Chapter 4: Friends, Love, Siblings, and Ghosts
Danny woke up, stretched, and yawned. He didn't know how or why he was thinking this, but he felt that today was going to be a strange day. Now, don't get me wrong. Danny had had days like this before. And most of the time, he was correct.
He smiled, shrugged, and slid himself out of his bed. After all, he had just gotten electrocuted by one of his parents' inventions yesterday. How could today be any stranger?
Danny walked into the bathroom, and shut the door. He grabbed his toothbrush and tube of toothpaste, squirted some toothpaste onto his toothbrush, and started brushing. He glanced up at the mirror and smiled. Today was going to be an awesome day. Or not. He quickly looked at the mirror again, and screamed.
He was wearing a black jumpsuit with white gloves, boots, and a belt. His body felt cold and his raven black hair was now white. He blinked, thinking that he was just imagining things. He opened his eyes again. Now, his friendly blue eyes were a ghostly green color.
Danny backed up into the door, his heart racing with panic.
"Danny, are you okay in there? I heard you scream." It was Jazz.
He had to think of something to tell her. And fast.
"Um, I'm fine." He lied. "I just saw a bug. A giant black bug with white spots, and green eyes staring back at me."
Danny hated to lie, but what else was he supposed to say?
Jazz laughed. "It sounded like you saw some sort of ghost bug or something!" She paused. "But, wait! You're not afraid of bugs!"
"It just startled me!" he explained. "And I mean, it really startled me!"
"Well, okay then!" Jazz replied.
As soon as Danny heard his sister's footsteps retreating down the hall, he slowly walked up to the mirror again. 'Is that really me?' he thought.
He reached his shaking hand out toward the mirror and touched it. It was him alright.
Danny wasn't normally a person who would freak out by situations like this. After all, this was pretty much normal in the Fenton household. But it was him this time that was the unusual thing in the house. And let me tell you, Danny's heart was thumping loudly in his chest.
Danny tried taking some deep breaths. "Come on, Danny!" he mumbled to himself. "You're a Fenton! You've got to figure out what's going on! You can't just stand around hoping this will go away!"
There were a few options Danny could choose from. One, he could talk to Jazz once more. Then again, she wouldn't believe him. Or she would scream and run before he got the chance to talk to her. Two, he could talk to his parents. But wait, parents plus whatever he was that he was sure wasn't normal equals…Danny shook head. He didn't even want to think about it.
"Come on!" Danny cried. "Who is the perfect person to go to in a situation like this?" Then it hit him. "Tommy!"
Tommy was pretty good with plans and he was a pretty brave kid. Danny was sure that Tommy wouldn't run at the first sight of him. Plus, Danny was supposed to come up with some costume ideas for his friend's next movie, so he would be stopping by later. It was perfect!
Danny jumped up with excitement and relief. "Yes! That's it! Tommy can help me figure out what's going on!"
Suddenly Danny screamed. He had just fallen through the floor into his living room!
"Danny, what are you doing on the floor?"
"Huh?"
"I asked what you were doing on the floor."
Danny glanced up to see his mom staring at him. Then he glanced down at himself. He was back to normal! But how?
"Um…" He glanced behind him to see that he had fallen right next to the stairs. What a relief! "I fell down the stairs, Mom. I guess I don't have my full footing yet!"
Maddie leaned down and placed her hand on her son's forehead. "Are you feeling alright, honey?"
Danny nodded. 'It's just that I have no idea what's going on with me, today!' he thought. Then he said, "I'm fine, Mom!" He stood up. "See? I'm alright!"
His mom frowned at him. "I think you should stay home for one more day, Danny. I'm calling the school."
Danny smiled. After all, staying home would do him some good. "Alright, Mom. If you say so." He slowly walked upstairs. He was halfway up when he paused, then asked, "Mom, can you go ahead and have Tommy come over too? I would love to have some company while Jazz is at school, and you and Dad are working in the lab."
Maddie hesitated, then nodded. "Alright. Just for today."
"Thanks!" Danny cried, walking quickly up to his room.
He opened the top drawer on the dresser next to his bed and pulled out a book called, Ghosts and All You Need to Know About Them. Danny never knew he would need this book so badly. Now, he was glad that he owned it!
He flipped open the thick book to the back to look at the index page. After a few minutes of searching, Danny found what he was looking for. Signs of a Ghost: Pg. 82. He quickly flipped to page 82 and read:
There are many ways to tell if there is a ghost nearby. Most ghosts have signs to tell each other apart. These include, bright green or red eyes, and blue, green, or white hair (Sometimes flaming.). Ghosts usually have a bright eerie glow around their entire body.
Powers include shooting rays out of hands (This also includes fire and ice), intangibility, floating, flying, walking through walls, phasing, etc.
Humans can detect ghosts by feeling really cold temperatures and hairs on there bodies sticking up.
Danny gasped at what he had just read. There was so much about ghosts that he didn't know about! But more importantly was what he had experienced that morning. Bright green eyes, white hair, falling through the floor, really cold temperatures, and he happen to notice a glow around his body awhile back.
Could Danny actually be half ghost?
"You're going to love Emerson, Rachel." Sam said. "I've heard it's a great school."
Her younger cousin had arrived in Tommy's town early yesterday morning. Sam had decided to give Rachel the grand tour of the town before they had to go to school that day. Her cousin seemed really happy to be there. That was one great quality about Rachel. She never seemed to be worried about anything!
Rachel turned to her older cousin, and smirked. "You think it's a great school?" she asked. "You've never actually been there before?"
Sam grinned. "Hey, I just know that over half of my friends go to that school. I can't exactly just stop by and say 'Hi!'."
"Oh right!" Rachel exclaimed. "I'm sorry. I just forget sometimes!"
Her cousin nodded. "Why don't we go and meet some of my friends before school starts? They can show you around!"
"Sounds great!"
Rachel was a very nice ten-year-old girl. She was tall and slim with long, wavy brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a cute red tank top, a dark blue jean skirt, and brown sandals. Rachel carried a small, light blue book bag over her right shoulder. She also wore a little bit of red lipstick.
Rachel and Sam then headed to EmersonElementary School. When they got there, Lil was there to greet them.
"Sam!" she cried, happily. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be heading to school by now!"
Sam smiled. "I'm not staying." she explained. "I just came to drop off my cousin." She turned to Rachel. "Rachel, this is Lil Deville. Lil, Rachel Manson."
Lil shook Rachel's hand and grinned. "Nice to meet you Rachel. Any relative of Sam's is a friend of mine!"
Rachel smiled and nodded. "So, you're Sam's best friend! I've heard a lot about you and your twin brother, Phil."
"Well, he just headed to class. You can probably catch him after school though during soccer practice."
They both giggled.
"Well," Sam said to her cousin, "now that you've met one of my friends, I guess I'll-, Oh, man!" She quickly ducked behind one of the school garbage cans.
"What's wrong, Sam?" Rachel asked, leaning down next to her.
"Don't lean down!" Sam cried. "I really don't want him to see me!"
"You don't really want who to see you?"
Lil grinned. "I think I know." She nodded straight ahead. "That guy over there is Gregor isn't it, Sam?"
Sam nodded.
Rachel glanced over to where Lil was indicating. Gregor was a tall and skinny guy wearing white and black. His dyed, white hair stuck straight up, and he wore dark sunglasses. He seemed to be looking around for something.
"That's who you're afraid of?" Rachel asked. "Some guy you don't even know?"
"Yes!" Sam cried. "After all, why shouldn't I be afraid? I've never crushed on a guy in my entire life!"
"Yeah!" Lil whispered, loud enough so Sam could hear. "So she says!"
Sam glared at her best friend. "I already told you! I don't like Danny that way!"
Rachel rolled her eyes. Sam had talked to her about Danny more times than she talked about Lil. Of course she wasn't going to believe her cousin now!
"You need help!" Rachel exclaimed. "And fast! Stand back, Lil!"
Lil did what she was told. Somehow, her instincts told her, she shouldn't get in the way of Sam's younger cousin!
Rachel slipped her book bag off her right shoulder, and set it on one of the school's outside tables. She opened her bag, and looked through it until she found her lunchbox. She quickly unzipped it, and looked inside. There was a peanut butter sandwich, some potato chips, a couple of oranges, and a strawberry-kiwi juice pouch.
Rachel took the two oranges out, zipped her lunchbox up, and put it back into her book bag. She then pulled her older cousin up from behind the garbage can.
"Rachel!" Sam whispered. "What are you doing?"
Her younger cousin slipped her book bag back onto her right shoulder, and smiled. "You'll see!"
Rachel grabbed one of the oranges off of the table, and chucked it straight at Gregor. It hit him directly in the back of the head!
"Ow!" Gregor winced and rubbed the back of his head. He bent down when he saw the orange on the ground in front of him. "Who threw this orange at me?" he asked, with an accent.
Rachel quickly grabbed the second orange off the table, and placed it in her cousin's left hand. "Sam did it!" she cried.
"RACHEL!" Sam yelled.
"Run, Lil!"
The two ten-year-old girls ran into the school building, giggling all the way.
Meanwhile, Gregor was staring at Sam with a puzzled look on his face.
"Um…" Sam said, trying to think of an explanation. "It slipped?"
Tommy knocked on the Fenton's door eagerly. He was wondering what was going on with Danny. Tommy had known his playmate long enough to know that Mrs. Fenton wouldn't call for him to come over and miss school unless it was urgent (Even when she didn't know it herself.).
Many questions were running through Tommy's mind at the moment. Did something happen to Danny? Was something strange going on with his friend? He shook the thoughts from his head, and waited as patiently as he could, which wasn't much. Waiting for someone to answer the door was making Tommy anxious.
Soon enough, Jazz opened the door, and stared down at Tommy in surprise. "I didn't hear you knock on the door." she said, apologetically. "There's so much noise going on down in the lab, I can't even hear myself think!"
Tommy's eyes widened at this. "Is Danny okay?"
Jazz grinned. "What did you think? That Danny was down there being worked on? They're ghosts hunters, not surgeons!" She shook her head. "Danny's up in his room. He's been acting strange all morning. I don't know what's gotten into him."
Tommy had no time to spare. "Thanks, Jazz!" he cried, running past her toward the stairs.
"Danny!"
Danny jumped at the sudden voice that came up behind him. He quickly turned around to see Tommy staring at him, panic in his eyes. It soon disappeared to see that his pal was alright.
"Sorry, D!" Tommy exclaimed. "I didn't mean to startle you!"
Danny shushed him. "Keep it down, and shut the door!"
"Dude, what's wrong with you?"
"Just do what I say, and I'll show you!"
Tommy gave his playmate a puzzled look, shrugged, and slowly shut the door. "Now," he asked, folding his arms across his chest, "what's up?"
"Hold on a second!" Danny exclaimed, running into the bathroom, and quickly shutting the door behind him.
Tommy's eyes were widening again. For once, Jazz was right! Something was going on with Danny! He was never this energetic in the morning. Actually, Danny was never this energetic at all.
Five minutes slowly passed before Danny emerged out of the bathroom in his black and white costume. He stood in front of his playmate with an eager expression on his face. Tommy wasn't saying anything. He was staring at his friend, dumbstruck.
Five more minutes slowly passed before Danny finally lost his patience. "Well?"
Tommy grinned. "I know I told you to make something zombie-like for my movie," he started, "but this-this-is perfect! I'm sure to win the film making contest with these zombie costumes!"
Danny groaned. He had almost forgot! He was supposed to come up with a zombie-like costume for When Fifth Graders Attack! He hadn't even thought about it after the accident. Now, Tommy thought he had made a costume for his movie! There was no way he was going to believe him now!
"Tommy," Danny cried, "I know I was supposed to make a costume for your movie, but-,"
"But," Tommy interrupted, "you didn't have to go to this much trouble! Especially after what happened yesterday! How did you do it? This costume looks so-so-so lifelike!"
"That's because it is lifelike, Tommy!"
Tommy laughed. "Get out of here!"
"Tommy, I'm serious! I don't know how I got this costume! I woke up with it on this morning!"
His playmate grinned. "You're being way too modest, D!" he exclaimed.
Danny groaned once more. How was he going to get Tommy to believe him?
Suddenly, "Danny! I'm coming in!"
Tommy smiled. "Come on, Danny! You have got to show your Mom the costume you made!" He grabbed his friend by the arm.
"No!" Danny cried. "Tommy, wait-, AAAAAHHHH!"
Danny tripped over the door when his Mom opened it. Luckily, she didn't see anything because two rings went up and down his body, and his costume disappeared once more. He was wearing his normal clothing again!
Fortunately, Tommy had noticed this. He stared at Danny dumbstruck for a moment, then quickly turned to Mrs. Fenton.
"I just came to see what you boys were doing, and-," she paused, seeing Danny lying on the floor, "what is going on in here?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.
Danny gulped and quickly sat up. He had to think of a convincing answer, and fast! "Um…er…uh…" he mumbled, trying to think of a good explanation for his mom's question.
Tommy quickly jumped in. "What Danny was trying to say was…we were wrestling a little bit, and he was losing his balance. I should of listened when he said to stop, but I didn't, and Danny fell to the ground right when you walked in." He paused, then said, "It won't happen again."
Maddie nodded. "I appreciate your honesty, Tommy." Then she turned to her son, and said, "Please be more careful, Danny."
Danny put on his best smile, and nodded. "Sure, Mom!"
Mrs. Fenton grinned, then shut the door.
Once they were sure Danny's mom wasn't in earshot, they wiped the smiles off their faces.
"Okay," Tommy started, pulling his friend up to his feet, "that was not normal!"
Danny glared at him. "Oh! You think?"
Tommy frowned.
Danny sighed, and fell back onto his bed. "Sorry, T. I really shouldn't be taking my anger and frustration out on you."
His playmate nodded. "It's okay, D. I probably would've done the same thing to you if I was in your position." He frowned once more. "So, what do you think is going on?"
Danny shook his head. "I don't know, Tommy. I just don't know."
That's when he told Tommy of all his strange experiences that happened that morning. The green eyes, falling through the floor, looking it all up in the ghost book, everything. He told his friend every single detail.
Once he finished, Danny added, "That's why I think I'm part ghost, and why I called you over. I need your help."
Tommy slowly nodded, then asked, "Why didn't you ask your parents for help?"
"Are you kidding me, T? I can't just walk up to my Mom and Dad, and say, 'Hi, Mom and Dad! I know this might sound crazy, but I woke up this morning with white hair and glowing green eyes, and I think I might be half ghost! So, if you could just do some experiments on me, maybe even saw me in half, that would be just swell!'"
"Okay! Okay!" Tommy cried. "I can see why you called me now!" He paused. "You don't think this had anything to do with accident yesterday, do you?"
Danny's eyes widened. He hadn't even thought of that possibility. "Tommy," he said slowly, "call Tucker on your cell phone. Tell him to meet us at my house after school and to bring any DNA and ghost equipment he can carry."
Gregor was still giving Sam a strange look.
Sam gulped. 'He's still not buying it.' she thought. Soon she came up with a reasonable answer. "Okay. Okay. I was trying to prove to my little cousin and my best friend I can throw things farther than both of them. And I guess my aim was a little bit off. Sorry."
Gregor grinned. "Why are you using oranges?"
Sam smiled. "Because we thought if we were to accidentally hit anyone in the back of the head, baseballs would be much harder than oranges."
Gregor laughed. "I guess I can buy that." he replied.
Sam nodded. "So, why aren't you heading to Casper High?"
"I was just about to ask you the same thing."
"I was introducing my little cousin Rachel to some of my friends."
Gregor nodded. "I see." Then he frowned and asked, "Why is she going to this school instead of Ghoul Elementary?"
"She just moved here." Sam replied, now a bit more comfortable talking to him. "And I've known some of the kids who go to this school since I was in kindergarten."
"Ah! I was just dropping off my little brother." Gregor explained.
"Wait a minute!" Sam exclaimed. "You and your brother go to different schools?"
"We're exchange students."
"From where?"
"Hungary."
Sam grinned. "No thanks. I just had an orange."
Gregor laughed. "You know, you're pretty funny."
"Thanks."
"So, Sam, do you want to walk to school?"
"Sure."
As the two of them were walking toward EmersonElementary School's sidewalk, Sam thought, 'This is going to be a great day!'
Tommy answered the door when Tucker knocked.
"I got here as fast as I could!" Tucker exclaimed. "I've got DNA equipment, ghost scanners, everything I could carry!"
Tommy nodded. "That's great, Tuck! Come on in!"
The two boys walked into the Fenton's living room, and headed up the stairs. As they walked down the hall toward Danny's room, Tucker asked, "Why does Danny need all of this stuff anyway?"
"Let's just say he's feeling a bit ghostly today." Tommy replied.
"What do you mean?"
Tommy quickly opened the door, and shut it behind them once they stepped inside.
Danny immediately sat up on his bed. "Great, Tuck! You're here!"
Tucker nodded at his friend with a puzzled look on his face. "Yeah, D. I'm here alright." He glanced at Tommy. "What the heck is going on?"
"Tommy!" Danny exclaimed. "I think I've finally got the changing thing down!"
"Changing?" Tucker was even more confused. "Dude, what the heck are you talking about?"
Danny suddenly raised his arms up in the air, and two white rings went up and down his body. Soon, he was in his ghostly costume.
Tucker was staring at his friend, his mouth round in surprise. When he finally was able to speak, he asked, "How-,"
Tommy cut him off. "We think it has something to do with the accident that happened yesterday." He paused, then asked, "Do you think you could do some tests on him and make sure he's alright?"
Tucker nodded. "I think so. Let's get to work."
An hour passed before Tucker finally said, "Okay. I think I finally got it!"
Danny and Tommy, who were about to fall asleep from boredom on Danny's bed, quickly sat up.
"What do you have for us, Tucker?" Danny asked, eagerly.
"Well," his friend started, "yesterday Dr. Carson said that there was some plasma inside your body from the machine. He said it was perfectly harmless and it should go away within a few hours." Tucker grinned. "That much is true."
Danny sighed with relief. He was going to be okay.
"But what about all of the ghostly symptoms we told you about?" Tommy questioned.
"I'm getting there right now!" Tucker exclaimed. "From looking at these new X-rays, Danny, the plasma seemed to disappear quite awhile ago."
"Seemed?" Danny asked, a nervous edge in his voice. "What exactly do you mean by seemed?"
"Well," Tucker continued, "you see, the plasma didn't completely disappear." He zoomed in on the X-ray with Danny's computer. "As you can see, there are some tiny splotches of green that seeped into Danny's hair, bones, skin, everything!"
Tommy was getting impatient. "But, what does it mean Tuck?"
Tucker sighed. "It means that 50% of the plasma disappeared and the other 50% mixed with your DNA."
Danny's eyes widened. "So, does that mean…" He couldn't finish his sentence.
Tucker nodded. "It's exactly what you thought." He turned away from the computer to face Danny. "You're half ghost dude."
Lil sat in the stands, put her hands under her chin, and sighed. She wasn't having a very good time.
Ever since Phil had made the soccer team, it was always soccer, soccer, and more soccer at her house. And her dad being a soccer fan, and her mom being the coach for Phil's team wasn't much help.
Now Lil was sitting watching the team kick soccer balls everywhere because her mom forced her to come and support her twin brother and his teammates.
"Besides," Mrs. Deville had said, "maybe you'll grow to like soccer by watching."
Lil sighed once more, and took off her light pink backpack. "Sorry, Mom," she mumbled to herself, "but nothing could be more boring than this." Lil unzipped her backpack and searched until she found a book. She quickly opened it, and started reading.
No more than five minutes later, Kimi and Rachel joined Lil up in the stands.
"Hey, Lil!" Kimi exclaimed. "What's up?"
Lil glanced up from her book and grinned. "Nothing really." she replied. "I'm just sitting here, reading a book, and being bored to death."
"You're not a soccer fan, huh?" Rachel reasoned. She and Kimi sat on either side of their friend.
Lil shook her head.
Rachel glanced down at the field. "Is that your brother down there?"
"Which one?"
"The tall one with the short, curly hair."
"Yep." Lil replied, going back to her book.
"I thought so. He looks a lot like you."
"Yeah." Lil said, not glancing up from her book. "That's what they all say."
Kimi and Rachel were watching Phil. He was running around kicking the soccer ball, trying not to let the other team get it. He looked around for an opening. When Phil finally found one with one of his teammates in a ready position, he kicked the ball. Unfortunately, he kicked it a little too hard. It flew into the stands, straight toward Lil!
"Heads!" Phil cried.
"Lil!" Kimi yelled. "Look out!"
Lil tilted her head up. She saw the soccer ball coming toward her. Without hesitation, she quickly set the book down, caught the ball without standing up, and tossed it back into the field. Then, she picked her book back up and continued reading.
Everyone was staring at Lil, eyes widening, mouths round in surprise. Kimi, Phil, Rachel, even her mom was watching her with a shocked expression on her face.
When Lil felt all of their eyes on her she glanced up. She looked at them all with a puzzled expression on her face. "What?"
"So, wait," Danny cried, "does this mean that I'm-,"
Tucker cut him off. "If you're going to ask me if you're half dead, then no you aren't. All the accident did to you was give you some ghostly abilities. That's all."
"So that's it?" Danny asked, a frustrated look on his face. "I'm just going to sit here and say, 'Hey, I have ghost powers!' and not be able to know what to do with them?"
"Well when you put it that way…"
Danny fell back on his bed. "No, Tuck. I can't just keep these powers and not be able to do anything with them." He sat up. "All I need is a sign. A sign that will tell me what to do." He stood up, and went crashing to the ground.
Danny looked behind him to see what had caused his fall. It was the Spiderman comic book that Phil had let him borrow. He quickly picked it up, with the book open. Once more the words: "With great power, comes great responsibility." stood out in front of him. Danny grinned. He knew what to do now.
"You guys," he started, "I've got a plan!"
"Since when does that happen?" Tommy teased.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny." Danny replied. "Anyway, get all of our friends to meet me down in the lab after school tomorrow. I think I know a great way to use my powers to my advantage!"
"So that's why I'm afraid to use the locker room showers after tennis." Chuckie explained.
He and Tommy were walking down the school hallway explaining of their adventures from yesterday (Tommy left the ghost details out during his story. He really didn't think anyone would believe him until Danny showed everyone later that day.). It was about 8:15 and class wouldn't start for another fifteen minutes.
Tommy smiled and shook his head. "Chuckie, your body isn't scrawny. It's just perfectly slim!"
"Well I've heard otherwise." Chuckie said, gloomily.
"From who?"
Suddenly, a huge fit of laughter came in the two friend's direction. It was Josh and his crew.
'Of course.' Tommy thought, angrily as he and Chuckie walked up toward them.
"Look, everybody!" Josh exclaimed to his pals. "It's Scaredy-Cat Finster, who's afraid to shower in the locker room!" He laughed menacingly. "What a loser!"
Chuckie's gloomy look turned even sadder.
Tommy walked up to Josh angrily and grabbed him by the shirt collar. "Listen here, pal." he started. "I don't know who you think you are, but you'd better lay off my best friend. I heard somewhere that bullying can lead to suspension. And I'm sure your parents won't appreciate that, now will they?"
Josh's smirk suddenly turned into a frown. "No, I guess not." he replied after a moment of silence. "You win. I'll lay off Finster-for now."
Tommy sighed, and let go of Josh's shirt collar. After all, he supposed it was better than nothing.
Josh and his pals turned the opposite direction, and stormed off.
Chuckie grinned, and turned to his friend. "Thanks, T." he exclaimed.
"No, prob." Tommy replied.
"Well, I might as well go to class. See you at lunch?"
"Sure! See you later!"
Chuckie headed to class, while Tommy headed down the hall toward his locker. He unlocked the lock, grabbed his stuff, and shut the locker door. He was about to head to class when a voice caught his attention.
"Wait!"
Tommy turned to see a girl about his age with brown hair running up to him. He didn't know her at all, and really, he didn't care. There was something inside Tommy telling him he should get to know this girl.
"Um…Hi!" he stuttered.
"Listen," she started, "I saw what you did for your friend back there, and I thought that was really brave of you to stand up to that jerk like that!"
Tommy's throat went dry. "Well…er…thanks!"
The brown haired girl nodded. "No prob!" She paused, then asked, "What's your name?"
'What is my name?' Tommy thought. Then, "Er…Tommy."
"Well, hi there, Er…Tommy! My name is Rachel." Rachel paused, then said, "You know, my older cousin has a friend named Tommy."
"Really?" Tommy asked. "If that's so, then you're cousin's friend's parents must have a really good taste in names."
Rachel laughed. "You're funny!"
'Well,' Tommy thought, 'at least I didn't screw that one up.'
"What are you doing after school?"
"Huh?"
"I asked what you're doing after school."
"Oh!" Tommy exclaimed. "Well, my friend and I have tennis practice, so…"
"I can meet you there!" Rachel paused. "Sorry if it sounds like I'm trying to butt in, but I just moved here, and I'm trying to get used to the school and everything, and…"
"Oh! No! No! No! It's fine!" Tommy replied. "I was just going to say you can stop by and meet my friend later. He's really cool. He makes friends very easily."
"All right. I'll see you there then!"
"Yeah, sure!"
That's when the five-minute bell rang. Rachel ran down the hall to her classroom.
Tommy watched her leave, sighed happily, and quickly ran to class.
"It's no big deal really, Chuck." Rachel said to her new friend. "The first time in the locker room showers is always scary. But once you do it, it gets easier."
"That's what I've been trying to tell him all day!" Tommy exclaimed.
Chuckie, Rachel, and Tommy were heading to Fenton Works for Danny's big plan. Tommy also wanted to introduce Rachel to the rest of his friends before the meeting got started. He figured Danny wouldn't mind.
Chuckie sighed. "I appreciate your help you guys. But I'm still not very comfortable with this whole after sports shower rule."
Tommy grinned. "Don't worry, Chuck!" he said, putting a hand on his pal's shoulder. "I'm here for you every step of the way! I'm going to help you conquer this fear!"
"That's so sweet of you!" Rachel exclaimed, as the three friends approached the Fenton's house. She ran up the steps and knocked on the door.
As she did so, Tommy whispered, "Isn't Rachel just awesome, Chuck?"
Chuckie nodded. "Yeah. She's pretty cool." He glanced at his pal, and a sly smile spread across his face as he watched his expression. "I think she might like you, T."
"You think so?"
"I'm positive!"
Tommy sighed. "I've never felt this way about a girl before."
Chuckie slapped his friend's back. "Welcome to love, dude!" he exclaimed. "Welcome to love!"
As the two boys climbed up Fenton Work's steps, someone answered the door. Chuckie and Tommy were surprised to see that it was Sam. They assumed that Danny was down in the lab. But that wasn't what shocked them.
"Rachel!" Sam exclaimed.
"Sam!" Rachel cried.
"Huh?" Tommy asked.
Sam grinned. "What are you doing here?"
"I was just going to ask you the same thing!"
"Well, this is Danny's house!"
"No way!"
That's when Tommy broke up the girls' conversation. "Wait a minute!" he cried. "Stop everything! You two know each other?"
"Well, no duh, Tommy!" Sam exclaimed. "She's my cousin!"
"Cousin!"
"Yeah!"
"Oh."
"So wait a minute! If you and Sam are friends," Rachel said pointing to both Sam and Tommy, "and your name is Tommy," she continued, "you must be Tommy Pickles and Chuckie Finster!" She ran up and hugged them both at the same time. "Oh, I've heard so much about you guys!"
Chuckie nodded once Rachel broke up their group hug. "Same with you!"
"Yeah!" Tommy said, nervously.
Sam grinned. "So, now that you've all gotten to know each other, why don't I show you the lab, Rachel?"
"Sounds awesome!" Rachel exclaimed. She turned toward the two boys. "Are you guys coming?"
"Um, we'll catch up in a minute!" Tommy replied.
"Suit yourself!"
The two girls ran down the stairs.
Once he was sure the girls were out of earshot, Tommy cried, "Chuck, what am I going to do? I've got a crush on my friend's cousin! Sam is going to flip when she finds out!"
"I don't know, T! The unwritten dude code of law says to never have a crush on a friend's sister. And I'm pretty sure that includes cousins!"
"Aw, man!"
"Unless-,"
Tommy glanced up from the floor, and glanced at Chuckie eagerly. "Unless, what Chuckie?"
"Unless, there isn't a rule about asking permission first."
"You're kidding."
"No, I'm not. After the meeting, you're going to march straight up to Sam and ask her if you're allowed to go out with her little cousin."
Tommy sighed. After all, what choice did he have? "Well," he replied, "it's worth a shot."
After everyone was down in the lab, and introductions had been made to Rachel, it was time for the meeting. Danny Fenton was standing in the middle of the lab, fiddling with his thumbs. He wasn't exactly thrilled about showing his group of friends his ghostly abilities or telling them what he was going to do with them. But he knew he had to, or else how was anybody going to believe him?
Danny glanced straight ahead to see Tommy and Tucker approaching him. They stood on either side of him, grinning.
Tommy slapped his friend on the back. "I'm ready when you are, D."
Tucker nodded. "We're here for you, man."
Danny grinned nervously and nodded. "Thanks you guys." He took a deep breath and said, "I'm ready whenever you guys are."
Tommy took a moment to think, nodded, then said, "Quiet, everybody! The meeting's about to begin!"
Everyone quickly fell silent.
Tommy sighed, then said, "I suppose you're wondering why we're all here today. After all, all that the three of us told you was to meet in Danny's lab after school with no other information." He paused, then continued. "Look around my friends. You see here, a huge lab. A lab we call Fenton Works. This lab has been with us over the past…well…many years. Whether you've known it for only today, a week, a month, or many, many years, this lab has been important to us individually.
"All of us, that is, except for the one kid who lives under this lab's roof." Tommy turned to look at Danny, who shrugged nervously. "Don't you see," he continued, "that we got this lab all wrong? Over all of the years we've ignored it like it was garbage, sludge, or dirty laundry. Ever since we were babies knowing nothing more than what it was like to have an adventure when it was right in front of us all along.
"Look, I know we aren't perfect. But the one thing that makes us good, is helping the good of all humanity." Tommy turned to Danny once more. "That accident, that one big accident that doesn't seem so big anymore, changed my pal Danny Fenton's life. I guess you can say it even gave him a present. And he's going to open it and show not just this town, but the whole world what he can do. Even though he's not so sure where exactly he's going to go, he knows he has a job to do. And he's going to make sure it's done right."
Tommy paused once more, and said, "So, without further ado, I present to you, Danny Phantom."
Danny sighed, lifted his arms up, and allowed the two white rings to go up and down his body. Soon, his ghostly side, Danny Phantom, appeared before them. His friends stared at him in awe.
Tucker then continued Tommy's speech. "Now, Danny's planning to prevent and/or stop the ghostly activity that's been going on in AmityPark lately. So, Tommy and I are going to help coach him each weekend we get so he can get used to his new abilities." He paused, then asked, "Are there any objections?"
A minute passed without anyone raising hands.
"Okay then!" Tucker exclaimed.
Suddenly, a hand shot up.
"Sam?"
Danny glanced over at Sam anxiously. Was she not liking the idea?
Sam nodded. "Yeah, I object!"
Danny's heart sank until his friend said, "Unless I'm helping with the coaching too!"
Danny grinned as Sam walked up and stood next to him.
No more than two seconds later, Rachel's hand flew up.
"Yes, Rachel?" Tucker asked.
"Family sticks together." she stated, simply. "And if Sam's going to help out with Danny's coaching, I'm going to too!"
Rachel walked up and stood between Sam and Tommy.
"Friends stick together also." Lil said, without raising her hand. "So I'm in!"
"Same goes with me!" Phil exclaimed.
"Me too!" Chuckie cried.
"Us too!" Harold and Susie chorused.
Soon everyone, even Angelica was walking up by Danny's side.
Danny grinned. With all of his friends by his side, this was going to be a cinch!
"Hey, Sam! Can I talk to you in private for a moment?"
Sam turned to face her friend. "Sure, Tommy!" she exclaimed. "Anything you need, I'm here for you!"
'I sure hope so!' Tommy thought as he and Sam walked upstairs from the lab and into the Fenton's kitchen.
Once they got there, and were positive that they were out of hearing range, Sam folded her arms across her chest and said, "Okay, Tommy. What's up?"
Tommy sighed. "Okay. How am I going to start this?" he asked himself. Then, "I just turned ten a few months ago, and I've been kind of going through some stuff lately."
Sam nodded, getting Tommy's meaning. "Okay. So, how come you're asking me and not one of the guys?"
Her pal sighed once more then asked, "How should I break this to you?" He paused, then replied, "Because it kind of involves you. Because I sort of…well…started going through this stuff when a certain friend of yours arrived a few days ago." Tommy stared down at the tiled kitchen floor, embarrassed.
It took a minute for Sam to get what Tommy was trying to say. She grinned, then said, "Okay. Here's the deal. Rachel likes lilies and doing relaxing stuff. But no chocolaty things. She's lactose intolerant."
Tommy glanced up at his friend, shocked. "Wait a minute!" he cried, a grin spreading across his face. "You mean-,"
"Yes, Tommy!" Sam exclaimed. "I trust you! And besides, I think some of your 'Guys Unwritten Code' thing is way off." She was silent for a moment, then said, "To tell you the truth, I know exactly what you're going through. I'm going out with this guy at school Friday evening."
"I see." Tommy replied, too thankful to even pay any attention to what Sam was saying. He walked toward the kitchen entrance, then froze. "Wait a minute! Did you just say you have a date on Friday?"
Sam nodded.
"Who-,? What-,? Huh?" Tommy stuttered.
"It's not Danny if that's what you're thinking."
"That's what I'm shocked by!"
Sam rolled her eyes, then exclaimed, "Just go ask Rachel out already!"
Tommy nodded, still paralyzed by shock. "Yeah. Okay." He ran out of the kitchen, then ran back and said, "By the way, Sam, I so owe you one!"
Sam smiled at her friend as he ran back out of the kitchen.
"Wait a minute!" Danny exclaimed. "What did you just tell me?"
Danny was training with the guys this weekend down in the lab. The girls were going to be next week, and so forth. This weekend was all about invisibility. Earlier, Danny thought it would be easy. But it was much harder than it looked.
Dil Pickles was staring down at a Ouija board, trying to find out if 'anything bad was coming their way with words'. He glanced up at Danny, grinned, laughed, then said, "My big bro was trying to tell you that Sam is going out. On a date. With some guy who isn't you."
"Thanks, Dil." Danny said, annoyed.
"No, prob."
Phil smiled at the look on his friend's face. "If I didn't know better," he started, "I'd say that Danny Fenton/Phantom is jealous."
Danny stared at Phil wide-eyed with anger. "I am not jealous!" As he said this, he accidentally blasted a huge hole through the redish-orangeish hat Tommy was wearing.
Danny covered his mouth with both hands in shock. He didn't even know he could do that yet!
Meanwhile, Tommy was gawking at the hat, thinking about how close that ray had gotten to his hair.
Dil laughed once again. "See that, Tommy? I told you the Ouija board told you to wear a hat this morning for great danger!"
Tommy nodded. "And it's a good thing I did too! I was almost burned to a crisp!"
"Well," Harold stated, scribbling something on his notepad, "that's another power we need to work on! Ghost rays!"
Tucker nodded at Harold, then turned to face Danny again. "If you're not jealous, then how come you're getting so worked up about it?"
"I am not!" Danny cried. "I'm just concentrating really hard!"
"On what? Your invisibility?" Tucker asked. "Danny, all you could make disappear today was one eyebrow!"
"Hey! It's better than nothing!"
Tommy sighed, and shook his head. "I told you so, D. I told you if you like Sam, you should've told her earlier! Otherwise, none of this would've happened!"
"Easy for you to say! You're going out with Sam's cousin!"
"Yeah, I know! Awesome, right?"
Danny nodded.
"Well," Chuckie said, interrupting the conversation, "I'd better get going. I promised my Mom I'd be home by eight to wash the dishes."
"To wash the dishes?" Phil asked, a sly look spreading across his face.
"What do I look like? A body builder?"
"You're telling me." Danny mumbled.
Everyone said goodbye to Chuckie, and soon everyone else left the lab too. Everyone that is, except for Danny. He had seen that one guy hanging around a lot with Sam lately, and honestly, he didn't trust him. If Danny was going to fight all of these ghosts, and possibly 'check up' on Sam on Friday evening without her noticing, he was going to have to train. And hard at that.