Daniel Masters was an odd sort of boy, even for your typical teenager. On one hand, the eternal 17 year old stood at an average 5'8" with fringe as white as snow and undercut fuzz as black as night. A pair of electric green eyes lay embedded in freckles cheeks and he usually bore a small smile that held many secrets. But then again, what teenagers didn't? On the other hand, there was his sickly parlour that was forever tinged green and the unnaturally supernatural powers he wielded with effortless ease.
It's not really something you'd expect if you dared to ask nor the quietness of the 17 year old. Not his age, mind you, but the years that he had been stuck at that age. Perpetually in a mysterious state where he was not quite there and yet not quite here. Mysterious only in that fact that he no longer existed. Technically.
Daniel "Danny" Fenton had gone missing—runaway—10 years ago, following the salvation of Earth from the incoming asteroid and the ensuing witch hunt courtesy of the Guys in White. He had missed his best friends and family terribly, but knew deep down that it was for the best. Turning the whole planet intangible had taken a lot out of the young teen, even with all the help he had received and he'd felt his human half slip further from his grasp with each passing moment. After being zapped (and clinically murdered) with the Ghost Portal not once, but twice in one year, it was no wonder that he had slowly become more ghost than human.
It had been a hard day when Fenton had merged with Phantom, taking away the familiar features he had come to know and turning them into something entirely new and otherworldly. His ears had become pointy, flesh melting into a sickly pastel green and dotted with green freckles. Once blue eyes bled to electric green and the top half of his hair remained the bleached white of his ghost form (but surprisingly not the roots).
Then there was the whole incident with his parents finding about his alter ego when doomsday crept ever closer. Let's just say, things had not turned out as picture-perfect as everyone seemed to think. Even if you have the best intentions, changing one's beliefs didn't happen overnight and his parents had been ghost hunters long before either he or his sister were even a thought in their minds.
But now, in his place stood Daniel "Dan" Masters, nomadic teen and taco builder extraordinaire. Dan had taken his adoptive uncle's name to both spite the man and hide in plain sight. Those who had known him in the past, would likely assume that he'd never have anything to do with the (former) millionaire and they would be right; but no one could deny that it was a good cover and it certainly helped that in this new form he bore some sort of resemblance to the elder halfa. As far as the world as concerned, Daniel "Danny" Fenton had been missing for twelve years & considered dead and although it had been hard, it was truly for the best.
Of course, the first few years on the run had been hard, there was no denying or sugarcoating that. But he felt like his life had been turned around when he had discovered Amity. Amity was a navy seven seater van that had been converted into a camper van; one barely large enough to comfortably fit himself, Cujo and all their things inside. With a surprising amount of ample storage hidden within nooks and crannies, a convertible futon bed and enough room for the small dog to run around without going stir-crazy Daniel felt like he finally had a piece of home that he had longed for ever since leaving—something he could finally call his own. How he had obtained Amity was another story entirely, one best kept for a rainy day.
Arcadia Oaks had been kind to Dan. In a town where 'the weird' was normal and the things that go bump in the night was just the day-to-day, he found that he fit right in. From the arcane magic store that sat nestled between a record store and a second-hand bookstore, to the pudgy taco vendor/unofficial forger (his boss) and the hordes of sharp-eyed elderly with their chess tournaments. But that didn't mean there was other things about the town that were typical of a sleepy American town. Like the high school, for example. Arcadia Oaks High School was about what you'd expect from a small town high school. Everyone knew everyone, often making the new kid a spectacle until something new came along.
Twelve years on, and he was finally able to enjoy the normal teenager things, free from fear that a ghost/ghoul would show up to create mischief or the GIW would turn around the corner invent on capturing him. Things like detention and with high school came all the bells and whistles, something that Dan had been sorely missing though he would never admit it; well, maybe to Cujo but that dog was like his little shadow loyally following after him wherever he went. Even to school, which incidentally, was how he wound up here.
Bright and early that Saturday morning, Dan found himself watching from his van parked in one of the special spots reserved for seniors as he watched the other 'bad kids' trickled inside the sparse school building looking despondent at the idea of Saturday detention, devouring the last of his breakfast. People watching had always been a favourite past-time for the ghost boy, quiet as he was (and now without the human shield that were his best friends). First there was Claire Nuñez, daughter of Councilwoman-in-the-making, Ophelia Nuñez and all round nice girl. Claire might've been considered a popular girl, but Arcadia Oaks High didn't really have too many of the cliché cliques (aside from the jocks, nerds & bullies) as the population wasn't really big enough for that kind of thing.
Next was James "Jim" Lake Jr, nice guy & great in the kitchen (or so his best friend liked to boast). With a penchant for the colour blue, a love for mopeds and an obvious crush on Claire, the boy seemed like your regular teenager, if not for the odd company he kept at night. The ghosts in Arcadia loved to talk and boy, did they share the juicy details pertaining to little boy blue. Speaking of his best friend, there was Tobias "Toby" Domzalski. A stocky boy who lived for sweater vests, geology and burritos. A constant customer at El Guerito's Tacos, Dan knew more about that boy than he would likely care to know.
Eli Pepperjack was a conspiracy theorist in khakis. There was really no other way to put it. Big thick glasses and an obsession with the Other. From what little he'd seen from the teen, he was forever going on about strange creatures dancing in the shadows of their little town. It should be known that not all of his stories rang with false information.
Steve Palchuck played the titular character of stereotypical jock & bully, although if rumours were to be believed Eli was slowly training him out of it, like one would a dog. Blonde locks swept back, the jock was just as full of himself as he was pretty. But according to the local rumour mill, he was the first to fall under the supposed gas leak from the science lab a few weeks before Dan had arrived and had run about the school claiming that no one else but him was Steve. So possible identity crisis?
Which left Mary Wang and Shannon Longhannon. Although a mouthful and a half, Shannon was a sweet girl if a little pensive and mousy at times. Unless of course, you got her fired up about something as Dan had experienced when he had scoffed about the supposed difference between paperback and hardcover books. Never again. Now, if anyone was to be considered popular, it would be Mary. Straight A student by day and star-chasing influencer by night; the girl always seemed to know where the party was at if she was not the one currently hosting one. All of the kids were technically a year below Dan, although he had been stuck at 17yrs for the past ten years so to him they really were just that, kids.
"Be good, Cujo" Dan farewelled his energetic dog and (current) best friend before finally departing from his van, exchanging his empty bowl for his schoolbag and locking the door tight behind him. "I won't be long" Leaving his muted jacket hang open to reveal the Phantom shirt beneath (which no one had yet to connect himself to outside of wearing it), the older teen made for the school doors as the last of the parents doing the drop-off fled around the corner (after making sure that their misbehaving children actually made it inside the building without doing a runner). Dan had specifically bought the jacket in a larger size more so for comfort and to hide his wiry muscles from superheroing more than anything else. Whilst he wasn't exactly Mr Muscle Man, he was still rather self conscious about his body all these years later. He wasn't sure if it was really something he would ever get over.
Slipping into Senior Uhl's as quiet as well, the dead, Dan shuffled over to his seat in the back of the room next to the window, doing his best to ignore the wandering eyes tracing his hunched figure as he made his way there and just in time for the Austrian Spanish teacher to make his grand entrance. In a lot of ways Uhl reminded Dan of Mr Lancer, his vice-principal from Casper High back in Amity Park. They were both hard on the kids in order to better them, although the only real difference between the two teachers (aside from their roles within the school) was the hair or lack thereof. Where Lancer had sported a shiny bald head, Uhl bore locks of blonde that he maintained with just as much care as his beloved truck, Suzannah.
Sitting in the back corner of the room as he was, Dan was not only able to watch was going on in front of him like it was a soap opera, but he was mostly left alone to do so. Something that he took full advantage of by discreetly hiding his earphones inside of his shirt so that he could listen to the radio whilst he completed his homework with the window next to him cracked open just a pinch. Not that he needed the cold breeze, Dan created enough of a cold spot all on his own, owing to his cryokinetic abilities.
"…There are no cellphones allowed" Uhl stated as he walked down the rows with an empty filing box to collect all of their cellphones in, his Austrian accent thick on his tongue. "You can survive without your texts & your apps, your beepy-boops, your facey-spaces and your tweety-flaps" Mary, who had resolutely been ignoring the blonde standing over her, continued to snap posed pictures for whichever of her latest stories. Dan had to admit though, the girl wasn't half-bad with that kind of thing, unlike him. But then again, he hadn't really grown up social media as it now was. Hell, when he'd been a kid, he was still using a flip phone! None of this touch-screen stuff, which is why he wouldn't say so aloud because not only would it oust him, it made him sound like a grumpy old man.
"For your transgressions" Uhl stated after not-so-calmly ripping Mary's cellphone from her hands and depositing it into his box as he made his way back up to the front. "You are to do homework the entire duration"
"What if I already did my homework?" Eli raised his hand, pride clear in his voice and surprisingly on Steve's face.
"You will sit and stare at the wall. You will not leave this room. If I find even one of you has left the room without permission, then you will all face punishment. Do you understand?" Uhl replied over the buzzing of phones and the groans of the class.
"Yes~!" Groaned the class, many of them rolling their eyes in the process. Unlike the others however, Dan wasn't complaining; after his dismal start to his high school career twelve years ago, he was more than happy for the structured set up in order to finish it. There was also the mountain of homework seniors seemed to get in order to prepare them for finals, graduation and eventually college. Although the punishment/threat was a little over the top.
"What is that, Mr Domzalski?" Uhl pointed to the breakfast burrito Toby held mere inches from his drooling mouth, making the boy go wide-eyed and sheepish at the sudden attention.
"Oh this?" Toby replied as Jim face-palmed next to him, "It's a, er, Diablo Maximus Breakfast Burrito…"
"Ah, Diablo Maximus Breakfast Burrito! Smells delicious" Uhl purred, prowling closer.
"It's my favourite!"
This is going to end in tears, Dan predicted as he watched the Spanish teacher reel the junior in.
"Oh, your favourite, you say? You steal my favourite truck—"
"Ehh~!"
"I steal your favourite burrito" Uhl snatched the offending food from Toby, who replied like an injured dog. Actually, he also looked like a kicked puppy as his burrito was carted away.
"Ahh~!"
"As they say, fair play is turnabout. Detention will start: Now!"
The minutes had barely ticked by as pen scratched against paper and Uhl taunted Toby with his uneaten burrito. Dan had only just made his way through the first paragraph of his astronomy essay when the discussion had started up again. "…Heh! I usually eat when I'm worried and now I can't even do that?" Toby complained as his stomach roared within the quiet classroom. "Curse you, Senior Uhl!"
"Diablo Maximus Breakfast Burrito" Uhl taunted, waving the uneaten burrito around as he had very likely heard the comment from the boy two feet in front of him.
"I feel guilty sitting here when there's a chance that Gunmar's out!" Added Claire.
"Blinky and Aaarrrggh are already looking into it" Jim reassured her. "Without proof that Gunmar really escaped, there's no point causing a panic in Troll Market"
So that's what he was talking about. Dan mused, pointed ears turned towards the hushed conversation at the front of the room. Arcadia's dead were more than happy to spread the gossip about the living; particularly the odd little things that happened to the hidden residents of the town. To one who could communicate with the dead, secrets weren't really secrets and even if they were, they didn't stay that way for long. Griddle, a large stone-faced troll with ornate horns that curled back towards his head, had been one of the first of such creatures he had come across when he first moved to Arcadia Oaks. Griddle loved to poetically wax about the beauty of the heartstone, his time as a snorlauf whatever that was (his stories never really fully explained) and Troll Market itself. He often painted a picture of beauty lined with geodes and random little knickknacks that were considered to be delicacies to the trolls, like socks.
"… Oh!" Eli jerked, dropping his book (which was upside down in a poor attempt to act natural) when Toby threw a ball of scrunched up paper at him and knocked his glasses clean off his face. Dan winced as the incident reminded him of the time he had been confronted and falsely accused by Sidney Pointdexter, a vengeful ghost from the '50s who protected the bullied or so he believed.
"Mind your own business!" Toby snarked as Jim and Claire gave the boy matching looks sneering disdain.
"Mind your own face, buttsnack!" Steve snarled as he jolted awake, snatching the second projectile from the air and fired it back before it could hit Eli.
"Since when are you and Dumbledork such besties?" Mary inquired.
"Uh, what? No! We're not besties! Ew! That guy? No!" Steve panicked, before shoving Eli out of his seat, clearly embarrassed. But the reply reminded Dan of something a big brother might do when he was confronted with the idea of actually thinking that his younger sibling(s) were cool.
"Mmm" Uhl hummed, completely ignoring the commotion going on in front of him as he debated on whether or not to eat the burrito. "It can't be that spicy…"
"Ah! It is that spicy!" Toby panicked, stage-whispering to Jim & Claire leant in to listen as Uhl began to devour the spicy burrito . "It took me three years to build a tolerance for a single bite and he's wolfing it down in one go!"
"Mm ah! That's good" Uhl smiled, sucking the sauce off of his fingers. At least that was until the burrito hit him at full force. Toby's growling stomach was nothing compared to the upset gut of Senior Uhl which sounded almost cartoonic in its upset; particularly when it was followed by a loud burp. "Ooh! Oof! Got a bit of a kick, ja"
"Eurgh!" Eli groaned as he picked himself off of the floor, just a little worse for wears. "Good hit Steve, way to protect our cover"
"Mmhm" Steve hummed cockily.
"I'm starting to think that Jim and the others aren't here on 'Official Business'"
"Wait—so you're saying, we gave ourselves detention for nothing?!"
"Why is everyone gossiping and not gossiping with me?" Mary despaired as she plucked a second phone from her pockets. "Oh my gosh! Are they gossiping about me?!"
"I'll gossip with you, Mary" Shannon offered from the other back corner of the room.
"Shut up, Shannon!"
"Stop squabbling!" Uhl barked, "From now on, not another word!"
The command would've been more impactful if the Austrian didn't then bolt from his seat and rush out of the door clutching on to his stomach with face grim and eyes wide. Hurried footsteps sounded against the linoleum floor before the bathroom door at the end of the hall was heard slamming open and then shut as Uhl rushed inside. The following noises were not something for a squeamish stomach; sometimes Dan cursed his enhanced senses.
"Ugh!" Steve groaned as he repositioned himself, most likely intent on sleeping away the detention.
"He hasn't been back in a while" Toby worried. "Think something happened to him?"
"Like what, exactly? You know something we don't?"
"Where—where are you going?" Claire asked as Jim slid from his seat and Dan bit his tongue in an effort to hold back whatever he had to say. There would undoubtedly be questions and he wasn't exactly the best liar, which was ironic really.
"Just to see where he went" Jim replied.
"But we're not supposed to leave!" Eli cried.
"I'm just poking my head out"
When judgement didn't seem to rain down upon Jim, Claire joined him at the door followed by Toby and then the rest of the class. "It's like a broken yoghurt machine!" Claire grimaced.
"Eurgh! Sounds like lasagne getting shot out of a t-shirt cannon!" Mary added.
"Yeah, that burrito had three ghost peppers in it. Too much spice for his delicate Austrian stomach" Explained Toby.
"He could be in there all day" Claire ended.
"All day?" Mary beamed mischeviously. Dan was the last to leave his seat, sparing a glance out the window at his van where he knew Cujo was likely wanting out by now and moved to the classroom door where the younger students bore matching grins as they listened to their teacher horribly defecate. Arcadia Oaks was no Amity Park, but it sure had its moments.
