park. Bringing his eyes back, he locked his gaze straight ahead. If Danny was visible, they would be staring at each other.

"Is someone there?" Buster asked in a much more confident tone than Danny would expect from someone crying alone in the dark. Slowly, Danny lifted his invisibility to reveal his presence to the kid.

"Calm down I'm not going to hurt you," Danny said, lifting his arms in defense as he noticed Busters eyes go wide and breathing pick up. The kid had instinctively backed himself closer to the tree before he relaxed. Recognition passed in his eyes and he smiled slightly.

"I remember you, you're a superhero right?" Buster asked as he tried to discreetly wipe away any signs of tears. "I never got the chance to thank you for saving me."

Danny was taken aback by the sudden change, he was sure that he had seen raw fear the last time their eyes met. Now he saw nothing but gratitude, and deep sadness that didn't belong on such an innocent looking face. It aged him, it was disturbing. He rubbed the back of his neck in response, he had always been awkward when being praised for his heroics. "Don't sweat it dude, it's what I'm here for."

Smiling at him, Buster looked down and began fiddling with the grass. Danny took the opportunity to take a seat across the boy. "So, I had been wondering. Why'd you run towards the ghost anyway?"

Buster looked mildly surprised by the question and Danny realized that he shouldn't have known the events that unfolded before Phantom showed up. Sam and Tucker should not have been able to fill Phantom in, they were Fenton's friends. Buster didn't seem to notice Danny's mini panic attack and proceeded to answer, "I thought it was an alien."

Tilting his head slightly, Danny smirked. "That sure explains it, running towards aliens is totally acceptable."

Looking blankly at him for a second, Buster began laughing. The joke wasn't really that funny but at the genuine sound, Danny couldn't help but join in. However, the contagious laughter saddened Danny even more. It was the first expression that didn't seem eerily out of place, somehow Danny knew that this was the real Buster. He was just lost somewhere behind the aged eyes.

Once the laughter died down, they sat in silence for a few short moments before Danny asked, "So what are you doing out here so far from home?"

Lifting his eyes to meet Danny's and then narrowing them, "how do you know I don't live near here?" he counter questioned.

Slightly frazzled by the accusation, Danny faltered but quickly found a reply. "Well you're Dash Baxter's cousin right? I know where he lives, I'm pretty well acquainted with the town I serve."

Buster kept him under the scrutinizing stare for a few more moments until finally letting go, "I guess that makes sense."

"You didn't answer my question," Danny softly said after a few silent moments. He sensed that Buster didn't really want to talk about it but he knew he probably needed to.

A heavy sigh escaped the younger boy's lips and he rested his head against the trunk. "I'm homesick," was all he said in reply. Danny knew there was more to it but didn't want to pry. Just when he was about to offer to fly the kid home he began to talk.

"We have a treehouse in a big tree just like this back in my hometown. Me and my friends built it with our parents when we were really young, it was a lot of fun. We spent a lot of time up there…I really miss having friends."

Danny watched him carefully as he spoke, and was surprised by his confession. He had noticed that the kid was a bit of a loner but didn't realize that he hadn't made any friends at all. "Must be difficult to move away from the people you love and grew up with," he said, trying to sympathize with him. His words however seemed to bring fresh tears to Buster's eyes, Danny knew there was something deeper than merely missing his friends. Suddenly Danny realized that he hadn't seen the kid's parents around the Baxter residence.

"I guess you know how that feels huh?" Buster said, bringing Danny out of his thoughts.

Realizing the Buster naturally thought that he was dead, he thinned his lips, gave him a tight smile, and nodded. "Yeah" was all he could choke out, he didn't want to lie to the boy, but he did know what would become of him if he lost the ones who loved and supported him, shivering at the memory he turned his attention back to his companion. It seemed like he was done talking though, Danny was no longer in the mood to go home so he closed his eyes and rested his head on his knees.

"Hey Phantom?" came the small voice, disturbing the small nap Danny had fallen into.

"Yeah?" he replied, in a slightly groggy way.

"Are you sure you aren't an alien?" he almost whispered as if his life depended on the answer and despite knowing that he would be disappointed, needed to ask.

"Uh, I'm pretty sure I'm not an alien. Never lived on another planet, why?" He replied, somehow knowing that although it was an amusing question he should not be joking about it.

"It's just that I always thought ghosts would be different, you don't look completely human. I can't really imagine how you would have looked alive. I mean if your family saw you they probably wouldn't recognize you and that's…I would want to know if a ghost of my relative was around."

Danny didn't know how to reply to that, he looked down at his glowing hands and frowned. He was right, his family had no idea who Phantom was to them. The statement had hit a bit too close to home.

"It's getting pretty late, let me take you home. It would be a lot faster than walking," he said completely ignoring the boy's disturbing but truthful words. Buster frowned but nodded nonetheless. Danny put his arm around his waist and turned them both intangible so he could phase them through the leaves of the tree, it was unnecessary but Danny felt like showing off to lift his mood.

He performed a few harmless stunts along the way and noted the smile on Buster's face from the excitement. He giggled as he felt the boy's grip tighten when he did a loop-de-loop but noticed the grin widen. He brought him to the Baxter house and asked which window was Buster's. Following the direction he passed them through the window and gently dropped them both onto their feet.

Buster all but squealed once the ride was finally over, "That was awesome! Better than any roller-coaster I've ever been on! Arthur is never going to believe this. I mean he didn't believe me about the ghosts so…" He babbled.

Danny smiled, "Who is Arthur?" he asked.

The excitement was soon replaced by a longing look and Danny was almost sorry he asked. But Buster smiled widely and walked over to the bed, picked up a picture from his bedside table and sat down on the soft mattress. Danny followed and sat down beside him, peering at the picture that was of a bunch of kids at what seemed to be a birthday party. Pointing at a boy that was standing beside Buster in the photograph, "that's him, my best friend, we still talk everyday but it's not the same," he said sadly.

Danny lifted his arm and gave the boy a gentle squeeze on the shoulder, he knew anything he had to say wouldn't really help. "Get some sleep," he advised instead while flashing him a knowing look.

Buster nodded, "thanks for listening," he said quietly as he put down the picture back in its place.

"That's what friends are for," Danny said without missing a beat.

Buster looked up surprised but then smiled warmly at him before muttering a final, "Thanks"

Danny took that as his que to leave, giving a mock solute he lifted himself of the bed and floated out the window. Turning around he waved to the silhouette of his new friend and flew of in the direction of Fenton Works. He should probably get some sleep as well.

Quickly gathering his books once he finally heard the bell ring, Danny shook his head to try and clear his rapidly forming headache. He hated math with a passion. He had spent the last twenty minutes of the period silently hoping for a ghost attack just so he could escape, but the ghosts would never show up when he wanted them to. Figures.

Sighing, he dropped his heavy bag onto the floor in front of his locker and rested his throbbing head on the cool metal. He heard the familiar heavy footsteps approaching, but he was too tired to care. Right on time, a large hand grabbed the back of his head and pulled it back before slamming it into the same spot it was resting against moments ago. Danny didn't react, it didn't really hurt as much as it should've anyway, but that didn't stop the eruption of snickers from Dash and his friends as they stalked away.

He lifted his head and turned the lock as if nothing happened, Dash's bullying had become nothing more than an annoyance and inconvenience. He had lost interest in revenge a long time ago. He lazily exchanged his books for the ones he would need after lunch and waited for his two friends to appear around the corner. Just as he slammed the door shut he spotted them approaching and waved.

"Hey Danny," They both said in unison.

"Hey guys, how've you been," he asked as they walked together toward the cafeteria.

"Fine, how was patrolling last night? Sorry I couldn't make it," Tucker said. Their schedules were not as flexible as they were during freshman year and Danny found himself on solo missions more often than not. He didn't blame them though, he could handle it most of the time.

"It was quiet. Nothing I couldn't handle," he said, flashing a reassuring smile and choosing to omit his encounter with Buster. There were somethings that they didn't need to know. Sam nodded and then proceeded to change the topic. They entered through the double doors and headed straight for the lunch line. He idly listened to her complain about some sort of injustice in the world as he thought of his new friend.

He was so different than the other Baxter, polar opposites. Danny was surprised that Dash had actually got along with his cousin, if they weren't related he was sure Dash would have chosen the small kid as a victim.

He turned his attention away from his friends who had begun bickering and scanned the room. Finally spotting who he was looking for, he made a split second decision and interrupted the beginning of a full on fight behind him, "I'm gonna go sit over there." Sam and Tucker abruptly stopped yelling and watched him go.

Sam raised her left brow when she saw who he was heading for, "When is he going to drop the notion that the Baxter kid is a decent person? Danny really is too clueless sometimes, he's only going to get hurt for talking to him," she said as she sat at their regular spot.

"I don't know Sam, Danny does have a point. Look at him, he sits alone almost every day unless Dash drags him to the A-list table." Sam slowed her chewing as she thought about what he said. They turned their attention towards the two boys in question and watched as Danny asked to sit down.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Danny asked with a friendly smile plastered across his face.

Buster looked up with confusion and slowly shook his head, "go ahead" he said.

"I'm Danny, nice to meet you," He chirped as he dropped his tray down and plopped down on the hard seat across from the boy.

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Buster" he said shyly scratching his head, "You're a junior right?" he asked.

Danny nodded, "yup." and proceeded to shove a spoonful of whatever it was on his lunch tray into his mouth.

"Hm, I guess that makes sense" Buster replied thoughtfully, "Most of the other freshman are too afraid to talk to me."

Danny furrowed his thick eye brows, "Why's that? You don't really look intimidating," he stated. Danny knew the answer but he was playing the clueless card.

"You don't really know who I am do you?" Buster asked warily.

"Not a clue," he responded. Buster looked at him in the eye, unable to catch the fib he smiled.

"Good," was all that he said as he continued eating.

"You're new to Amity right?" Danny asked, to continue the friendly exchange.

"I am," came the other boy's reply.

"Well how do you like it?"

"It's a nice city I guess even though I haven't seen much of it. But I've got to say, I was blind-sighted by the ghosts."

Danny chuckled and nodded, "You get used to them," he supplied with a shrug. Danny really liked this kid, he was one of the most genuine people he had ever met. He glanced over towards his usual table intending on glaring at Sam and Tucker for judging Buster so harshly when he spotted them making their way over. Surprised, Danny turned to Buster and warned him of the arrival, "Don't look now dude but we are about to ambushed by my friends, they may come off as judgmental but they mean well."

Buster tensed but nodded and shortly after was greeted by a dark voice, "Hey there, I'm Sam and this is Tucker. Since our friend here refuses to spend time with us today, we decided to give you a chance." She sneered, Danny shook his head in annoyance. She really needed to get over her hatred for the popular crowd, Buster wasn't even one of them.

"Hey man," was all that Tucker said before he sat down and continued to devour his lunch.

Danny smirked, Tucker was always more trusting of Danny's judgements.

"Hi," Buster timidly replied but said nothing else and instead stared down at his lunch, hardly eating anything.

Danny glared at Sam, she was really intimidating when she wanted to be. He knew that she was trying, in a strange protective kind of way. Even if he appreciated her, he hated her methods. Danny didn't need protection from a freshman, a small shy one at that. Turning his attention away from the girl he looked at the quiet boy, noting the barely touched lunch, "the food here is pretty bad huh? Wanna join us after school at the Nasty Burger?"

"I've never been there, is it good?"

Buster was aiming the question at Danny but Tucker intercepted, "It is good? It's the best!"

His enthusiasm caught Buster of guard but Danny's chuckling caused him to join in. He relaxed his posture and said, "Sure why not?"

Sam watched the exchange closely and then rested her chin in right palm, "why do you sit alone at lunch?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

"I, uh didn't make any friends." Buster replied while blushing in embarrassment.

Danny exhaled loudly, "Sam," he warned.

"Hm, I've seen a couple of the popular kids your age try and approach you. What's you're deal? Why don't you join them?"

Buster shifted in his seat uncomfortably, "I don't know, I just don't feel like I belong in that crowd I guess," he said with his eyes trained away from her.

Sam looked genuinely surprised by his answer but not completely convinced, she just hummed and went back to her lunch. Danny smirked, he loved being right. Tucker giggled at the obvious defeat, even if he had been on Sam's side. 'That hypocrite' Danny thought with a smile.

Danny continued the small talk and Tucker happily joined in, Sam remained relatively quiet but added a comment here and there. Buster seemed to enjoy Danny's company which made him very happy. Ever since the night he first saw him, Danny knew there was something wrong. It was just a hunch, but last night he knew for sure. Being who he was, Danny had the urge to help. Buster was slowly drowning, and Danny needed to save him.

Stepping out onto the concrete stairs after school, Buster looked around for the older group of kids that had been nice enough to invite him out. He was kind of nervous, but grateful that they even bothered to talk to him without having some sort of ulterior motive. The girl didn't seem to like him and had gave him the cold shoulder, but he could live with that. He finally spotted them hanging around a tree and waved. Danny was the first to notice him and smiled brightly, gesturing him to join them.

Buster decided that he really liked Danny, he had a very carefree ambiance that was comforting to be around. His friends would get some getting used to, they seemed more guarded and it put him on edge.

He couldn't fathom why a guy like Danny would even want to be friends with him. Since when did juniors even associate with freshman? Danny wasn't a popular kid, Buster hadn't seen him around Dash's friends and he didn't seem to know anything about Buster's association with the 'king' of Casper high. However, Danny looked far from a loser. He was rather intimidating for someone as small as Buster. Buster didn't ask much about the boy but if he had to guess, Danny was some sort of athlete. Not as bulky as Dash but tall and strong looking.

Once he joined them, they started down the sidewalk in the direction of the Nasty Burger. Buster's stomach growled loudly causing him to blush, "I hear ya dude, I'm famished!" Tucker stated dramatically in response to the sound, raising his hand to his forehead to strike a tragic pose.

They all laughed, "Tuck is a bit of a monster when it comes to food, he could eat a 10 man meal in one sitting," Danny informed him.

Buster raised his eyebrows in excitement, "No way! I guess we have something in common then."

Tucker gave him a disbelieving look, "I'm talking big meals man."

Buster nodded innocently, "I know," he said.

Tucker narrowed his eyes, "I challenge you, 10 Nasty Burger meals in one sitting, you accept?"

"Buster, I don't think that's a good idea…" Danny started with a worried look but Buster held out his hand feeling smug, "you're on!"

Tucker was taken aback by the lack of hesitation but quickly recovered. He spread his lips into an evil smirk and stopped walking to grab his hand. Buster looked at him curiously but shook it anyway. 'This will be fun' he thought.

Twenty minutes later, Buster was slumped back in his seat across from Tucker rubbing is belly in agony. However the pain did not stop the victorious expression from taking residence on his face. Tucker's head was being repeatedly banged against the sticky table as he cried in defeat, "How could I lose to a freshman! I've gone soft, I blame you Sam!" The said girl only rolled her eyes in disgust and continued to munch on her salad. Buster noted that she was probably a vegetarian.

Danny snickered, "I never thought I'd see the day, congratulations dude." Feeling a little embarrassed he mumbled a thank you in response. He was just about to question Sam about her eating habits in an attempt to get her to talk when he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"Hey Fentonio!" Buster sighed in relief when he realized Dash hadn't seen him and wouldn't be scaring off his new friends.

"Mind scramming? I'm not in the mood at staring at your ugly head while I eat," he said getting closer, Buster looked at Danny's face and noticed his eyes get dark in annoyance and anger.

"As a matter of fact, I do mind Dash. It's a free country, I can sit wherever I want. I'm not too pleased with your face either but you don't see me complaining about it do you?" Danny replied, and Buster realized Dash was had been talking to Danny. Out of all the thoughts circling in his head, the most baffling was 'Fentonio?' Where had Dash come up with that?

Buster heard Dash's steps pick up as he stomped over and grabbed Danny's collar, all while Danny didn't even flinch. However Dash's movements were cut short as his eyes landed on something, or someone. "Buster? What are you doing here?" he asked, in a horrified almost comical way.

Buster looked at him and pointing to the food trays in front of them, "Eating? I thought it was obvious."

"But why are you with Fenton and the freaks?"

Guessing that Danny was 'Fenton,' Buster grew irritated, "I can eat with whoever I want Dash, just go away," he grumbled.

Dash was mildly shocked by the hostility but turned to Danny, tightening the loosened grip. "I'm warning you Fenton, don't bring you and your creepy family near my cousin," without sparing a second glance at Buster, the jock stomped away.

Danny adjusted his shirt and picked up his drink, taking a large slurp before catching Buster's eye. He pulled the straw out of his mouth, gave him a small smile and winked. Buster's eyes widened when he realized that Danny had known exactly who he was this whole time, but didn't care.

"He bullies you a lot doesn't he?" Buster asked sadly

"What can I say? I'm his favourite," The older boy replied, picking out the pickles in his Burger. Buster wondered why he was being so indifferent to all of this.

"Since elementary school," Sam provided, her presence had almost been forgotten and her sudden comment surprised him. He looked at her cold eyes and crossed arms and realized why she didn't like him, she was being protective of Danny. Dash had probably hurt him in unforgivable ways, the thought made his stomach drop. Danny was such a nice guy, how could Dash be so cruel?

"I'm really sorry," he meekly attempted, locking gazes with her. He knew full well that it wasn't enough, but he wanted her to know that he wasn't like Dash. Buster Baxter was not a bully.

"Don't be, it's not your fault. It doesn't even bother me anymore. Between us, your cousin is kind of a joke. He realized a while ago that he couldn't hurt me anymore, but I gotta give it to him, he's persistent." Danny replied without looking up to see the staring contest between Sam and Buster.

Buster wasn't comforted by his words in any way, 'couldn't hurt me anymore' only meant that at one point Dash had hurt him. He couldn't help but feel guilty. "He is pretty different at home, granted I only met him this month, I would have never expected he was a bully when we spent time alone." He informed them, thinking pleading ignorance would ease his conscience. It didn't work. Logically he knew that it really didn't make sense for him to feel any sort of guilt, but it wasn't stopping the feeling from eating at him. Sam's glare wasn't helping either.

"Wait, you hadn't met him till you moved here?" Tucker questioned, breaking Sam from her angry trance. She looked at Tucker and as if hearing the words for the first time turned her eyes to meet Busters once again, only laced with confusion instead of malice.

"Nah, I didn't even know my dad had a brother," he confessed.

"I guess it would be dumb to assume you would be just like him then huh?" Tucker asked. Buster scratched his head and wondered why that even mattered.

"So why'd you move in with them anyway?" Sam asked, in a milder tone that he had ever heard from her before.

Despite the progress with the Goth girl, the question caused him to clam up and stutter before finally replying, "It's a long story." One that he was not ready to tell. Danny gave him a reassuring smile to indicate that it was alright, he didn't have to share if he didn't want to. Buster was grateful.

Danny took the opportunity to change the subject to something a bit lighter. Sam surprisingly joined in, Buster guessed she decided to give him a real chance. He learned that she liked to grow a lot of her own food and he offered to exchange some gardening tips that he had picked up from Fritz. She had been surprised that he was interested since her two friends didn't bother listening to her when she got environmental. Buster was enjoying himself but there was something that was bothering him.

"Hey do you guys know that guy? He's been glaring at us since we got here," Buster said annoyed as he eyed the ginger a few tables away from them. He was sitting with a large group but his gaze hadn't wavered for more than a few minutes, it was getting on Busters nerves.

Danny turned around to spot who Buster was referring to. He was surprised when he heard Danny chuckle. "Oh him?" He asked before waving, causing the ginger to narrow his eyes and look away, "don't worry he's harmless."

Buster raised a brow at the strange exchange, Danny sure was one mysterious guy.

"It's normal?" He asked doubtfully.

The three friends exchanged amused looks as if it were some sort of messed up inside joke. "It's a long story," Danny replied casually. Buster took that as his hint to drop it.

"…okay, hey what did Dash mean earlier?" He asked trying to change the topic.

"Huh?" Danny asked distractedly, flicking Tucker with some crumbs.

"When he said to keep your family away from me" he prompted, he had been pretty curious about why Dash would say such a thing.

"Oh that, my parents are the town's ghost hunters, part of the reason why he picks on me. He somehow got the idea in his head that it makes me a freak," He replied rather playfully and proceeded to wink, but this time it wasn't directed at Buster. He guessed he wasn't supposed to have even noticed it, it left him feeling a little uneasy. Danny's jokes were strange. He didn't understand.

He was about to question him more about the 'ghost hunting' when Danny's demeanor suddenly changed drastically. The once calm and carefree guy transformed, looking paranoid and alert. He nervously glanced around and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, I just remembered that I had a bunch of errands to run for my parents. They are gonna kill me if I forget again," he hurriedly said as he shot out of his seat and all but sprinted out the door.

Buster was left dumbstruck, awkwardly sitting with his remaining two companions. Danny really was strange.