A/N: Here is Chapter 4! Enjoy, and enjoy the fact that I don't own any characters.
Rumor Has It—Chapter 4—Failed Plans
But Danny still could not decide about whether to reveal his secret or not.
Later that evening, and before dinner, Danny joined his family at the kitchen table. His mother, Maddie was looking under a microscope, examining the remnants of some 'ghost-like' material. Every once in a while she would either move the slide or adjust the instrument.
His father, Jack, worked on some kind of ghost gadget; and as usual, was busy making very loud noises as he worked.
His sister, Jazz, sat reading a book.
Trying to get his parents' attention, Danny purposely cleared his throat and sat down. When his parents looked up at him, he uttered, "Uh, Mom. Dad. Do you think it would be bad to be famous?"
Jazz looked up from her book in surprise when she caught what he just said.
His mother, resuming her work, answered, "I don't know, honey. Somehow, being scrutinized ever moment of the day doesn't sound much like fun." She looked under the microscope and moved the slide containing the 'ghost-like' stuff so she could get a better look.
Jack, however, jumped up and flexed his arm muscles and pulling his hefty stomach in, excitedly gushed out his comment. "I---Jack Fenton--on the other hand, feel that a little public recognition would give the public what they deserve!"
Danny blankly blinked at him, uncertain of what his father said. But just as inscrutably, Jack immediately and quickly sat back down and went back to fiddling with his device.
"Gee, glad I asked," he said dryly, obviously disappointed. He then walked out of the kitchen.
But Jazz placed her book down and followed him.
When they got to living room, Jazz grabbed her brother's arm and pulled him around so she could see his face.
"What was that all about?" she asked.
Danny sighed, "I don't know. I'm just not sure about things lately. Like that dumb rumor at school…"
"…Which is true," she interrupted.
"I know, I know!" he interrupted back. "But I just can't take the terrifying truth! I really like my privacy; that nobody bothers me…" And then he suddenly thought of Dash and uttered, "…well, sort of…. And yet, a part of me kinda wanted this to happen: to finally get some recognition for everything I've done; to show everyone that I'm not a loser…"
With a slightly mischievous smile on her face, Jazz gently said, "But you're not a loser…just a geek!"
"Hey! You're not helping!" he objected and then he sighed, "Sorry. I know you were kidding. But I'm just confused on what to do!"
Jazz then became more serious and said, "Well, I think Mom and Dad are both right!"
Even more confused by her comment, her brother blurted out, "What?"
She crossed her arms, leaned against the living room wall, and smugly smiled, "Well, you've been working on duplicating yourself, right?"
Exasperated, he replied, "Yeah, like forever!"
Not changing her position, she continued, "Well, all you have to do is succeed, let everyone see both you and Danny Phantom together at the same time to prove that you are two "different" people, and then you can have your privacy and your recognition all at once."
But he reacted differently than she expected. His face knotted up into a scowl and his voice grew more sarcastic and louder with each word, "Hey that might work, if only for the little problem that I HAVEN'T SUCCEEDED YET!
Trying to calm and encourage him, Jazz approached him and gave him a quick hug and said, 'Just give it a little more time. I'm sure you'll figure it out. I believe in you!"
She then left for the kitchen again.
His scowl melted to a smile just as she left.
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The next day, Danny met Sam and Tucker at the front of the school. A lot of other students had also been loitering around waiting for the door to be opened, or just loitered around to avoid any doors opening. Many of them glanced at Danny when he walked up to his friends and looked quickly away, not trying particularly hard to avoid getting caught staring at him. But Sam noticed them and their constant whispers. To her--and even to Tucker--that buzz was deafening, but Danny was too tired to notice any of it.
In fact, before they went into the school, both of his friends noticed the large dark circles under his eyes. He obviously had not slept much that night.
Sam sarcastically uttered, "What happened to you? Did your groupies keep you up all night?"
Yawning, he deadpanned, "Very funny. Actually, I've been up all night trying to replicate myself." Then, surprising his friends and those around him, he suddenly yelled, "AND I JUST CAN'T DO IT!"
Seeing that all eyes were on him even more than they had been since the rumor began, Sam quickly and obviously yelled through her embarrassed smile. "But you HAVE to go in! We all are obligated to steel ourselves and open our minds to absorb all that wonderful knowledge!"
Her plan worked, and all the spooked students around them quickly vacated the area, leaving the trio alone.
"Uh, what was that all about?" Danny asked her.
"Just trying to have you blend in," she answered, though he really had no idea what that meant.
Tucker, staying on the original subject, then uttered, "Uh, dude, you've been working on duplicating, like, forever!"
Danny, still upset, glared at him, his eyes suddenly glowing green.
Tucker held up his hands in apology and nervously replied, "Sorry!"
Danny's eyes return to their normal blue and he sighed, "I'm sorry, Tucker. I just need to start working on it again! I've thought about this stupid rumor a lot lately, and I've decided that I'm not going to go "public". Remember how everyone crawled all over me after the reality gauntlet thing? And this rumor is even worse than that because no one seems to be happy about it! Especially me! I'm not getting any peace now and will never get any peace if it's all out in the open. I want to be the nobody I usually am when I'm not being Danny Phantom."
Suddenly, both of his friends enveloped him in a tremendous hug.
Bewildered, he stammered, "W-what's that for?"
Tucker answered for both Sam and himself, and his voice was mixed with relief and anxiety. "Dude, if you were famous, do you really think we would be up there in the limelight with you?"
Danny shrugged and replied, "Yeah, sure, why not?"
Sam chimed in, "Because it doesn't happen that way! Old friends are pushed aside for the new chic friends."
"Oh, c'mon, guys," Danny chuckled. "That doesn't happen in real life!"
Tucker excitedly countered, "No, it does! You get sucked into some kind of other dimension with all fame. Then there's no room left over for us little people."
Danny looked at each of them in utter amazement.
Then Tucker shrugged in embarrassment about his little secret and said, "You know how prolific those magazines are in those doctors' offices!"
"But you hate doctors!" Danny countered.
"How do you think I survived the wait?" His bespectacled friend uttered with a weak smile.
And then the first bell rang and the three friends finally went into the school.