See? The outline works!

Jason: Oh sure, Specs, let's celebrate. Can we do it by going back to this story?

Sarcasm kills, you know. Anyways, I guess you guys could tell which is mine and which isn't, right? Ok then. Onward!

So, nothing really happened in the first five days here in Amity Park. We just kept on unpacking our boxes and placing them in our rooms. My sister got the room that is said to belong to my younger aunt's while mom and dad both stayed in the extra bedroom in the big UFO thingy. Whenever we stopped and rested, my parents would talk about our lives back at Florida while my grandparents talked about what they did here. I took no interest in being part of the conversation and resided to staying in my room, still unpacking my own stuff. I was able to bring out all my sketchbooks and coloring materials and place them on the now empty shelves. The posters were now taken down by my dad, much to my relief, and my comics and mangas were yet to be stacked and arranged neatly. On other days, that Toni girl would visit and help us with the moving but I, being me, locked myself in my room when she came. Still not used to girls yet.

On the sixth day of my stay, it was Friday and all our things were already out. My mom allowed me to rest in my room that morning and I was much obliged. I hated working as much as I hated being in a crowd. For almost two hours, I kept on sketching out my ideas. I thought I would be able to finish them today since I had all the time in my hands but that was before someone burst into the room. The pencil fell off my hand as I turned towards the door, my eyes widening from shock. By the door was Toni, looking at me like I was a cornered mouse.

"Jason, it's been five days and you haven't decided if you want the tour or not."

I groaned at my stupidity. I had completely forgotten to lock the door at that time because I was so into my drawing. I picked up my pencil, trying to form an excuse in my mind.

"Uh, I'm sorry," I replied as I looked up, "I'm really not in the mood to see the place and…"

"Yeah, you're just never in the mood, are you?" Toni stated as she rolled her eyes, "I stayed around yesterday and listened to your parents talk about you. It seems like you never want to leave your room from what I heard."

"No, I… wait, what?" I felt flushed. She sounded like she was stalking me or something just by listening to my parents. Heck, I wondered why she even bothered to listen to them in the first place!

As I just stared at her in shock, Toni walked up to me and with every word she emphasized, she poked my forehead. "You, Mr. Fenton, will go and see Amity Park no matter how much you hate to go out."

I swatted her hand away, annoyed with her now. Forget stalkers. She was just insane enough to make me leave my room.

"Sorry but I really don't want to go anywhere but here. So if you could be kind enough to leave me in peace, I'd be more grateful."

At the corner of my eye, I saw Toni turn towards the door. I smiled to myself with satisfaction. I thought she was going to leave me alone…

"Gotcha!"

… but she proved me wrong by swiftly turning around and snatching my sketchbook from under my nose. Literally, it hit my nose.

"Ow! Why you…"

She teasingly winked at me as she ran towards the window. I tried to leap from my chair but my foot got caught at the end of my jeans so I tripped in the process. Scrambling to get onto my feet, I watched in horror as she placed the sketchbook right outside the window. She looked at me as her grip around my sketchbook threateningly loosened. I could only stare, unable to move.

"Toni," I said as calmly as I could, "that's my sketchbook. I swear to God I will kill you if you ever let that go."

Toni smirked, her hidden intent clearly seen in her eyes. I didn't like the look of them. She swung my sketchbook in her hand as she said, "You can have your sketchbook back. Just promise that you'll grab that jacket of yours and go out to see town."

I snorted unintentionally. This girl just landed herself in the insane list permanently. I then tried to stop looking annoyed because she lowered the sketchbook further. After burying my face in my palm, I mumbled a few inaudible words I could not say out loud. Toni raised an eyebrow. "What did you say?" she asked as she lowered the sketchbook once more.

"I said that I'm going," I muttered in defeat. Satisfied with my reply, Toni tossed my sketchbook at my bed. I glared at her as I picked it up. She made her way to the door as she grabbed my jacket and tossed it to my face.

"C'mon, Mr. Artist," she mocked me, "I have to tell your parents that I was able to get you out of this place."

Huh, it figures why she was so persistent.

"See, it wasn't that bad."

Rolling my eyes, I muttered under my breath, "It's only a matter of opinion."

It was around eleven thirty in the morning and she was able to introduce to me more than half of the town. We already passed by the local mall, the post office, the town hall. Everything that was new or old. She was able to name every street we passed by. If anything, she knew the place like the back of her hand. As she toured me around, I didn't try to soak in all the information. I also placed my hood over my head to prevent her from seeing my bored face. I really didn't feel like memorizing the whole town. I just wanted to get back to my drawing.

"So," Toni said as she spun around and began walking backwards, "Are you enjoying yet or are you still being a stick in the mud?"

"Well, you forced me out. How do expect me to enjoy if I told you I wasn't in the mood?"

Toni shrugged. "You have to love the place in one way or another. You'll be staying here for the next four years of your life."

"I know," I said as my eyes traveled for a bit. I soon caught a glimpse of a local restaurant. I was about to turn my attention away from it but I then noticed Toni walking towards it.

"Well, I know how to lighten your mood," she said, "Let's eat."

As I watched her lead the way, I sighed since there was no other choice but to follow her in. Walking towards the place, I was able to swallow every detail in. The name of the resto was Spook's Café. Right beside its name was a ghost with its tail curling underneath it. Outside were a bunch of white umbrellas that were used to prevent sunlight from hitting the table and the tables and chairs were alternately black and white. When we entered, the tables and chairs were pretty much the same as the outside. The theme of the place was obviously about ghosts, judging by the wallpaper, the name of the food on the advertisements, and the other bits of accessories. Even with its ridiculousness, this seemed like a popular eatery for teens judging by their number here.

Toni then led me to a seat near the windows and said, "So, what would you like to order?"

I looked down at the menu before I said, "I guess I'll just have their spaghetti."

"Ok, the 'Bloody Worms'? I'll just get 'Spook's Burger'. I'll be right back."

As she turned and left for the counter, I simply turned and looked about. I noticed that I was getting some weird looks from the other teens in here, leaving me a bit uncomfortable as I pulled on my hood closer to my face. I knew that I was the new kid in town and they probably realized that as well. The thing all new kids hated, I noticed, are first impressions. I swear that I still remember one back in my old school and he screwed up on his first day. Ever since then, he was known to be the 'Walking Disaster'. Harsh, I know, but I guess that's life. Now I'm just worried about mine.

As I began to fiddle with the zipper of my jacket, Toni came back with a tray in her hand.

"And it is served," she said as she placed the tray on the table. She then passed the flimsy Styrofoam box to me before she got her burger.

The first few minutes of eating was spent in silence. I don't know why though. Maybe she felt the pressure of the stares around us. After waiting for a bit, I then decided to break it.

"So," I muttered awkwardly as I poked a meatball with my fork, "how long have you known my grandparents? When I first came, I thought it was pretty weird that you knew them better than I did."

Toni smiled at that after placing her burger down and wiping her mouth. "Well, I've known them around last year. They were cool enough to let me in their home when it was raining so hard outside. They even contacted my parents when I gave their number and informed them that I was fine. I've been visiting them ever since that day."

I paused for a while a thought. Then I proceeded with my next question. "Besides my grandparents, don't you have any friends around here? You've been very friendly with me and all but…"

Before I even finished my sentence, I noticed that Toni glared at the ground. That left me in a shock since I've always seen her so bubbly. She then replied coldly, "You don't need to know everything about me."

I could only stare at that moment. What could make her this upset? I remained silent for a while but Toni seemed to change her mood almost immediately and said, "Ok, my turn. Why did you bring your backpack? All you have inside it are a bunch of art stuff and a sketchbook."

It took a while to process what she said before I replied. "Oh, yeah. My art stuff," I mumbled, "Well, I guess I could never leave home without it. I prefer to draw stuff in my house but I bring it with me just in case I have an idea in my head."

"Cool. May I look?"

I bit my lip while I held onto my backpack. I was hesitant. I know she wanted to look at it but I don't really like to show off my sketches. You could say that most of them were… kinda private. That even includes my fanart.

"I don't know," I said as I unconsciously placed the backpack at my side. "I never even show any of them ever since…"

"Don't be such a sissy pants," she said with a smile, "I promise I won't make fun of it."

Mentally slapping myself, I got the sketchbook out. I guessed that it wouldn't hurt if I showed some of them, right?

Once the sketchbook was in her hands, she immediately flipped through. I waited for any rude comments from her but instead, she gasped in amazement.

"Wow, I never knew you had this in you," Toni said as she flipped through page after page, "I've seen other stuff online but this…"

"It isn't really much," I said as I looked away.

"You're kidding me. Seriously, I couldn't beat you even after years of practice."

I felt blood flow to my face as I looked at the sketchbook in her hand. I had to admit, she was right. I hate to brag but most of my sketches were quite detailed for anyone who draws in my age. Realistic and anime were drawn all over its pages and even some contained complete works. There was even a bunch of concept art at the corner. I wouldn't like the call myself some sort of master but I still think I could use a bit more practice.

"Thanks," I muttered, "This is the second time I've shown it to anybody outside my family."

"Really? Why?"

I sighed as a leaned against the chair. "I don't really wanna talk about and…"

"Hey, I know this guy."

I then sat up straight and leaned closer to the drawing Toni had pointed out. It was quite a rough pencil sketch but it was clear that it was a drawing of a teen about my age. He had messy hair and a spandex suit that was similar to my grandfather but it was simply black and white with certain shades of gray to show lighting. His eyes were intense, as if he was ready to face an enemy that was hidden in the shadows. Smudged pencil marks on his hands indicated the smoke coming out of it. As I looked at the drawing, I felt a small tug at the side of my mouth.

"Yeah, Danny Phantom," I said, "My dad used to tell me about him all the time when I was young. He told me that he lived right here in Amity Park and told me he protected this place, and the world, several times."

"Wow, you seem to know a lot about him," Toni said as she kept on staring at the drawing.

"Yeah, he's probably my childhood. The funny thing was that I used to believe him as real but he's just nothing more than a fairytale."

Right at that moment, Toni slammed her fist on the table, almost making me jump. "No he's not; he's as real as you'll ever be!"

"Toni, calm down," I said as I looked around to see if people were staring before I glared at her, "You're taking this Danny Phantom thing to seriously."

"Of course I am. That's because he is real. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton…"

"… Are my dad's parents and must've told him all about him when he was little."

"No, it's more than that. It's…"

"Toni, please. Do I have to say it twice?"

"Jason, I…"

"End of discussion, ok? Danny Phantom is out of sight and out of mind. Can we move on?"

Toni's shoulder seemed to tense. I felt a little guilty but I just don't want to talk about Phantom. Ever. Sure, I might draw him one-fifth of the time but that's it. It stops right there.

"Fine," Toni said as she folded her arms, "but I just believe in him, ok? Call me crazy if you want but the way Mr. and Mrs. Fenton said all his stories like they were really personal, you know? Also, they're ghost hunters and…"

"Whoa, hold onto that. Did you just say ghost hunters?" I asked as my curiosity was tugged upon.

"What, you didn't know? Jeez, I expected you to be better than that," Toni said, rolling her eyes. "Yes, they're ghost hunters. It would be pretty obvious with your grandfather since he wears that spandex all the time. Both of them had retired but that doesn't stop them from building one thing after another."

"Did they catch a ghost by any chance?"

"I don't know. Every time Mr. Fenton wants to tell something about it, Mrs. Fenton stops him. I don't know why but it seems like they want the ghost thing here in Amity Park to die down."

"Die down?" I said as I a bit leaned closer.

"Well, it's my theory. I checked out several sites related to this town and this place used to be a literal ghost town, according to many of them. Funnily, most of the folks here don't care about spirits existing anymore. Some of them still do. A perfect example is the owner of this place," she said as she looked around the restaurant.

"Ok, it's cool and all but come on. They could probably be hoaxes like the classic alien report on the radio."

"Could be, could be not. Anything is possible."

I sighed. My curiosity about this place multiplied at least by a hundred times. You know how those geeks enjoy those theories and sightings of the paranormal? Yeah, I'm probably one of them. I just had to find a hobby that uses the internet.

"You feeling alright, Jason?"

"Hm? Oh… yeah, whatever. Too much in my mind."

She nodded. "It's alright. I just hope you're not tired yet. We still have to go to the park where this place was named after."

As soon as we finished up our lunch, we both went out of the restaurant and started to make our way towards the park. She told me it was still across town and it takes a while to go there from the restaurant.

On our way, we talked about several things. Even if she was annoying at first, I guess she was pretty cool for a girl. When we were close to the park, I noticed that Toni gave me a glance and then looked away immediately. I caught her doing so.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing," she said as she looked onto the ground. "We're almost there anyway."

"Oh, sure. Why did this park have to be… ARGH!"

Right at that moment, a burst of pain came from my chest. It was almost like electricity was surging through my heart. I clutched onto my chest, sweat suddenly forming on my forehead. I faltered for a second but just as the feeling came, it went.

"Jason, what just happened? Are you alright?" Toni said as she held onto me for support.

"I don't know. It felt like a heart burn," I said as I still held onto my chest. Whatever it was, I knew it wasn't normal. I may be a weak kid but walking for so long wouldn't exhaust me easily. I took in a deep breath and tried to get back to my normal posture. Before I did, I caught something move in the corner of my eye. I slowly looked to my right. When I looked up, I saw a small abandoned building. There were multiple cracks on the wall and the paint on it was beginning to peel off. The sign above the entrance was no more since every word had faded away, as if it was forgotten. The old canvas was ripped and shredded and the atmosphere about it made every hair in my body stand. I stared at the place for what felt like five seconds before I saw something move again. Right around the door leading to the back of the place, a pair of eyes was staring right at me from the darkness. When the mysterious figure moved into the light, I was shocked to see who it was.

A little girl.

Hooray! Now we are done with Chapter 3! The next chapter is probably my favorite one. So I hope you guys review for a faster update! :D

Jason: And pelt her with tomatoes if she fails to do so.

OnO