In a rare moment, sitting at their regular booth in the Nasty Burger, Buster and Danny were alone. Both Sam and Tucker had family plans this afternoon and the two boys were left in each other's company, not that Danny minded.
"You don't look very happy," Danny commented as he ate his fries.
Buster looked up from the spot of grease he was staring at and retorted, "I could say the same for you." Danny frowned, he was trying really hard, but this time of year just sent him spiraling into a month-long grumpy state.
"I strongly dislike Christmas," he confessed, wishing he could blast the obnoxiously flashing red nose off of the Rudolph figurine hung up on the wall.
Buster studied him, he looked surprised at the new tidbit of information. "I would have never pegged you for a Grinch," he admitted. Danny huffed and mumbled under his breath which caused Buster to chuckle, "So is there a back story?" he wanted to know, a small smile on his lips.
Glad that his sour mood was at least cheering someone up, he decided it wouldn't hurt to tell his tale of Christmas woe once again. Talking a deep breath, "my parents, as you know, are a bit eccentric and can get a tad obsessive. Every Christmas since I can remember, they've fought over Santa's existence…" He said, beginning his tale.
As he finished the story, he expressed how their quarrelling wasn't as bad anymore, but old habits die hard…especially for people as hard headed as the Fentons. It was just hard for him to get into the 'Christmas spirit' with that sort of environment. Even the thought of his sister returning home for Christmas didn't help much.
Buster listened intently, giggling and wincing when appropriate. Once the story was over, "Christmas had been stressful for me when I was younger as well," he offered.
Danny raised his eyebrow in curiosity, prompting him to explain. Taking the que, Buster began his own tale, "My mom worried that she wouldn't be able to give me the 'perfect' Christmas. Ever since my parents got divorced, she always fretted over things like that." Buster said, eyes glazed over in a look that was all too familiar to Danny, he had witnessed it on his face those many nights they spent together at the park. "She used to wake up extra early every day over the week leading up to Christmas Day, cook pancakes for breakfast and set out all the presents. And when Christmas finally did come, she was a bundle of nerves." he smiled sadly at the memory before continuing. "When I was in third grade, Arthur came up with the idea, instead of Christmas we would celebrate 'Baxter Day.' A day with no expectations, where we could just relax. She loved the idea, and we finally had fun during the holidays. It was pretty great."
He was silent for a long unbearable moment, however Danny knew not to intervene. He sensed that Buster was not finished just yet. Danny silently ate his fries as he waited for his friend to collect himself. Finally, in a soft voice, Buster continued. "This will be the first Baxter Day without her"
Looking up, Danny offered him a small smile. He knew it had taken a lot for Buster to even talk about his mother, much less disclose her absence. He wished he knew how to comfort him, but there wasn't much else he could do but listen. He hoped it was enough.
"Well I guess we are in this together then, huh?" he asked, ripping up a holiday themed flyer, trying to lighten the mood.
Buster smiled, "I guess so" he replied.
Standing by Danny's locker, Buster and the others waited for him to collect the last of his things before they could finally leave the gloomy halls for the entirety of two glorious weeks. When Danny was done, Buster looked at him in stunned silence. How had the guy managed to accumulate so much junk in less than four months?
"Dude, do you ever take anything home?" Tucker asked him, "You better not expect me to offer to help carry that junk. Because I won't," he concluded.
Danny chuckled, "Don't worry Tuck, I can handle it" Danny said, smirking.
Buster rolled his eyes, he was such a show off sometimes. After all his time knowing Danny, Buster had yet to figure out how he managed to get so strong. He ate as much fast food, if not more than him and wasn't into anything sport related. Filing it away as just another peculiarity about the mystery that is Danny Fenton, Buster tuned back into the conversation. Sam was being unnervingly cheery, she was creeping him out a bit. She had even hugged him today in greeting, it was scary.
As she chatted on about her plans for the holidays, Buster diverted his attention to the group of football players that they were approaching. He knew there was something up by the way their eyes kept lingering in his direction, or should he say Danny's direction. Before he could form his words to warn his friend of the impending attack, there was a loud crashing sound. Things flying in all directions out of Danny's arms, said boy lying face flat on the ground.
An eruption of laughter filled the halls as Buster, Sam and Tucker rushed to help up their fallen comrade. Buster took a moment to search the group of guys for a familiar blonde head, finding the guy he was looking for, he fixed him with a hard glare. Dash raised his arms, conveying his innocence. Buster didn't buy it.
Turning back to collect the items, he picked up a first-aid kit. 'What kind of kid keeps this in their locker' he thought and turned to collect some scattered papers. The sound of clacking heels suddenly caught his attention, interrupting him out of his contemplation. He looked up to see a pretty girl walking over to Danny.
Being the nosey kid that he was, Buster felt no reservation in listening to the conversation.
"Are you okay?" she asked sincerely.
Danny fumbled over his words before responding with an eloquent, "yeah."
The girl giggled, "I'm glad…actually, I came over to invite you to my Christmas party. You can bring all your friends as well," she said sweetly, "I really hope you can make it," she finished before waving and walking away.
Danny stood there, staring at the invitation in his hand, instantly looking over to meet Tucker's eyes. "Dude, it's a senior party" he said excitedly and the two proceeded to high-five.
"Dude, she was totally in to you," Tucker teased, Buster knew this was true. The girl had been flipping her hair and batting her eyelashes. All signs that a girl was interested, he had read it in one of Muffy's dumb teen magazines.
Danny blushed, "Nah, she was just nice. That's all," he denied. Tucker rolled his eyes and looked over to meet Busters gaze. They smiled knowingly at each other.
"So are we gonna go or what?" Sam asked, pulling the paper out of Danny's hand.
"Of course we are going Sam! It's a senior party!" Tucker exclaimed, "You're in, right Buster?" he asked.
Buster sighed, he had already been invited to the party earlier this week via Dash and decided he didn't want to go. However, a party with his friends rather than the A-listers sounded more fun. "Come on, this might be exactly what we both need to find that Christmas spirit," Danny prompted, wriggling his eyebrows up and down.
Thinking it over, he nodded his head. "Yeah I'm in," he decided. Tucker cheered, Buster laughed at his excitement. They finished up finding the rest of Danny's scattered items and made their way out the door.
"Hey! How did we all end up carrying your stuff?" Tucker suddenly cried out in realization, "I swear this was all part of your evil plan," he concluded grimly.
Danny let out his best evil laugh as he ran away from Tucker who was attempting to kick snow at him. Buster smiled, sometimes he forgot that he was the younger one.
Straightening out his expensive sweater that his aunt had bought for him, Buster walked down the stairs to wait for his friends to arrive. It wasn't really his style, but she had been so excited when she gave it to him that he didn't have the heart to reject it. He just hoped he didn't look like a complete dork.
Admittedly, he was feeling a bit nervous. He was going to his first high school party after all, he didn't know what to expect. Sitting down on the couch, Buster was lost in thought and didn't notice the footsteps behind him.
"Last call for that ride!" Dash's voice called out. Startled, Buster whipped his head around to look at his cousin. Standing right behind him, Dash zipped up his coat and waggled his keys invitingly. As tempting as the warm ride sounded, he declined the offer.
"Nah, they're gonna be here in like five minutes," he responded with a wave of his hand. Dash shrugged his shoulders, "suit yourself," he said before walking out the door and into the bitter cold.
Exactly five minutes later, the doorbell chimed. Buster grabbed his coat and walked over to answer it. The chilly wind swept over him instantly as he pulled back the door to reveal Danny and Tucker standing on the steps.
Buster raised his eyebrow when he saw Danny wearing only a thin white t-shirt under an equally thin and unzipped black jacket, 'does this guy ever get cold?' he wondered.
"Hey Buster, you ready?" Danny asked.
Buster nodded, "yup, let's go."
As they headed toward the side walk, Tucker broke the silence. "Remind me again whose crazy idea it was to walk to the party? Doesn't your cousin have a car?"
He questioned desperately. Buster chuckled, "Well yeah, he did offer a ride…but only to me. I thought Sam had a car, why isn't she driving?" he countered.
"It's in the shop," Danny supplied, "she said she'll meet us there, we're less than ten minutes away guys. A little cold won't kill ya."
Tucker shot Danny a nasty look before muttering mostly to himself, "Easy for you to say." Danny just smirked in response.
Buster watched the expression curiously. "Why aren't you cold?" he couldn't help but ask.
Danny just shrugged, "I guess it comes with the Fenton blood."
The music was loud, almost ear-splitting. It was a wonder the speakers had not given out yet. The moment the heavy door swung shut behind them, the dingy chaotic atmosphere swirled its way around and consumed them whole. Danny's heightened senses went on overdrive, he instantly stiffened. Eyes flickered around the room. Checking all exits, assessing threats.
Noticing his quickened breath and change in demeanor, Tucker placed a tentative hand on Danny's shoulder. "Chill dude, you came here to relax and have fun remember," he said lowly into Danny's ear.
Processing the words, Danny let his muscles relax and gave Tucker a sheepish grin, "Sorry, force a habit." he said. He wasn't sure if Tucker heard him or not, his friend just grinned back.
He looked toward Buster, "you okay?" he shouted. Buster instantly nodded his head and gave him a thumbs up.
"Okay, let's look for Sam then. She texted me a minute ago that she was here, she couldn't have gone far."
"Sounds good," Tucker shouted in approval as he finished placing his coat in the closet. Danny sighed to himself, he tried to remember why the prospect of a party had seemed so appealing to him in the first place. Shouting small talk at the top of his lungs wasn't really on his list of fun things to do.
Looking around, more casually this time, Danny realized he did not recognize half the people there. A lot of the guests looked much older than them, 'probably college kids' he mused.
Thick smoke from a fog machine and flashing lights from all directions assaulted his vision as he tried to find the tiny black haired girl hidden within the crowd. Checking to see if his friends were still with him, his shoulder collided with a stranger. He quickly turned his head to apologize only to run into another.
Utterly frustrated and only a minute into the search, Danny contemplated going ghost and searching from a bird's eye view. It would be much simpler than shoving around the crowd like cattle. Shifting his eyes to make sure no one was watching him, he was about to turn invisible when his gaze landed on a bored girl in the back corner of what seemed to be a dining room.
"Guys, I found her" he informed them as he made his way over. Her eyes lit up when she saw him and she cheerily waved them over. He had known her for years and her behaviour at this time of year still creeped him out.
"Wow Danny, you clean up nice" she said greeting him.
Danny rubbed the back of his neck at the compliment, unsure of how to respond. "Thanks, you look pretty great yourself" he said politely, she smiled.
"Love the sweater Buster!" she said sweetly turning to the two as they finally caught up.
"Thanks," he muttered.
Before she could conjure up a compliment for Tucker, he help up his hand, "Save it Sam, don't even try."
Looking relieved, she laughed. "So…great party huh?" she said sarcastically, finally sounding like her regular self.
Danny sighed, "Don't get me started," he said as he leaned against the wall beside her.
"Come on guys, stop being such party poopers," Tucker pouted, "We just need to find our people."
Danny rolled his eyes, "Tuck, if you haven't noticed, we are your people," he reminded him.
"Well aren't I lucky" he retorted sarcastically, backing up and perching on a corner of the table behind him. Grinning at the comical sadness on Tucker's face, Danny moved his attention over to his strangely quiet friend.
"You sure you okay Buster?" he asked once again.
Buster smiled slightly, "Yeah, just a bit overwhelmed," he admitted, pulling his collar away from his neck.
"Maybe we should get some punch," Danny suggested, putting his hand on Buster shoulder.
"I wouldn't do that," Sam warned, "I saw one of the guys spike it."
Danny made an annoyed face, "Jeez what are we supposed to drink now?" he pouted.
"You don't drink?" Buster asked, he thought all the kids Danny's age drank even if they were still considered underage. He knew for a fact that Dash did.
"Uh, I try to avoid it when I can…It messes with me," Danny explained vaguely, "and I'm responsible enough to not let you drink," he added.
"It's okay, we'll manage" Buster said, consoling him. He wasn't in the mood to try mystery alcohol anyway.
Tucker jumped up off the table and looked around. Spotting something that caught his interest, his eyes widened. "Woah, that is one sick sound system," he marveled. Forgetting all ties to his friends, he made his way over to the DJ to pester him with an array of questions and suggestions.
"Well, we've officially lost him," Danny concluded, taking Tucker's spot on the table and gesturing for Buster to take a seat.
Pulling out a chair, Buster sat down and Sam followed suit. "Maybe Tucker's got the right idea, this is a party after all. We just need to make our own fun," she encouraged.
"What do you think we should do?" Buster asked.
Sam bit her lip in contemplation and cast her eyes around them, Danny followed her gaze. They watched as most of the guests danced in the main room across from them while others were standing in large crowds. Some guys were hollering and running around, throwing a football while toppling things over. There was also a small group playing pool in an adjacent room.
"That looks semi-fun," Sam commented, gesturing over to the game. She turned her head toward them and raised her eyebrow suggestively.
Danny looked over at Buster, making the decision together he looked back at Sam and shook his head. "Nah, you go ahead Sam." She shrugged, got up and sauntered over to the room, disappearing into the smoke.
"And then there were two," he proclaimed theatrically, in a deep voice, eliciting a laugh from his remaining friend. "So, this isn't really your idea of fun either huh?" he prompted, sensing the high level of discomfort rolling off of him.
Buster shot him a side glance, "you could say that," he shrugged, "I didn't really know what I was getting myself into when I agreed to come."
Danny nodded, he couldn't say he had any idea how a real party was like either. His limted experience was always interrupted and overshadowed by irritating ghosts.
Bored out of his mind, Danny got an idea. "Hey let me show you a trick," he said as he picked up a fork and a cloth napkin off the table. "Here you see and ordinary dining fork," he presented, getting into character. Buster chuckled as he straightened up in his seat and watched intently, "I will place this fork right here in front of you, please feel it and tell me. How does it feel?" he asked.
Buster raised an eyebrow but did as he said, "Cold and hard, almost like it really is just an ordinary fork you picked up off the table," he teased.
Unfazed by the skepticism, Danny placed the napkin over the fork, "Tell me, do you still feel it under there?"
Smiling, Buster raised his hand to ensure that the fork was in fact still there. "Yes, I still feel it."
Raising his left arm, Danny waved it in wide circles over the object, "Abracadabra, alakazam….poof." The napkin suddenly lost shape and fell limp around Danny's hand as he smirked up at his shocked friend.
"How…what? Woah, I had no idea you could do that!" Buster exclaimed excitedly, lifting the napkin off in search of the missing object.
Danny chuckled, it was just a little intangibility coupled with invisibility, basic stuff for him. He hadn't used it for magic tricks before though, it was pretty fun. Maybe he could pursue party entertainment as a career. He wouldn't have to worry about getting into college.
He let his thoughts wander as he waited for Buster to stop trying to figure out how he did the trick. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. His skin prickled under the feeling.
He was being watched.
Slowly, careful not to alert the assailant, Danny shifted his body to get a better view around him. Subtlety, he looked around, eyes fixing in the direction he felt the stare radiating from. Unexpectedly, Danny's eyes caught the culprit's, they momentarily locked gazes before the guy looked away. Oddly flushed.
'Why had Dash been watching me so intensely?' Danny wondered. Realizing that he was probably just checking on his cousin, Danny let his guard back down.
Turning his attention back to Buster, who was now practically under the table in search of the still invisible fork. "Hey Buster," he called, holding up the item, now completely solid, out toward him.
"How did you do that?!" Buster exclaimed in pure wonderment that reminded Danny of a five year-old.
"A magician never revels his secrets" he proclaimed.
Getting up, Danny grabbed a bag of chips and gestured for Buster to follow him. They climbed up the long flight of stairs and plopped down at the top. Danny opened the bag and lay down on his back. He looked up at the ceiling and through the skylight, "It's not the best view, but it will have to do" he said as he gestured for Buster to join him.
"You really do love stars, don't you?" Buster asked.
"That I do," Danny responded, through a mouthful of chips.
Enjoying each other's company, Buster and Danny lost track of time. They talked about anything and everything, laughing obnoxiously as they consumed the whole club size bag of chips that Danny had snagged. Buster had eaten most of it though.
Buster was surprised when he took out his phone and saw that it was past midnight, he had three missed calls from his Aunt and Uncle. Sensing his panic, Danny propped himself up into a sitting position to look over his shoulder. He winced as he spotted the alerts on the screen.
"What should I do?" Buster asked.
Danny raised his shoulders, "ignore the calls and blame Dash," he said nonchalantly.
For a moment Buster stared at him before they both burst into laughter.
"Maybe it is time to go though, let's go find our missing friends." Danny suggested as they both got up and headed down the stairs. Before they reached the bottom, Buster spotted a vaguely familiar girl heading their way.
As they stepped off the last stair, she intercepted their path. "I didn't think you made it! I was getting a bit worried" she exclaimed while batting her unnaturally long lashes, a hand placed delicately on Danny's left shoulder.
Buster stifled a laugh upon noticing the new shade Danny's face adopted. "Well here I am," he surprisingly managed to say as he looked anywhere but at her.
"Hey, the DJ is about to play my favourite song. Do you think you could join me on the dance floor?" She asked silkily. If Danny tried denying her interest in him now, Buster was personally going to bash him over the head with a bat.
Danny looked over at him as if asking for permission, Buster rolled his eyes. "Go, I'll be fine' he said confidently and watched as the last of his friends melted away from sight. "And then there was one," he said to himself grimly.
Sighing, he looked around. Not one direction seemed like a safe option if he didn't want to get lost. Making a decision, he climbed back up a few stairs and sat down. He silently watched the people below him, he couldn't hear the words they were saying so he resorted to filling in the blanks himself. Entertained for the time being, Buster relaxed into the hard wood.
"Enjoying yourself?" a mischievous voice filtered through the noise. It took a moment for Buster to realize the question was directed towards him.
Turning his head in time to see a familiar ginger make his way up the staircase, he scowled. "What do you want, Wes?"
Sitting down, brushing off the hostility, Wes smiled brightly at him. "Oh you know, just wanted to chat. I think we got off on the wrong foot," he said, swiping his hand casually through the air.
Buster really wasn't in the mood to talk to a psycho stalker, the look on his face was sending a chill down his spine. "Well I'm not interested," he dismissed, getting up to his feet to walk away. Maybe Danny was done with his dance, he should probably look for him so they could get home.
A hand grabbed his elbow, "Come one, just give me five minutes?" Wes pleaded, "I promise I won't freak out on you this time."
Giving him a skeptical look, Buster sank back down into his seat. "I doubt it," he muttered to himself. "So what is this really about?" he asked, turning his head to look Wes in the eye.
"Fenton" he answered simply.
Buster rolled his eyes, "what a shocker."
Holding up his arms in defense, "Hey, this is in your best interest. I'm not asking you to rat on your friend. I'm just trying to warn you." he said seriously.
"Warn me?" Buster questioned, "Of what?"
He watched as Wes's eyes glimmered in the rainbow light, "Fenton" he repeated.
Already tired of the conversation, "can you just get to the point?" Buster snapped.
Wes blinked, a sloppy grin appeared on his face making him look like a villain straight out a comic book. "I assume you've noticed, he's not exactly what you would call 'normal'," he emphasized.
"Neither are you," Buster immediately retorted, unable to take the guy seriously. He ran his fingers through his hair and wondered why no one forced him to get any professional help.
Unfazed by the jab, Wes pressed on. "You can't have known him for this long and not see that there's something off about him. He tries to pretend that he's perfect, but I see the lies." His voice raising a few octaves in the end. Rage simmering behind his glazed eyes.
Increasing the distance between them Buster wiped his sweaty palms off on his knees, 'he's drunk' he realized. Taking his silence as a que to continue, "I know you've felt it, it's impossible to be around him and not feel it! Everyone just falls for his innocent act and they ignore the signs." Now that Buster recognised Wes's drunken state, he noticed the words slurring together slightly. The air around them was thick and Wes's presence was suffocating.
"Feel what?" he questioned.
Wes's smile grew unnervingly wide as he leaned in, resting his chin in his palm, he whispered. "He's dangerous."
Buster scoffed despite himself, "You've got to be kidding me. This is Danny you're talking about. The guy helps old ladies cross the street and plays with random kids. He's even nice to Dash…most of the time," he reasoned. Wes didn't know Danny as well as he did, he was one of the nicest people Buster had ever met.
The smile slipped off of Wes's sweaty face, his eyes hardened. "Don't be so naïve, things aren't always as black and white as you think they are." The steel in his voice caught Buster off guard, and for a moment Wes seemed genuinely afraid but it quickly was replaced with raw fury.
"I've never even seen him hurt a fly," he weakly protested.
A dark humorous gleam shimmered in the ginger's eyes and he leaned further in. His lips beside Buster's ear, he whispered, "you should see what he did to my phone."
Buster could smell the alcohol in his breath, it made his stomach churn. He gulped for air, it was becoming harder to breath. He moved further away from the intoxicated teen, back pressed against the banister. Wes had him pinned under a searching stare, waiting. Buster forced himself to meet his gaze, unable to find words to reply, his mouth remained slightly agape.
"Wes? Hey Buddy! How have you been?" A familiar cheery voice called out.
At the sound, the boy in front of him flinched. Fear seeped through his clouded eyes, swirling with recognition. Wes lowered his eyebrows, putting on a false face of bravado, he turned to the new arrival. "I'm not you're buddy Fenton," he spat. He raised himself off the step and attempted to dramatically stomp down, but tripped over his feet.
"Woah, easy there" Danny said as he caught the fall.
Wes pushed Danny's hand off of his shoulders, "Don't touch me," he cautioned.
"You planning on driving home Wes?" Danny asked after getting a good look at the boy, "I could call you a cab."
Wes narrowed his eyes, "cut the act Fenton," he growled, "I'm hitching a ride with Logan so get off my back." With one final look in Buster's direction, he stalked away.
Buster looked at Danny who stood smiling in Wes' direction and shook his head, 'Wes thinks this guy is dangerous?' For a moment Buster had almost believed him.
Hoisting himself up he came to stand beside his friend, "Ready to find the others?"
Nodding at the suggestion, Danny gave him a grim smile, "Talk about mission impossible," he quipped before they navigated their way through the crowd.
The sound of boots against pavement echoed off the building walls in the empty street. The night was silent, a stark contrast to the commotion of the party. It was officially Christmas Eve, the ghosts were now bound by the truce. The one day of the year where Danny was allowed to fully relax. He breathed in the cool air, savouring the fresh smell of winter. 'Maybe Christmas isn't all bad,' he thought.
They were walking away from Sam's place, headed towards Buster's. Tucker had suggested a short cut through the sketchy part of town. Danny and Tucker were pretty familiar with the area, so he agreed. Besides, there was no one outside at this time of night.
"Guess what?" Tucker asked elatedly, "I've got a date this Saturday."
Danny looked at his best friend in astonishment, "the Foley charm finally worked its magic on some poor soul?" Tucker shot him a dirty glare to which Danny and Buster snickered. Danny waved his hand, "I'm just teasing dude, I'm happy for you. Who's the lucky girl?"
"Remember Rebecca from ninth grade Science? We exchanged phone numbers just before we left," he said, a huge smile plastered across his face.
"That's great man" Buster congratulated before he mischievously looked over at Danny. "What about you?" he asked.
"What about me?" Danny repeated obliviously.
"The dance? The pretty girl? How'd that go?" Buster clarified.
"Woah, hold up! You were dancing with a pretty girl?" Tucker exclaimed, "And it wasn't Sam?"
Glaring at both of them, Danny raised his hands, "I've told you a million times, I don't see Sam as anything more than a friend."
Tucker giggled, "Yeah, Yeah I know. So…the dance…" he said as he waggled his eyebrows.
Sighing, Danny put his hands in his jacket pockets. "The girl who invited us, Eva, she asked me to dance. I danced," he said dismissively.
Tucker whistled, "A senior? Dude," patting him on the back.
Smiling shyly, Danny turned his attention to Buster. "Hey, I forgot to ask. What did Wes want?" he inquired innocently enough, admittedly he was a bit concerned. Buster looked strangely frazzled by the question.
Scratching his head, "Wes? Oh he was too drunk to really say much," he said, his voice a few octaves higher.
Danny watched him fidget with his coat sleeve. Buster was lying. Danny had extensive experience in the lying department, he could pick it up pretty well. It didn't hurt that Buster was a terrible liar. Narrowing his eyes he wondered why Buster would lie to him. Wes had obviously been talking about Danny. No doubt. However, Buster didn't look like he just found out Danny's biggest secret…
Danny was about to call him out on the lie when a hooded figure stepped out from an alley, positioning himself in front of them. Instantly stopping in his tracks, Danny straitened his back, stiffened his muscles and protectively positioned his arms on either side of him, in front of his friends. "Hands up where I can see them," the figure rasped.
Human. Teenager. Not much older than them, Danny noted. "And if we don't," he asked defiantly.
The guy pulled something out from his pocket, holding it out in front of him, "I'll shoot."
Silently observing, Danny glanced at his arms. Shaking. His voice was unconfident. He probably needed money.
He shot Tucker a sideways glance as he made his decision. No ghost powers. Fenton would suffice. Communicating his plan through their eyes, they nodded slightly at each other. Tucker held out his arm behind Danny and grabbed the back of a shaking Buster's coat. He swiftly pulled him, positioning them both behind Danny. "Hey! No moving! Hands in the air or I'll shoot," the attacker commanded.
"What do you want from us?" Danny asked confidently, in an almost bored voice, taking a step forward.
He watched the guy attempt to steady his hold on the gun, "I know a bunch of rich kids when I see 'em. Give me all your cash," he gritted.
Chuckling, Danny shook his head, "You've got it all wrong dude. We're just as broke as you, so if you could just let us get by, that would be great," taking another step towards the guy.
"Danny, stop," Buster's frightened voice whispered from behind him.
He was close enough to the assailant now that he could make out his features from under the shadows of the hood. He looked terrible, Danny felt almost sorry for him. However, he knew that giving him money wouldn't really be the end of the problem, there was still a possibility that he would shoot after the fact. To clear his tracks. "Look, just empty out your pockets and quit the yapping. I'm serious, I'll shoot," the guy stated, his voice sounding slightly more confident. He was angry.
"I believe ya man, we just don't have anything to give you," Danny said as he trained his eyes straight at the gun. He briefly flicked his eyes over his shoulder and then up at the guy's face. Positioning his body correctly, he lifted up his right leg and struck.
In one dizzying instance, the guy fumbled backwards. The gun flipped up in the air. Jumping, Danny swiped it. Quickly held it out in front of him, skillfully pointed at the mugger.
Danny's eyes darkened as he slowly approached the now cowering teen. Fear ignited from within the depths of his soul and shone through his pupils as he stared at Danny's approaching form. Lifting the gun up, Danny held it against his pale forehead and turned off the safety. Taking a moment to glare menacingly, Danny leaned in and whispered into the teen's ear. "I guess you don't know 'em as well as you thought, huh?"
The guy didn't say a word, his eyelids slid down as he tightly shut his eyes. He stood there in silent prayer as if accepting his impending death. Taking pity on the boy, Danny withdrew the gun, but didn't move his body. The boy's eyes shot open, peering questioningly at Danny. Giving him a dark, sideways grin, he nodded his head forward, "Get out of here." Wasting no time, the teen took a few steps back before turning and bolting.
Danny laughed at the sight, looked down at the gun before emptying out the bullets. Chucking them into the alley's dumpster he held up his knee, brought down the weapon and snapped it in two. Ignoring the gasp from behind him, he threw the broken pieces in with the bullets before turning around. Tucker instantly high-fived him, unfazed by the events that just unfolded, but one look at Buster and Danny knew that he was a completely different story.