Me: Hey guys you will never believe this! I still exist!

Danny Muse: Well they WOULD know that if you updated more often.

Me: -.- I know, I'm so lazy.

Danny Muse: I know right…

Me: shut up.

Danny Muse: hey, you're the one who said it.

Me: *rolls eyes* ANYWAYS…here ya go. It's a little longer than normal, but I don't think y'all will be complaining. So um…yeah. Tada!

Chapter 4

I hate this. I hate all of this.

Night has fallen upon Amity Park, and I am alone. Nobody knows how much everything hurts. It hurts to smile. It hurts to laugh. It hurts to move. It hurts to simply exist. I just want to be free from my life. Why do I have to endure this? Why am I lying here in my bed unable to sleep for the second night in a row?

I feel warm tears begin to run down my face, and I stare at my wrist. Cross hatched patterns lay across it, in an unknown pattern. I pull my sleeve down, to hide the memories that they leave. I bury my face into my pillow. Everything hurts. I wish I was dead.

Cold breath travels up my lungs and out my mouth in an icy mist. I stare at in frustration, wishing that I could tear the thing to shreds. I consider simply ignoring it, and letting the ghost have its fun. It's probably just the Box Ghost. However, I know with my luck it is not, and if I don't go take care of the ghost, it will probably destroy half of the town.

I sigh and half-heartedly slide out of bed. This sucks. I glance at my alarm clock, and groan when I see that it is 3 in the morning, wonderful… I sigh again and transform into my ghost half. I open my now neon green eyes, which if one was to look at closely, they would notice that they have dulled, now more forest green than neon green.

I begin to hover, my white boots grazing the ground as I do so. I fly through my open window, and look around and glare pitifully at the ghost whom greets me… Plasmious.

"What do you want Vlad?" I whisper as I glare at him, and I notice how his sly smile begins to fall as he looks at me, and his eyebrows narrow.

"Are you okay?" I am startled by the question. Am I not talking to my arch enemy?

"I'm sorry, I think that I heard you wrong… did you say something that wasn't self absorbed?" I snap back. Honestly, know this guy is has something up his sleeve. There is no way that he actually cares.

"Come now Daniel, you and I both know that although we may have opposite ideas- you cannot deny that I care for your health and well-being… and to be quite honest Daniel, you look like crap." Vlad responded, and I found myself unable to revoke. It was a completely truthful statement after all. He always was asking for me to join him, and I guess that was his odd, fruit-loopy way of saying that he cared for me… despite the fact he still insane. I look down at myself, and realize that he was probably right about me looking like crap. I haven't slept in two days, and have been working my ghostly butt off. I have school tomorrow- and I KNOW that Sam and Tucker are gonna be after my ghost tail when they see how I look. I sigh and glare at my ghostly enemy.

"Please just go… Just go. Take your stupid plans and go." I look at him almost pleadingly, hoping to get my message across. I am tired, and all I want to do is lie down and die. I look into his red eyes, and I see understanding within them, and perhaps a bit of sympathy.

"Daniel… please tell me what's wrong… you look so pale…" Vlad bites his lip as he says this, and I feel my blood boil. Vlad is asking me what's wrong? VLAD!- I wouldn't even tell my two closest friends about my hell of a life, and my arch enemy expects me to tell him? Screw that!

"No." I glare at him, my eyes ablaze with fury. Vlad seems hesitant, but he speaks again.

"Please Danie-"

"NO. Now please just GO!" I narrow my eyes and charge up an ecto-blast, which probably didn't even look that menacing- due to my lack of sleep. Vlad's expression looks hurt, but he puts up a wall so fast that if I hadn't learned to read his expressions so well in our previous fights, I would've completely missed it.

"Very well Daniel, I will set my plans aside for now- but I encourage you to talk to someone… you do not look all that healthy." He looks at me determined, as if he believes honestly that I will do as he says. As if.

"Just scram fruitloop, and leave me alone for the love of god." I spit at him, and the older ghost rolls his eyes, before taking off in the opposite direction. I sigh in relief and fly back into my room, thankful that I could avoid a full blown fight with the older ghost. I am no fool, I know that I would've lost… big time. I transform into my human half, and look at my alarm clock. I am thankful to see that I had only wasted a little under a half hour talking to Plasmious.

I flop onto my bed, and try to get some sleep- before giving up and walking downstairs and turning on the T.V., then flopping down on the worn down leather couch and flipping to a random channel. A commercial for an anti-depressant comes on. Everything is black and white, and a girl is sulking around and crying. I roll my eyes. I really hate these commercials. They always think that only girls can be depressed- and that all depressed people do is cry. What a load of bull. I'm a boy... and I'm depressed...at least I think so. Nobody has come outright and said it...but I can't exactly say what I feel is normal... so I must be depressed right? I may be depressed, but i know that my life is NOTHING like that commercial. I cry, but I also smile and laugh. I hang out with my friends, and I go to school.

The only difference is that I feel like my entire being has been hallowed out.

"Danny?" I turn around and see Jazz at the top of the staircase, looking down at me. I turn back to the T.V. so I can avoid her gaze and then respond.

"Hey Jazz." I say, and I hear footsteps walking towards me, and then feel a weight on the couch cushion next to me. I look over and see that Jazz has sat next to me, and then I look at my feet, unable to meet her questioning gaze.

"What are you doing up?" She asks after a minute, and I sigh.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Is there something wrong?" I snicker at that one. Oh only everything Jazz…only every stupid thing.

"Not really." I lie, and we sit in silence for a moment, the sound of the T.V. in the background, with lights erupting from it- giving the illusion of lighting ageist the black of night.

"Hey Jazz…"I start, feeling the need to apologize for yelling at her earlier.

"Yes Danny?" She turns to me as I look her in the eyes.

"I uh…I'm really sorry for yelling at you earlier. I shouldn't have treated you like that. You are really an amazing sister, and I was a jerk." I reach up and rub the back of my neck. I really was genuinely sorry. I hate it when I yell at people…especially my sister. She is just such a likable person that it's hard to stay angry at her. I watch her facial expression, and know that I am already forgiven when it erupts into a smile.

"It's alright Danny, I know it's not easy to be a freshman in high school, let alone be a half ghost on top of that… I just want to know if something other than that is bugging you. You just seem so… out of it all the time. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I know that something is up." I sigh as I hear her say this. Should I tell her? …no, that would break her heart. However, I don't want to downright lie to her… so I settle on a compromise.

"It's just…stress. Everything is so hard…I'm always running to save someone, running to my next class, running to catch the next ghost, running to go finish my homework… I barely get time to breathe!" I chose my words carefully and look at her, her face understanding.

"I know it must be really hard on you Danny, just remember that I will always be here for you if you need help with studying, ghost fighting, or just need someone to talk to." I smile at her. It really feels good to know that someone cares for me like that…even if it's just my sister.

"Thanks Jazz." I yawn loudly, and Jazz chuckles.

"You should probably head to bed buddy." She giggles and I nod- but still make no move to head to bed. I find my eyes begin to droop, and I lean on her shoulder.

Jazz's POV

I smile at my brother's now sleeping form. His chest slowly rising and falling and a small smile plastered on his usually worried face. I know that something is wrong with him, and more than just stress as he had said, but I also know that getting him to admit it will be a working possess. Sam had called me on Friday, worried that something might be wrong with Danny- and I found myself agreeing with her. Danny has been very distant as of late, and his clothing change was slightly worrisome as well.

I lean forward and whisper into my brother's ear," It's going to be okay Danny…trust me it will.

I watch as his small smile grows, and I am comforted to know that at least a small part of his consciousness understood me. I lean up against railing of the couch, as my eyes begin to droop as well.

"I love you Danny." I whisper as I begin to lose consciousness, and I hear a faint reply.

"I know."