I'm running out of ideas for chapter titles that make sense and go with the chapter
I'm running out of ideas for chapter titles that make sense and go with the chapter. My mind isn't working right because I'm hungry but I think this one should be cool. The chapter title is from the 'My Chemical Romance' song. (Yeah, didn't think EmptyHeart listened to MCR did you? XD)
Fourteen: I'm Not Okay (I Promise)
After a weary day of school and pretending to be Danny, Dan then had to suffer through an hour of detention with Mr. Lancer glaring at him over the top of his newspaper ever five minutes. Dan sat motionless the whole time, glaring right back. He knew it wasn't very Danny-like but at the moment, he could care less. He just wanted to get out.
"Alright, Mr. Fenton, you can go." Lancer murmured, "But I expect you here on Monday."
"Whatever…!" Dan grabbed the purple backpack and swung it over his shoulder and ran out the door, down the hall, and out onto the steps in front of the school where he stopped short, "Sam? Tucker? Wh-what're you doing here?"
"Waiting for you, what else?" Sam stood up from where she'd been sitting on the steps, brushing herself off, "Jazz invited us over."
"Jazz did what!?" Dan wheeled about and glared at Danny's sister who turned away with a smug look on her face. Dan jumped down the steps, grabbed her wrist, and dragged her a little ways away.
"What were you thinking!?" He hissed angrily, bristling, barely containing his disguise.
"Danny needs to see his friends! He needs a moral booster! He's been around you, and Clockwork, Vlad, and me, and Phantom! He needs his friends!" Jazz whispered back, scowling at him.
"No! They can't know! Clockwork told you that and he also told you that—!"
"Clockwork doesn't know everything!" Jazz snapped and then got herself back under control, "None of us can convince Danny to merge with his ghost half again but maybe if Sam and Tucker saw what was going on they could do something!"
"I'm not wasting energy arguing with you!" Dan growled, eyes flashing red for a brief second, "Why don't we go ask Clockwork, huh!?"
"Sounds good to me!"
"Hmph." Dan turned away and walked back to where Sam and Tucker were standing, looking rather confused at frustrated expression on the two Fenton siblings' faces. The car ride to Vlad's mansion was decidedly silent, the air between Jazz and Dan in the front seat unbelievably thick with tension.
"Idiot!" Sam and Tucker watched as Danny furiously yanked on the door handle, "They locked the door!" Danny slammed a fist on the door, "Hey! Clockwork! Open the door! I know you can hear me! Open up!"
There was a clatter of bolts sliding back and locks being undone and then the door opened with an exasperated Clockwork on its threshold, "Why couldn't you have wal—." The humanoid-ghost stopped when he saw Sam and Tucker standing on the steps next to Jazz. His red eyes narrowed.
"Sorry 'bout that, Sam and Tucker are visiting." Danny pushed past Clockwork and waved the Goth and the techie inside, "It was Jazz's idea. She thinks I need their company." He sneered and Clockwork sighed heavily.
"What was that about, dude?" Tucker and Sam followed Danny into the large dining room where the boy tossed his backpack onto the table top where it was quickly joined by Sam's and Tucker's.
"Aw, he's just being stupid." Danny replied, running his fingers through his black hair to get it out of his face, "He wants me to go find Phantom and I don't want to." He sat down in a vacant chair and, as Sam and Tucker followed suit, he looked up at them with a vague sort of interest, "So, what do you wanna do?"
"To un-explain the unforgivable, drain all the blood and give the kids a show. By streetlight this dark night, a séance down below. There're things I have done, you never should ever know!" The song was muffled, probably from a few floors up, but it was obviously turned up loud enough to be heard on the first floor. All three teens turned their heads towards their ceiling. Jazz walked through the dining room with a look of disdain on her face and exited to go upstairs. Clockwork sat down in a chair across the room, rolling his eyes at the music.
"That's…My Chemical Romance." Sam muttered, raising an eyebrow and then looking back at Danny who looked just as confused as she and Tucker, "This Is How I Disappear. That's not Vlad's is it?"
"Beats me." Danny muttered with a shrug and returned his attention to the ceiling.
"And without you is how I disappear, and live my life alone forever now. And without you is how I disappear, and live my life alone forever now."
"Okay, I do not like this sort of music." Tucker shivered, "Can we maybe go somewhere I can't hear this?" But he got shushed by both Sam and Danny.
"Who walks among the famous living dead, drowns all the boys and girls inside your bed. And if you could talk to me, tell me if it's so, that all the good girls go to heaven. Well, heaven knows that without you is how I disappear and li—."
"Who wants to play Ratchet: Deadlocked on Vlad's giant projector?" Danny asked, very loudly, over the top of the song, "I bet I can still whip you, Tucker!"
"It's not Tucker you'll have to worry about!" Sam interjected, a cocky smile on her face, "It's me!"
"Can you hear me cry out to you? Words I thought I'd choke on figure out."
The three teens stood up and Clockwork stood as well. Danny scowled at him, "Do you have to follow us? We're just playing a video game. We don't need you to babysit."
"I'm really not so with you anymore. I'm just a ghost, so I can't hurt you anymore. So I can't hurt you anymore."
"Ahhhhg! Will somebody shut that off!?" Danny yelled at the ceiling and almost as though someone had heard him, there was a resounding crash from upstairs and the music stopped abruptly, "Well, it's about time something went right."
But everything seemed far from right.
Seconds later, there were several angry shouts, loud thumps and crashes, and the sounds of something ricocheting off the walls. Sam and Tucker all glanced at Danny and saw that he had turned his attention to Clockwork. Clockwork shook his head.
"Danny, what's going on up there?" Sam asked but didn't get a response because there was a piercing scream, a random shout of rage, a series of loud thumps that got closer, and then someone tumbled through the door to the stairwell to lay sprawled on the floor.
It was Phantom.
He lay on the tile facedown, his right arm bent a most uncomfortable looking angle. Sam and Tucker gasped and looked at Danny but he was looking towards the stairwell. And he suddenly looked several inches taller…and his hair seemed a little longer…and…
"Danny! That's your ghost half! What're you—!?" Tucker choked off, eyes widening as another Danny Fenton came barreling down the stairs with one of the Fenton's modified (courtesy of Vlad) ecto-guns pointed at Phantom who was getting to his feet. Danny Fenton's right arm was smothered in bandages and in a sling but he looked absolutely furious.
"T-two!?" Sam breathed in shock, "But…how!?"
"GET UP!" The Danny whose arm was in a sling screamed, pointing the gun at Phantom who had rolled onto his knees, fear evident in his glowing green eyes, "GET UP SO I CAN TEAR YOU APART MOLECULE BY FREAKING MOLECULE!"
"Danny, stop it!" The Danny next to Sam and Tucker snarled in horribly harsh voice that made their spines tingle.
"YOU SHUT UP! I DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOU!" The second Danny shouted, still with the ecto-gun pointed at the quivering Phantom. Green energy had started glowing around the edges of the ghost's hands, "NO YOU DON'T!" The Danny with the gun fired a shot, missing Phantom and burning a hole in the carpet.
"Stop it, Danny!" Clockwork snapped but the Danny beside Sam and Tucker had had enough.
"Put the gun down, Fenton." The Danny who appeared not to be Danny hissed, a forked tongue flicking out from between vicious fangs, "Put it down and step away from Phantom."
"Make me." The other Danny retorted, gun pointed at Phantom, blue eyes on the transforming Danny, "Make me and show your true colors! Come on! Kill me like you killed your other half!"
"Don't talk down to me!" The transforming Danny roared. His skin changed from skin tone to ghostly blue-green, his hair turned white and flared into spikes, sprouting outwards from a spiked band into a ponytail, a white goatee grew from his chin, his clothes rippled and changed into a swirling violet cloak and the familiar, twisted version of Phantom's outfit, a black V-shaped mark faded into view over his left eye, and those eyes glowed a fearsome, burning, hate-filled red.
Sam barely managed to choke down her scream and Tucker fainted clean away right on the spot. Phantom's eyes were huge and Danny was breathing so fast he looked about ready to hyperventilate. That didn't stop his reflexes from kicking in. He swung the ecto-gun away from Phantom and trained it on Dan instead.
But Dan was far faster.
In one swift movement that no human eyes could follow, Dan had snatched the gun from Danny's hand, crushing it to pieces in the same move, grabbed the boy by the front of the shirt and thrown him clean across the room where he smashed into the wall, leaving a nasty dent.
"Dan!" Clockwork shouted, slamming the butt of his staff into the floor, "Enough!"
"No…" Dan growled, his voice a coil of animalistic quality, "Not enough…not nearly enough…" He started towards Danny who had shaken himself from his daze and squeaked in fear when he saw his evil future self approaching, ecto-energy pulsating in those clawed hands.
"Enough!" Clockwork yelled and Dan screeched in agony, falling to his knees on the floor, hands pressed over the left side of his face where blue electricity flared like a thunderstorm.
Sam, whose gaze had been fixated on the scene concerning Danny and Dan, suddenly felt something cold grasp at her legs and looked down to see Phantom with his arms around her knees and face buried in her thigh, shivering like a little kid.
The Goth girl knelt down, prying Phantom's fingers off her as she did so, and, not knowing what else to do, wrapped her arms around him and held him close. Technically, this was still Danny, at least it was a part of him. It seemed odd that Phantom, the one with the powers, should be a cowering, blubbering little child when Fenton, who was completely human now and had no powers to speak of whatsoever, was angry and full of a dangerously dark bravado.
Dan's screaming stopped and Sam looked up. Clockwork had Danny under the arm and wasn't letting go and Dan was still on his knees, making odd hissing noises while flicking his snake-tongue out at the pair. Sam now knew that it had never been Danny going to school, it had been his future self the whole time, but why she didn't know. Her eyes suddenly widened in realization and she unceremoniously shoved Phantom away, stalking across the room to Dan.
"Hey, Evil Future Jerkwad!" She snapped and Dan turned to her.
"Sam, no…" Danny whispered but she ignored him.
"How dare you! How freaking dare you!" She stomped right up to him, raised a hand, and backhanded him across the face, sending him backwards onto his rear, "How you freaking dare kiss me you stupid…stupid…!" Tears welled in her eyes and she couldn't stop them, "I HATE YOU!" She screamed and then ran out of the room.
Dan, Fenton, Phantom, and Clockwork all watched her go with slightly shocked expressions.
Sam ran up a flight of stairs without even knowing where she was headed. Anger boiled inside her. She couldn't believe it. Dan had the nerve, the indecency, to kiss her in Danny's form.
It was unforgivable.
She rounded a corner and slammed right into someone, knocking them clean off their feet.
"Samantha? What in the world are you doing here?" It was Vlad. Sam pushed herself off the millionaire and hurriedly wiped her eyes. No need for Danny's arch nemeses to see her like a weak spot.
"Ahhhh, you saw Daniel, didn't you?" Vlad had gotten to his feet and Sam hurriedly followed suit, "Quite a spectacle, isn't he? I don't think he's ever been so angry for such a stretch of time." Her turquoise eyes found Sam's lilac ones, "Perhaps Jasmine was right in bringing you and Tucker here." Vlad turned and walked away, an odd note of sorrow ringing in his usually indifferent voice, "Perhaps you can make him see sense…"
Sam was left alone in an empty hallway, confused and slightly hurt. Footsteps ran up behind her and she turned around. It was Danny, looking slightly out of breath, his right arm in the sling.
"Sam…!" He gasped, "What're you doing here?"
"Why don't you tell me what's going on?" She countered, "What've you been doing, holed up at Vlad's place and sending your future self—evil future self—to school looking like you!? He landed himself in detention and he kissed me Danny!" Her hands balled into fists and Danny's face paled, "And why were you chasing your ghost half around with a gun!? What's wrong with you!?" She dropped her voice and uncurled her fingers, "Where's my Danny…?"
"Your…Danny?" The black haired boy murmured, looking startled, his face turning pink, "I…Sam, that is…Phantom…" Grief overcame him and Danny sank back against the wall, "It's all Phantom's fault! All of it! If I got rid of him then it would all go away!"
"Danny, stop, please…" Sam knelt beside him, "I'm the one who's supposed to be glooming and depressing, remember! You're stealing my job."
Danny laughed softly, "Yeah, yeah, I know."
"What'd you do to your arm?" Sam asked, trying to get the boy's attention elsewhere.
"Um…" Blue eyes blazed brightly with uncertainty, "I…really don't know. Clockwork said my DNA was breaking down because the Observers tore Phantom and I apart all wrong or something like that. He said if I don't merge with Phantom again I'll die." Danny snorted dismissively, "He's lying. He just wants me to be a hero again. But I won't. He can't make me. I won't go back to being a failure! I won't!"
Danny suddenly winced, his breathing hitched, and he squeezed the front of his T-shirt with his left hand. Sam frowned, pried his fingers apart, and lifted up the front of his shirt. She went as white as a sheet.
"Danny…how can you saw Clockwork's lying…when you look like this…!?" Sam couldn't tear her eyes away from the horrible mutilation that had once been Danny's smooth, clear, chest.
"He is lying…" Danny muttered sullenly, "I don't need Phantom." He closed his eyes, looking extremely tired all of a sudden, "No one needs Phantom."
"I do." Sam said flatly and Danny's eyes blazed open, looking furious and jealous, "And so does Tucker. And Jazz. And your parents. And my parents. And Tucker's parents. And Valerie." Danny's expression became confused, "Well, at least you're still clueless. Amity Park needs you, Danny. Phantom's a coward and you're nothing but pent up anger. Darn it all, Danny, I don't know what it's like to have all of that blow up in your face!" She grabbed his shoulders, looking into his vibrant blue eyes that used to sparkle with laughter, "I don't know what to say to make it all better! But you're hurting yourself! You're hurting me!" She threw her arms around him and dragged him closer, burying her face in his scruffy black hair, "It hurts me to see you like this…!"
Danny didn't respond, just hung limply in Sam's arms. After a moment or two, she released him and sat back, brushing her black hair from her face. Danny still looked depressed. With a sigh, she rolled her eyes and stood up.
"Well, fine, if you want to keep being emo I'll just leave you alone but I'm coming over tomorrow too. And I'll bring you a present." Danny just looked blankly at her, "Oh, come on, get up. We're going back downstairs." She held her hand out and Danny grabbed it, hauling himself to his feet. Together, hand in hand, the two made their way back into the dining room.
Clockwork was waiting for them with a blank-faced Phantom at his side. Almost as soon as he saw Sam, the ghost half grabbed her free hand. Danny glared at him furiously until Sam squeezed his hand and he looked away pointedly. Vlad was there as well as Jazz who was sitting next to Tucker who appeared rather sickly. Dan was in a far corner of the room, fuming, arms crossed over his chest and legs crossed so that he floated in midair. The hem of his violet cloak was inches above the floor and its hood was pulled low so that no one could see his eyes though at this point anyone could probably guess that they were solid red with anger.
Sam took a seat and Fenton and Phantom followed suit on either side of her. Both of them put their elbows on the table top and propped their chins in their hands in the tired sort of way that reminded Sam of the old days. Phantom noticed Fenton was doing the same thing he was and abruptly crossed his arms on the table top and rested his head on his folded arms.
"I think some explaining needs to be done." Clockwork murmured, taking another vacant seat across from Vlad but in a position where he could watch Dan's actions, "It started back when Amethyst first came out of the Yokai Ghost Pits…"
There, you got a long chapter. Eat, drink, and be merry all night long because I think I'm hitting another solid brick wall of Writer's Block. Crap. Anyone got any dynamite?
Anyway, moving on, I think I got quite a bit filled out in this chapter. Sam and Tucker are now in on the story line, Dan's finally had enough, Fenton's about to snap and go crazy (maybe even emo O.O), Phantom's a spazz-maniac, Vlad's sick and tired of people barging into his house without him knowing, and Clockwork's gotten his buttons pushed so many times he's about to explode himself. So, in all general sense, everyone's at the end of their rope and someone's going to get pushed over the edge sooner or later.
Stay tuned and, hey, maybe you'll find out who. If you want to take a guess at who's gonna lose their marbles (so to speak) first then go ahead and leave a review with your guess. Maybe I'll wait until I get quite a few guesses before I post the next chapter…just to be a booger. XD