The Little Things
(?) Three-shot request for xechoheartx. When you have someone to loathe so dearly as Dash did for Daniel Fenton, the very worst and last thing you can do is fall in love with them. One-sided Swagger Bishie, Pitch Pearl.
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Chapter Two: My Huckleberry Friend
Well, this is kind of out of my comfort zone here, folks, but here's the latest installment. I thought of a possible ending for this story, but I try to write from an unbiased view, so...um...the ending might just surprise you, if you guys want me to write part III. I have a feeling that some of you will be out for my blood, and that's perfectly fine. *Shrugs* I might just be done with yaoi writing after this one. (Of course, I intend to finish all the stories I started.)
'My Huckleberry Friend' is a line from a very famous tune called 'Moon River.' For some really weird reason or another, it makes me think of Dash...
I originally wanted to ask Echoheart if I could change the pairing from 'Pitch Pearl' to 'Pompous Pep,' because I have a little more experience in that field, but considering I could learn to take a look at Dash (When I really don't care for his character, it made me just a little more sympathetic for the jerk), I could explore the possibility of 'Phantom' having a personality of his own. (I hear ANY of you guys refer to Danny and Danny as 'aibou,' 'yami,' or 'hikari,' I will never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever update this story. EVER. I might give the third installment to Echoheart in private, because she's awesome, BUT YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED, PEOPLE!
:) Just kidding. But please don't flame me. In all honesty, too many people like to turn cartoons into heyday gaydays.
Please review and enjoy, everyone.
Phantom was beautiful.
That wasn't a term Dash Baxter used lightly, considering: One, the only things his family coined in such an eloquent sense usually was diamonds and fantasy football fields, and Two: He'd only learned what the word actually meant a few weeks ago.
Fervently glad that it was the weekend, Dash skulked underneath the soaring ghost's shadow on the ground, face soon shining with exertion, the familiar pounding starting off in his chest, as though he were chasing after a rival school's quarterback.
These were moments which Dash normally lived for, but now, there was a mingled sense of desperation in his speed, as though the clock were counting down the final seconds of a game. He mustn't lose sight of the ghost boy-not now, when he might actually get a chance to TALK to him.
It seemed most unlikely, but they knew one another, now. There had been that mess with that creepy metallic hunter ghost that had chased the two of them when they'd been puny little cockroaches running for their lives in Fentina's household.
The boy scoffed slightly as he ran, rich violet eyes anxiously scanning the skies.
It always came back to Fentina, but if he had to be a fag, might as well try flirting with a guy metrically out of his league. With any luck, Phantina would be a good sport, and slowly and gently break his heart with a look of disgust. That might chase the bully back to his senses, and he'd ask Paulina to the prom once she too realized that Phantina probably wouldn't go for her, either.
The thought left him surprisingly smug as he leapt over a series of bushes, cursing as the thorns and twigs got caught up in his jacket, tugging him backwards. Annoyed, after a moment, he simply shrugged it away, and hurled it to the side as Phantom began to descend towards the ground, near the little nook of trees that was behind the outskirts of Casper High property.
It had only cost seventy dollars. Jackets could be repurchased. This, however, could not be missed, not without him feeling singularly regretful, possibly for the rest of his life.
At least, more so than he normally was deep down inside.
He would be leaving for school soon, and chances were, he'd never see Phantina ever again. What would he say, how he'd introduce himself, he didn't know. The ghost hadn't been all that happy with him once the jock had proposed that they shove Fenton's head down the toilet together-old habits die hard-and had shrunk him again with that weird little machine, only begrudgingly returning Dash to normal once he could make out a tiny apology from a figure that was maybe an inch and a half tall.
So Phantina was decent. Hopefully, he at least recalled Dash more than just last week's news, but he'd be willing to settle for that.
He ran past the locked school doors, nearly tripped over a row of bike slots, and muttered a few more choice profanities as he dashed after the ghost, stumbling onhis was more appealing than a sweepstakes drawing for a date with Ember McLain. (Only much more so, considering it was all too likely that he was…..well…..)
He nearly ran headlong into a tree, so transfixed by the sky had he been. Rubbing the stinging side of his face that HAD been smacked headlong into the oak, the teenager angrily paused, kicked the tree, which altogether didn't do much good, considering there was now a stinging star of pain present in his foot now as well as his now swollen left side of his face. Wincing, Dash's uninjured eye went to searching for his target again, only to find, much to Baxter's despair, that it had disappeared. After scanning frantically back and forth, however, amongst the few picnic benches scattered out here, he found, with a sigh of relief, that the ghost had landed, and was now a mere twenty feet away, peering up into the blooming leaves on a nearby tree.
Dread took the place of joy, and the other half of his face colored. The blond found himself hurriedly ducked behind a tree, panting heavily, his chest continuously rising and falling from exertion. His heart was thudding like a jackhammer behind his ribs, or like a bunch of overpaid, overmuscled football players trampling their way down a field.
He was scared. Much as he loathed to admit it, he was most certainly frightened.
Danny Phantom turned his head, pewter green eyes glittering, while his ghostly white hair flickered serenely over his eyes in the late afternoon breeze. He let out a soft sigh, and picked up a small stone on the ground, considered it, and it disappeared in his silvery fist. After a moment, the ghost boy's entire hand burst into crackling emerald flames.
Still peeking out behind the tree, Dash opened his mouth to shout out a warning, but just as suddenly as they had appeared, the fire had vanished, and now, Amity Park's self-appointed deputy's beautiful, graceful hand was left untouched, sleek, and shining in its glove once again. The ghost opened his fist, and watched as a trickle of ashes was swept away to the Earth with a strong blast of wind that set his brilliant hair flying.
All the blood pooled to Dash's face as a group of upset birds indignantly fluttered away, cawing or twittering their discontent. For a moment, Phantom just stood there, and Dash was glad for it, and for the silence. Speaking would only break the magic, this surreal scene from a dead dude that might as well be an angel, or an-
He froze as he heard footsteps. Superb reflexes had him whipping his head around sharply at the slight noise in this little glade, but he saw nothing. Phantom, however, appeared to have had heard it also, and as Dash's greedy gaze flickered back to him, he heard him speak:
"I was hoping you'd come," he said, after a moment's pause, his Peridot eyes downcast. "I didn't really want to…..y'know, leave things the way we did last time."
For a moment, Dash fancied that he was talking to him, and his heart nearly pounded itself out of his chest out of sheer shock, mortification, and hope. Just as he put out a foot, and readied to reveal himself, he heard, much to his surprise, a small voice answer him.
"This beats having you sleep outside my house. If you tried following me to class one more time, I swear, I was going to get out my Dad's old thermos again."
Confused, Dash hastily swept himself back into his hiding place as Danny Fenton stepped into the circle of green, a number of dark circles draped underneath his eyes, and a scowl set on his face.
Mentally screaming, Dash sank against the tree, flattening himself against it for dear life before silently burying his face into one hand.
Fenton. Of all people. Of course. Who else would it be? Thank God the kid sounded upset, because if these two had been buddy-buddy, he'd be harder than the rock before Phantom incinerated it to dust.
Once in a while, he managed to revolt himself. Now, he needed to vomit, because images like that one from that XXX-rated movie Qwan had filched from his parents' were flooding into his head, and he bit the inside of his mouth to suppress a groan.
Maybe it was high time he stepped outside his hiding place, and just ask the ghost kid to put him out of his misery.
But now, Phantom was speaking again, and his curiosity overrode his dirty little mind. Dash carefully peeked his head out, surprised that Phantom was now glaring back at the human teen, although he looked decidedly more sheepish. Worry for Fentina's sake bloomed inside of him, in spite of himself, as Phantom started speaking again, expression serious.
"I would have followed you to class on Friday-"
"You DID, you jerk. Haunting me outside the window while I'm trying to take a test and disappearing when I point you out to my classmates is probably going to earn me a trip to the funny farm, thanks a bunch." Danny F. snapped, his voice taking a sarcastic and bitter tone that Dash had never heard before from the teen.
Speaking of which, hadn't Fenton looked kind of sick that day, too? He hadn't tried to notice or anything, but at the very least, he'd rescheduled Danny's three-o'clock pummeling to next Thursday.
The lovely (He was using so many adjectives today; his tutor Jasmine would be proud) ghost sighed, his glowing shoulders sinking wearily.
"You know what I mean," he said, and now, he just sounded imploring. "I would have overshadowed Lancer if I thought it might've helped. Look, you ignoring me after what Vlad did isn't going to cut us both any favors unless we sit and-"
And Dash thought, judging from the angry-hot pulsations from his aching face, that HIS ears were red. Danny's brilliant blue eyes narrowed into angry, lapis lazuli slits, blushing furiously.
"Look. I know Vlad cut us apart from each other," he said carefully, his teeth grit, "And I kind of miss having the ghost powers, but-"
"That's all I am to you?"
Phantom sounded hurt, and now, Dash was more bewildered than ever. But Danny just shot him an irate glance.
"That's neither here nor there. I didn't ask to get stuck in that glass chamber with you, but I remember I DIDN'T ask for you to-to-"
The boy choked; Phantom sighed again, though his own face darkened. Dash wondered whether or not it was a ghostly equivalent of a blush.
"We had no choice. We tried getting out of that stupid machine for hours, and the fact that you were shackled to my neck wasn't helping matters-"
"So now it's my fault?"
"-but having that sick freak just LOOKING at us all the while made me want to turn his insides out. And if he had his way, he would have kept us in that miserable, happy little corner of hell for a good few days if we didn't comply. I did what I did because I wanted to be free. It was joyous enough that I didn't have a human heart shackling me to you anymore; the fact that I was LITERALLY chained to you just made matters worse-"
Now Fentina was the one looking hurt, though he did a good (poor) job of trying to hide it.
"So…that's it, then?" he asked carefully, taking a few tentative steps around the clearing, noting that the ghost wasn't breaking gaze. "You don't have….any more inhibitions, now that you're dead, and you…..just wanted to get out?"
A muscle was going in the ghost's mouth, but he nodded.
"Exactly," the ghost said quietly, watching the teen carefully. "I know no pretense. I wanted my freedom, and that sick man promised us a ticket out of that stupid, ectoplasmic box if we….well…."
Danny was eyeing the ghostly twin of himself apprehensively, though there was also something else etched into his brow.
"As I recall, he….only wanted to watch us….'have fun….'" He said sadly, and his hands slowly curled into trembling fists. The human looked like he wanted nothing more than to throw himself off a cliff, and Dash bit his lip, now worried. Whatever he was describing sounded pretty sick, (Though he couldn't deny that it made him just a little hot inside) and sounded frankly illegal. Though he was pretty positive that whatever crime reported to the authorities would kinda get debauched once they learned ghosts were involved.
Fenton, however, was still speaking.
"…I don't know why, though. Probably because he's just a sick bastard. I thought I was going to throw up after the first three hours of pounding at that wall, and no luck. And…after that…."
Golly, but Danny-er, Fenton-could go red. As Danny tuckied his hands behind him, Dash couldn't help but notice that he looked remarkably like a teenage girl about to ask a boy out, despite the fact that he was not in her socioeconomic status, or in the right class of popularity. A very pretty teenage girl whom was very skinny and had a pixie cut and he needed to stop right now before he did something very very stupid and-
"Look, I just…forgot Plasmius was even in the room, and we wound up playing his little game," Danny said at last, looking away at the dark clouds moving eagerly close together. "I don't know-I've never….I swear I didn't have any idea….it just….YOU just….."
Spit it out, Fentina. Dash leaned closer as to better hear the conversation, and heard the dark-haired Danny's voice break.
"It happened so fast, and then you were on top of me, and it just went on from there. I tried to get you off of me-"
"For a second, before you were clinging to me-" Phantom blurted out, in spite of himself.
Danny shot the ghost a filthy look.
"And I realize ghosts don't really have the same….mindset humans do, because, according to Mom and Dad's books, you guys are more….carnal."
"Thanks a heap," said Phantom sarcastically, but Danny F was not yet finished.
"Look, you guys don't go with the whole 'formalities' thing, so I suppose that's why you don't feel regret about screwing yourself into a wall-"
Dash's pants were now uncomfortably tight, but there were more important things to pay attention to, now. Danny Phantom was casting his human counterpart a shocked and indignant look, his silver eyebrows set to a cold glower.
"I am, despite what you think, NOT you, Danny," he said, his voice dangerously soft as he stepped casually closer to Danny, and Dash winced. Oh, yeah. He'd seen that kind of walk before-he himself had done it about half a dozen times, and had witnessed it firsthand in that bar with the blacked out windows he'd visited just the other week, telling himself that it was just a humble little experiment….
Danny F was slowly retreating from his counterpart, face paling. Dash had seen that face before, too, when he'd threatened to beat the boy up for his lunch money in second grade. Phantom's expression, however, while fanatical and hungry, was foreign to him. At the very least, he'd never seen the ghost look so entreating before.
"Not anymore," said the ghost. "And while I don't feel regret for a lot of things that I'VE done….that you've done…." He said mildly, casting the paralyzed human teen in front of him a gentle look as he stepped a little closer, "I AM sorry for hurting you like that. Though," he added, his low voice slinking into a purr as he strode over to the other boy, eyes lidded. "I don't feel the slightest bit of regret entering you. You were wonderful."
Wow. If that were not a bedroom voice, Dash didn't know what one was. The blush drained entirely out of Danny's face, and the boy moved subtly away, careful to keep a good ten feet between the two.
The next expression that crossed on the boy's face when he turned around was also one that Dash had seen before: It had been on his own face after that visit to the bar, where they hadn't even bothered to check his ID, and he'd stumbled out into the rain, smelling of sex and shame, and had stared wildly at his expression in a nearby puddle as the rain had tumbled down overhead.
Self-hatred, horror, and maybe just a bit of wild intrigue and desire had stared back at him. And Fentina now mirrored him.
"I'm glad I lost you when I died," Danny cried, a slight tremor in his voice. "I can't believe I was carrying someone….something like YOU! That was….that was masturbation that night! You're a narcissistic-"
But Dash knew that Fentina had gone too far-Phantom's eyes burst into flames, both proverbial and literal, and a patch of grass nearby was immediately shot ablaze, soon dying out into a smoking pile of ashes. Danny scrabbled backwards, his mouth becoming a small O as Phantom shot forward with an inarticulate shout, and promptly tackled the other teenager to the ground.
Dash's body became rigid with fright, and his own jaw dropped. Sweat burst on his brow, and he would have cried out, but was now too scared to make a sound.
This was for real. Fenton's in trouble.
Did he run for help and find one of those random ghost hunters around Amity? Or did he….
Dash's eyes flickered to the nearby parking lot and back, and he leaned on his back lag, torn between staying and tearing the heck out of here. But ultimately, he froze up when the specter dragged the boy to his feet, and slammed him against a tree, breathing raggedly.
For a moment, there was silence. Deathly silence to the bully's ears, accompanied only by the blood pounding in his ears. Then-
"I may have once been physically you, but my personality is mine, and mine alone," Dash heard the ghost hiss, fury rolling off him in droves. "And if I'm really YOU, as you put it, you just marked yourself as a narcissistic thing. Do you like that? Huh?"
Danny was shaking. He didn't answer. Scowling, Phantom grabbed him by the shoulders, and started to shake Fenton roughly.
"Well? And let's not forget, other-me, you were moaning when I touched you."
Danny pushed at his assailant pointlessly, leaning his head away, frantic.
"So?" he shouted, his voice an octave higher than normal. "That should have never happened to begin with-I'm just hormonal, is all! In a few weeks, I'll be out of your hair and you'll be out of mine; I'm leaving. Just…if you don't want to merge with me again, than leave me alone!"
The phantom sneered.
"You have NO idea what a burden a human heart is, other me," he said quietly, pain flickering in his eyes, and from the way Danny F was wincing, his grip on his shoulders was doubling. "Honestly, it's like having an ANCHOR in your chest….dying is so liberating. I don't know why you people are so afraid of it-you're only free of all your stupid rules that people set up to make any pointless sanity in living when there's so much beauty in not being alive! When I became sentient, I wanted nothing more than to soar to the hereafter, but was dismayed to find myself locked inside a body-a body of flesh and warm blood, when I'm made of cold ectoplasm! Still enjoy being me, other-"
"Stop calling me that!"
"You're the one who insisted that I was you. But you're only human; I imagine that all of you will seize at straws of broken and disjointed logic for your own security," Danny Phantom said, with a bitter smile.
"But never mind. The only thing that helped was the fact that I still was in your consciousness; human memories hadn't faded for me just yet. It was agonizing for me, I'll have you very well know-like becoming a balloon and being tied to a stone underneath the water. I sometimes entertained thoughts of motivating you to your own suicide just so that I could be free, but the urge to keep yourself alive-your survival instincts-hadn't died in that blast in the lab. And when I got put to work helping you restore peace to Amity Park, well….."
He shrugged, looking resigned.
"Let's just say that I grew too busy, and took a lot of satisfaction in letting my powers to continue to grow. Being linked to a human body allowed my powers to keep developing alongside my-your-ghost half's. And…."
He turned back around, and leaned his forehead against the shaking boy's. Dash would have dearly loved to have heard what the ghost boy was saying, but he only caught a few words from his position:
"Really-so warm….inside…body…..thoughts. After a while….couldn't…..didn't…bear…..departing…..home. You…so dear…"
Phantom leaned back, and resumed talking in his normal pitch.
"When you split yourself into two the first time, half of me was severed also-partly stuck in that ridiculous, puffed-up version of US, partly in that drone, lazy human boy-also US."
He paused. Dash leaned backwards, tasting something metallic in his mouth. He was biting his lip rather hard, now.
This is too nuts. I can't understand JIP of all this shit. Phantom's…Fentina? Was? Who the hell ARE these people?
"And I think….in that horrible, horrible, hypothetical dimension CW showed us….when you tore me away…I was so scared, and so angry, that you were leaving me behind and leaving me to die when all I ever wanted was to stay and keep us safe…..I overreacted. It was my impulse for you to cheat on that test-you people do it ALL THE TIME, and never lose a thing! You, on the other hand, lost your family, and yet you lived, only to-"
"You murdered me."
"With Vlad's help."
"You still killed me. In cold blood."
The silver-haired Danny shuddered, and leaned away, his silver hair fluttering in the wind again. Danny's midnight spikes were trembling as well. Dash shivered, and not just because it was getting colder outside.
"And that," Danny Phantom said, his voice tight with regret, "If you'll pardon the expression, will haunt me to my dying day."
Fentina shot him a wary look.
"Okay. Uh…..fine. Sorry. But if you, um, don't mind me asking, is there any other reason other than….the incident….at Vlad's…..why you're…..here?" he squeaked out pathetically, after a few moments.
Holy crap, Fentina, ya sound like a girl. And look like one, too.
Danny P sighed, as though he were explaining a simple concept repetitively to a young child.
"Danny, I'm coming with you." He said tenderly. "To New Zealand-for your program. Congratulations on that, by the way; you should be very proud of yourself. I knew you'd have more time to study if you didn't have to worry about your town."
Dash's mind abruptly drew a blank.
New Zealand? But that's…..that's uh….uh….probably entire STATES away! If Phantina and Fentina are the same, then-
But Danny immediately interrupted him, hoarse with disbelief.
"What? No," he snapped, to Dash's relief. "Look, whatever might have happened between us, I…..I really AM glad for the break, but I can't let you come with me. Besides, who would look after this place?"
Phantom rolled his eyes, and crossed his arms.
"I'm not this town's babysitter anymore, Danny. If people can't learn to look after themselves here, then they'll simply have to leave. Believe it or not, it's not YOUR fault or MY fault that people are dumb enough to build a metropolis near one of the world's biggest dimensional rift planes between this human plane and the ghostly one of the Dead Zone."
The what of a what?
Danny F was speechless for a moment. Judging by the indignant flush trickling back into his face, he was getting a little feisty again.
"You….you can't be serious! People have lived here for over a hundred years, you know! They have families…lives….there's an entire community that could be wiped out, here! You can't seriously be-"
"I'm dead," said Phantom dryly. "Dead serious, as a matter of fact."
"Not funny."
"I think it is."
Danny stomped his foot, and his hands flew to his hair, face contorted with anger.
"Look, pal, I didn't complain when I first started ghost hunting- and carried on with it for four years-"
"Because of that senseless spirit of yours and that unbelievable sense to give," said the ghost, sounding bored. "No one would believe it possible unless they'd been tucked inside of your heart for years, which you seem to forget, I HAVE been. I only went along with it because of YOU. Danny, I think it's time I got to the meat of the matter. I-"
"That's so irresponsible-what about all of the-"
The ghost whipped his head around, eyes flashing dangerously, and Danny fell silent, although he was still sending his counterpart a death stare.
"Danny. You know how some people die, and that's simply the end of it? No whispers from bereaved ghosts, no trace of their spirit, no anything?" asked the Phantom.
The new topic of conversation caught the teen off guard, and he sent a confused look in the ghost's direction. But now, Danny Phantom was glowering at the darkening sky overhead, which now had the occasional, ominous flash of light twinkling behind the heavy rain clouds. After a moment, Phantom fixed his gaze back to the human teen, looking hungry again.
"The reason so many are lucky to simply GO is because they have absolutely nothing to stay FOR," he said at last, his eyes lidding. "They die in peace, not angry, not obsessive, just…so. They just lived. And when that happens, they can go….wherever it is we go on to. Others, however, have hatred, bitterness, vendettas, or obsessions that make them cling to this world with cold, skeletal fingers. For some," he snorted, "It's hunting, for others, it's cooking, and for others still, it's cardboard boxes.
I didn't really have any reason to stay," he confessed, looking at Danny F fondly. "When I died. And that's why I grieved when I found I was stuck by your side, before I grew to enjoy YOUR joy when the two of us could do good together….it's….infectious. But now, I'm no longer linked to a beating heart, Danny. And yet, I have not vanished to move on. Why do you think that is?"
Danny wordlessly shook his head, although he was looking nervous again. Phantom smiled.
"I now have an obsession. I now know why I remain here; it's because I DO have a reason to stay, and something that I must follow, or else my ectoplasm will stop coursing from my core, and I will cease to be entirely."
"What is it?" Dash heard Danny murmur, through unmoving lips.
Phantom seemed only too happy to answer.
"That incident with Vlad taught me more about US than four years of staying inside of your soul did. While I assure you, I got even with Vlad for daring to sedate us and imprison us, I-"
"What….what did you do?" the human teen choked out. The ghost shrugged.
"Got even, of course. He deserved it entirely, you know. Just watching us make love is unforgivable enough-"
"THAT WAS-"
"Call it what you like," said Phantom, sounding bored again. "Anyway, hopefully a refresher on how much he loathes hospitals should do him some good. I poisoned his tea. THAT'S why he hasn't bothered you for days."
The jock's shaking fingertips tightened around the edges of the bark, gripping so tightly that his knuckles were turning starkly white.
Now, Dash respected people raising the bar for bullying more than the next person, but this was…..his hero did…..
Danny sounded petrified when he cried out again. Phantom attempted to approach him, hands raised, murmuring soothing nothings, but Danny backed away, bumping into the back of a nearby tree, his legs wobbling underneath him like jelly, looking ready to give out.
"I….you….no! You poisoned him? You-you're a mur-"
"I didn't try to kill him!" snapped Phantom, thankfully stopping his advance dead in his tracks. "I'm not THAT depraved-what kind of ghost do you think I am?"
"I don't know!" Fentina shrieked. "I swear I don't know ANYTHING anymore!"
The scream sent more birds surrounding the two taking wing to the air. A BOOM of thunder echoed in response to another flash of light in the sky. Dash only stared. Phantom pinched the bridge of his nose with his gloved fingertips, taking a deep breath. He looked after a moment, smiling sardonically.
"Relax. While that sad, sick old idiot deserves a lot more than just a friendly meeting with Mr. Stomach Pump for the next three or four weeks, I didn't do anything that would throw his immediate life in danger. And I SWEAR I didn't do anything else after that," the silver-haired boy pledged, raising a right hand. But suddenly, he sneered. "Other than short sheet every bed in his mansion and draw glasses and goatees on all his Packer memorabilia posters and action figures-"
"Vlad collects action figures?" asked Danny Fenton, sounding nonplussed.
Phantom grinned. "Yep. And sorry, I did lie just now-I also took a few pictures of his newly designed collection, and posted them on the web. Let's see how he can hold onto season seats when the team sees just what he does with their likenesses. But I digress."
He took a tentative step closer to Danny, still smiling oddly.
"The point is, I could have murdered Vlad, but I didn't, because I knew it would only upset you. I'm sorry I physically hurt you the way I did, but to be frank, we would have spent days in that glass tomb, and Vlad would have watched us with that sick little smile of his the entire time. But I don't regret doing what I did, because it was fantastic, and it helped me realize what NOW chains me to this world. But now, I embrace it-I WANT to stay. I have to follow it."
He cocked his head to the side, smile still present.
"Danny, I'm in love with you."
Dash started, jaw dropping as Danny shot a horrified look at his double, hands flying to his stomach as though he were about to be sick.
"That's….I…..no," he said weakly, making a move to back away from the clearing altogether. "D-er, Phantom, or whatever or whoever you are, I….think you're making a-"
"I'm not going to stay behind in this backwater town any longer," said Phantom quietly, and Dash noticed he was no longer smiling. "I need to be with you. You're wonderful; I can't believe you remain so blissfully in DENIAL of how good you are. Anyone else would have used me to fry that sick little pig bully of yours off the face of the planet. I'll gladly hunt him down myself, if you'd give me permission. The sin wouldn't be on your hands."
"What?" Danny sputtered. "No! I don't know what the hell is wrong with you, but you're not allowed to touch or hurt ANYONE! Do you understand me? Not Dash, Not Vlad, and definitely not me! I won't let-"
In the blink of an eye, Phantom had rushed up to him a bolt of white, spectral tail replacing his legs in his haste. The dark appendage curled entreatingly around the boy's body, and now Danny started to beat wildly against his captor's shoulders while the ghost boy captured his face, and forced him to look upwards.
"I'm no longer in your jurisdiction," Dash heard him hiss, his eyes yellowing in color, becoming painfully bright. "You can't tell me what to do anymore. But please don't be afraid of me. I understand you, Danny-"
"Then you'd UNDERSTAND THAT I WANT YOU TO GET OFF OF ME! Let me go!"
"-better than anyone else does! I WAS you! You've worked too hard for too long to have to labor through school-I can help you! I can give you whatever your heart desires, and I can show you the world, if you'll just let me!"
The anger faded to something sweet, but Dash heard none of it.
"I love you. I love you better than I love me, better than you love yourself! Let me prove it to you-"
And with that, still draped around the teen's body, Phantom moved his lips to feather across Danny's cheeks, lovingly nuzzling at the base of the boy's throat, ignoring the teen's desperate attempts to avoid the ministrations, like a trapped coyote gnawing off its own limbs for freedom out of a steel trap.
"Help!" Danny shouted frantically, trying to duck Phantom's attempt to kiss him. "Helllllllp! I-mrph-"
And that was when Dash threw reason out the window, and did what would ultimately become one of the noblest and stupid endeavors of his life. Without another thought, he sprang out into the clearing, sprinted behind the squirming duo-
And abruptly smashed his fist into Phantom's face just as the startled ghost turned around at the noise, sending him flying directly into a large ash tree as Danny crumpled to his knees.
Breathing raggedly, Dash stared down the upside down ghost that was staring up at him in shock, a trickle of green racing down from his nose.
Cracking his sore knuckles, Dash snickered in spite of himself, ignoring the dawning comprehension that was slowly trickling down on him in small increments.
"No one gets ta use Fentina as a punching bag 'sides me, ya little freak."
Behind him, Danny staggered to his feet, hands pressed over his face, eyes as enormous as if the Easter bunny had just stormed the area with the tooth fairy at his side.
For a moment, Phantom just stared at his attacker, before his eyes slowly narrowed in fury, and a truly evil smile curled his mouth into a smirk.
"Oh?" he asked politely, before gliding up to a standing position, keeping his emerald eyes deadlocked on the blonde standing in front of the frightened teenage boy cowering uncertainly behind him.
"I beg to differ."
And with a casual burst of ectoplasm, Phantom abruptly slammed Dash Baxter in the chest, sending him directly into the tree behind him, causing the trunk to shake violently as the jock slid to the ground, spots and stars looming in his vision, and a crack of fiery agony exploded in his ribs. He would have gasped or screamed, but could not make a sound.
Somewhere, he heard Fentina cry out, and the ground was spinning wildly beneath him, and he tasted blood in his mouth, and the smell of grass was permeating his nostrils, making his head spin even more wildly. When his vision finally refocused, he found himself staring dazedly up at the ghost, who now had both palms glimmering with bolts of cold fire at the ready.
He shivered; Phantom WAS different than Fenton. Fenton was soft and wimpy, whereas this maniac's face was inexplicably hard, and every outline was etched with the bitter callousness of pure hatred.
"Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this," Phantom murmured serenely, and a wild look of joy permeated the previous gentle look he had reserved for his human self. He most certainly didn't look sane.
And he raised his palm over his enemy, and Dash heard Danny scream for him again.
It seemed like it would be the last thing he ever heard.