A/N: Wow this is going fast. Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews.
Disclaimer: I don't own it.
……First day of School……
"Time to wake up, Little Brother," Jazz said, knocking on the door, "Come on, Danny, even Danielle is up."
She opened the door quietly and saw her brother asleep on his desk, still dressed from the day before.
"Danny, time for school," she said, shaking him.
He lifted his head groggily, but, remembering what he'd been doing, snapped it back down. Despite his quick action, Jazz still caught a glimpse.
Names?
"Jazz, I need you to get out of my room, now. I'll get up, just get out," Danny directed, urgently.
Jazz looked at her brother strangely, but did as he asked. Danny waited a second to make sure no one was watching, and then lifted his head.
"Ah, Denmark, you almost got me busted," Danny remarked, jokingly. He yawned, locked the list in a ghost-proofed drawer, and got ready for the first day of Junior year.
…
"Dude, you look wiped out," Tucker noted.
"Yeah, did we miss any ghost attacks?" Sam asked, casually.
"First day of Sophomore year, I was tired because of ghosts, this year it's work. I'm never gonna get any sleep, am I?" Danny half-joked.
"What were you doing all night? Jazz said you were sleeping at your desk," Dani asked, curious.
"Uh, that was just my summer reading," Danny lied.
"But what do names have-" she started, forgetting that she wasn't supposed to say that.
"A character list," he lied again.
"Oh," she said, disappointed; she knew he wasn't being truthful.
Danny felt horrible, but he couldn't tell anyone.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked, seeing his crestfallen expression.
"Nothing," Danny said, looking away, ashamed.
"It's not nothing," Sam said, gently.
"I know," he said, quietly, "I just…hate keeping things from you guys."
"If it's really that hard, Danny, we'll stop asking about it," Tucker offered.
"WHAT!" Danielle exclaimed in protest.
"Tucker's right, Danielle, Danny made an oath and it's just hurting us all to keep asking," Sam helped her carnivorous friend. Danielle headed off for her own homeroom in a huff.
"Thanks guys, this means a lot to me," Danny said, gratefully. He watched Danielle's retreating form, sadly. He really did hate lying to her.
"Hey, man, we just want you to be happy," Tucker said as they entered homeroom just before the bell.
Mr. Falluca passed out the agendas and class schedules as the students talked about their summer vacation.
……Later that day……
"Welcome students, to English III. Now I know you all want to talk about your vacations and catch up with your friends, but school's back, so pay attention. I have created a test," –the class groaned- "to find out what you remember from last year. It will not count against you, but it is required, so clear your desks of everything but a pen or pencil and let's begin," Mr. Lancer announced, passing out the papers.
The rest of the classes went similarly.
……Lunch……
"So why did we promise my brother we would stop asking?" Danielle asked angrily.
"Dani, I meant what I said; asking is only hurting us all. He's not gonna budge on this," Sam told the younger girl.
"I just don't get how you guys can just sit by and watch as he has heart attacks and-and hides things from us!" Dani harshly whispered.
"Watch, learn, take notes. We never promised not to do that," Tucker clarified with a smirk, "Once in a while, he's gonna slip up."
"You're right! We can-" Dani started.
"Hey Danny!" Sam interrupted.
"What are you guys up to?" their bearded friend asked, suspicious.
"Nothing," Sam said, "You are so paranoid."
"Well, I am paranormal," Danny smirked, earning grimaces from the three.
……Second day of school, end of 1st period……
Danny yawned, slumped in his seat in the back of the class. It had been a long night for him at the Workshop, and then at home with another list.
When the bell rang a few minutes later, he got up sluggishly to follow his classmates; Mr. Lancer stopped him at the door.
Sam and Tucker tried to hold back, but Danny made them leave.
"Go ahead, I'll be fine; it's nothing bad," he told them. They looked confused, but he gave them a knowing look and they rolled their eyes as they left.
He turned back to find that the teacher had a similar look of confusion painted on his face. Danny rubbed his neck nervously. He didn't know exactly what the teacher was going to talk to him about, only that it wasn't bad.
"I'll give you a pass when we're done here. Mr. Fenton, what did you do over the summer?" Lancer asked. Danny was taken aback by the unexpected question.
"Well, uh, I hung out with my friends a lot, went fishing with my dad, basically the same as last year," Danny responded truthfully, "Why?"
"You didn't study?" Lancer asked, evading the question.
"Uh, no?" Danny answered, unsure of the teacher's intent.
"Then how do you explain your incredible improvement in all of your classes? You're even excelled in Math and English," the balding teacher asked and his student finally understood; he'd done well on the assessment tests.
"Uh…" Crud, how do I explain this? he thought.
"Well?"
Danny was silent for a second, "Uh, J-"
His ghost sense went off only seconds before Walker and Bullet appeared and held Lancer hostage.
"Mr. Lancer!" he shouted. Lancer looked shocked, then, realizing his predicament, looked scared.
"Run!" he yelled before a cold hand clasped over his mouth.
"I wouldn't, Punk. You're comin' with me or the human gets it," Walker threatened.
"Oh, crud. Mr. Lancer, stay calm," he directed, "I'm not falling for your tricks again, Walker. Let him go!"
Mr. Lancer looked sharply at his student. What happened to the clumsy, unsure kid that was here just seconds ago?
"That's against the rules," Walker said, maliciously. Bullet, the ghost holding Mr. Lancer, tightened his grip.
"So is attacking humans, but you don't seem to mind breaking that rule," Danny said, throwing the ghost's words back at him.
"That's not in my rulebook," Walker smirked, "Bullet-"
"Well, here goes my secret," the teen muttered before shouting, "GOING GHOST!"
Instantly, two rings of white light engulfed the clumsy human, transforming him into a powerful ghost: Danny Phantom.
Mr. Lancer's eyes bugged out at the unexpected change. He had known for a while that Danny Fenton had a secret, something that was keeping him from his studies, but he never imagined something as spectacular as this.
"Bullet, let him go," Phantom commanded, his voice echoing with power as he spoke directly to the sidekick. William Lancer could feel the grip around himself loosen slightly for a moment, but then tighten when the ghost realized what he'd done.
As Lancer came to his senses, he began to understand; the missed classes, the tardies, sleeping in class: it was all because Danny Fenton was Danny Phantom, and Danny Phantom protected Amity Park.
"You've already cost me, Punk, don't try it again," Walker threatened, seeming to grow.
"You're not an officer of the law, Walker, you're a vigilante," Danny accused, "You attacked my little sister over the summer; you're not going to hurt anyone else like you hurt her."
With that said, Phantom gathered as much energy as he could into an immense ecto-blast and hurled it at the self-proclaimed ghost warden. Walker was thrown back a few feet before he landed on his back.
He started to rise, but Danny didn't give him the chance to think, having already uncapped the Fenton Thermos he kept handy. Both ghosts screamed as they were pulled into the blue energy, releasing Lancer in the process. Danny closed the cylindrical prison and changed back to human form.
"Are you okay?" he asked, helping the teacher to his feet.
"Yes, I'm fine, but how?" Lancer asked, still adjusting to the new knowledge.
"There was an accident in my parents' lab when I was fourteen. They only found out this past Christmas," Danny explained.
"Well, this certainly explains a lot," Lancer said, "But I still don't understand how you've improved so fast, especially now that I know about your…extracurricular activities."
"I didn't cheat," Danny said, seeing the unspoken accusation in the teacher's eyes.
"I wish I could believe you, Daniel, but-" he began.
"I didn't cheat," he repeated, more forcefully.
"If you didn't cheat, then how did you improve so much?" Lancer asked, still not entirely convinced. He would not back down until he had a straight answer.
"I will never cheat, Mr. Lancer; I've seen what that can do with the way my life is now and it's not good. I improved because Jazz and Sam and Tucker helped me study while I fought off ghosts or in my free time. I want to improve my grades, so I study hard," Danny half-lied. It was true that his sister and friends helped, but most of his improvement was from his job as Santa; he used these concepts.
Mr. Lancer looked like he had more questions he wanted to ask, but left it. He went to get a pass, but the bell rang, signaling the end of the period.
……………
A/N: So, who will figure it out first, Sam and Tucker? Or will it stay in the family? Did you like Lancer's reaction to Danny's secret? Do you think Danny was right to lie? Tell me in a review, and as alwaysALOHA!