A/N: Hi there everyone! Thank you for taking the time out to read my first ever DP fanfic, not to mention my first fanfic ever…! I'm so excited to get to share this one with all you guys and I really hope you enjoy it! I know this little intro of mine is at the beginning of Chapter 12 but hey, beginner remember? Anyways…any and all constructive criticism is appreciated!

PS: All artwork I use is done by me and, although I don't have a deviantart account (yet) I DO have a YouTube Channel (also called Get Keen) where I post SpeedDraws of all my artwork done, animations and a little bit of gaming. So please feel free to check it out if you wanna!

Now, a few words from our sponsor…

"Ugh. Do I really have to do this? It's so cheesy…"

Quit your whining, Dan. Someone has to say it – hey, don't you bare your fangs at me!

"Fine…Chelsea wishes she owns me, but unfortunately she doesn't. If she did, I know that we'd be no doubt be dating by now."

Uhm – wha – what?! Where did you get that idea?

"Would I lie to you?"

Okay, then! Moving swiftly forward! Here's the next chapter (insert

facepalm):

Chapter 12

Danny

I duck down behind a large, conveniently placed bush near the school and I actually remember this time to turn back into Danny Fenton. I'd been mentally facepalming ever since I left the terrified teenagers behind, but at least I know I'll never make that mistake again. Ever.

I try to look as casual as I can for someone clambering out of shrubbery and, noticing my lack of audience, I breathe a sigh of relief and continue on the last leg of the journey to Casper High. The final bell rings just as I enter first period and my teacher gives me a surprised glance.

"Are we actually on time today, Mister Fenton?" she could have at least tried to hide her sarcasm. I nod sheepishly and silently make my way to my desk at the back of the classroom. As I sit down, Sam and Tucker turn around and give me a thumbs up each. I snort at this clichéd gesture and return it with a toothy grin. As they turn back to the front of the classroom I realise with a start that this was technically the first time I'd seen them since coming back from the past. They have got a lot to catch up on.

I smirk to myself as I imagine their reactions when I show them the 'new me'. They've stuck with me through thick and thin, and Jazz, mom and I all came to the decision that they have to know that the Dan in town has not in fact come to destroy it, but to protect it.

What we didn't agree on, though, was exactly how I was going to tell them. They'd left that one up to me, and now my prankster mind was dreaming up an elaborate plan to scare my best friends witless, but not so much that they don't believe that I'm me. Huh. That's going to be tricky.

But hey, they've been my best friends since forever. What could go wrong?

Dan

Famous last words.

Little did I know, it was this decision that would seal my fate.

Later, Clockwork told me that I would eventually return to my natural state of mind, but until then I had to live out the path I'd set for myself the moment I'd made the deal with future Dan.

I was so cocky as to think that I'd managed to find a loophole in fate's fabric, but you can't cheat your own destiny, whether you're a self-fulfilling prophecy or not.

What was that?

Hah! You thought I'd tell you what happened with Sam and Tucker and I, on a whim? Oh, no. There's no fun in that. Where's your sense of suspense, tension, drama? Come on. I guarantee it's a story you'll enjoy, I mean I certainly enjoy telling it.

After all, it was then that I became me. I realised I was more like Dan than I'd wanted to admit. And, it was the moment that I decided everyone would be better off if I were to just resign myself to my fate and become him for real this time. Through and through.

At least then, nobody would get hurt.

Danny

"What do you wanna show us, dude?" Tucker grins expectantly through a mouthful of his ham sandwich, unconsciously spilling crumbs all over Sam's boots. She growls at him and dusts them off angrily, but he only shrugs.

Sam sighs before she says, "And why are we behind the bandstands on the other side of the football field?" with a raised eyebrow.

I rub the back of my neck and grin sheepishly, not able to think up a believable answer. But, I guess that's my cue then.

"Okay guys," I begin with a quiver in my voice. Why am I so nervous? These are my best friends.

"So quite a lot has happened over the – weekend," I was about to say over the last year, but then remembered that it's only been two days since the incident with Dan. I gulp at this realisation and Sam looks at me questioningly.

"Um, I guess you can say my ghost powers have – uh – developed?" I manage to squeak out.

"Woah, you got a new power dude?!" Tucker yelps, "That's awesome!"

"Uh not quite," I relax slightly at his reaction. Maybe this wasn't going to be so difficult after all. I almost laugh at his puzzled expression.

"Then what is it, bro?"

"How 'bout I just show you," I wink at him, before I allow myself to start floating off the ground. This time I do laugh out loud, Tucker's jaw is practically touching the floor and Sam is mimicking his expression with a little more elegance.

"But you're not Phantom, you're -," he can't get the rest of the words out.

I turn intangible, flit through the bandstands and dive into the ground before popping out just in front of my friends. Tucker squeals and leaps into Sam's arms, who rolls her eyes sarcastically and drops him onto the floor.

I've come out of the ground now and am clutching my sides in mid-air, my eyes tearing up with laughter.

Then I hear a screech and I whip my head around, eyes flashing a bright red. My ghost sense hadn't even gone off. But too late I see that the screech wasn't that of the terrified victim of a ghost's rampage, but rather the high-pitched battle cry of one, Valerie Gray.