Chapter 3

Danny woke with a start, glistening beads of sweat flying through the air as he sat bolt upright in his bed. He was breathing heavily and felt hot to the touch, a result of the recurring nightmare he just experienced for what seemed like the millionth time.

There was a pinching sensation in the center of his chest, where he had been speared by the ghost's tail in his dream. Instinctively, he brought his hand up and gripped his chest at the origin of the pain. Under his fingertips he felt the cool metal of a charm necklace which must've flown out from under his shirt collar in his panic just moments earlier.

The charm was a time medallion, given to him by Clockwork after his parents had unfortunately learned of his alter ego. "A gift," Clockwork had said as he handed a thin silver chain with a TW gearpiece charm to Danny. Clockwork dropped it into the outstretched palm of Danny's gloved hand, and explained, "It may be of use to you for future incidents." Danny was a bit skeptical...what kind of future incidents? As far as he was concerned, he wanted nothing more to do with ghost fighting.

"It's power is limited and activated by your ghostly aura."

"Clockwork, I don't-"

"It'll pause time in the human world, but only for a short period. Use it wisely." With that, the Master of Time disappeared, and left Danny to interpret the gift on his own.

Now, 3 days later, Danny sat in the darkness of his room, still confused as to why Clockwork had given him the medallion as he twirled the chain and charm between his fingers absentmindedly.

He looked over at the clock sitting upon his bedside table: 5:48am. It was still way too early to head to school, but after his fright, Danny knew he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep.

He decided to get up and take a long warm shower, hoping it would put his nerves and his mind at ease. He stood beneath the steamy waterfall, letting the water hit his face as the heat penetrated his body. It felt so good, he got lost in the warm sensation. He thought back to his nightmare, but just the beginning. He wished that much of it was real - just the three of them enjoying life, minus the ghosts. Just three completely normal teenagers enjoying their last summer of high school before graduation. Spending every day with his best friend and girlfriend without a care in the world.

He smiled at the thought of Sam being his girlfriend, but was jerked back to reality when the shampoo bottle slipped from the shelf and fell to the floor with a loud crash. Danny flinched at the sudden noise, but just sighed, picking up the bottle and squeezing some of its contents into his hand.

After his shower, Danny blindly reached into his closet and pulled out a white NASA t-shirt. He fixed his hair as he popped his head through, then pulled on a pair of his favorite jeans. Lastly, he strapped on his well-worn red converse and made sure Clockwork's medallion was safely tucked beneath the collar of his shirt.

It was now just after 6:30am, and his mother Maddie was just starting to make breakfast in the kitchen. His father Jack was sitting at the table fiddling with his latest invention which apparently wasn't working properly. Jazz hadn't come down from her room yet, so she was probably sleeping in this morning.

"Morning, son!" Jack called as Danny walked down the stairs. Danny just grunted, pulled a jacket off the coat rack, yanked the hood up over his head, slung his backpack over one shoulder and proceeded out the front door. His mother protested saying he needed his morning protein, but the last thing Danny wanted to do was sit in a room alone with his parents.

At least the Reality Gauntlet did its job on them. They might not remember the events of 3 days ago, courtesy of the Reality Gauntlet, but Danny remembered everything with clarity. The phrase "not my son" rang through his head as a grim reminder of how his father had denounced his own flesh and blood. He shook the thought from his head and continued on down the sidewalk to Casper High.

The sun had already risen, but the streets were still relatively empty. Danny enjoyed the silence: He found it almost peaceful. It was the calm before the storm. He was about to see Sam and Tucker for the first time since his battle with FreakShow over the Reality Gauntlet. He had ignored them all weekend, and they had no idea why. He knew he would be bombarded with questions, but he just didn't have the energy for it. He thought about skipping, but he couldn't skip forever. He would eventually have to face them whether or not he wanted to. He just hoped that the Reality Gauntlet had done its job properly, and that they wouldn't remember anything...

Danny was a little edgy as he sat down at his desk in homeroom, dreading the arrival of the rest of the students including Sam and Tucker. The first bell rang. They would be here any moment.

Sam walked in first, quickly followed by an out of breath Tucker.

"Yo, dude, where ya been?" Tucker asked as he took the seat next to Danny. Sam settled in the chair directly behind Danny and asked, "Everything okay?" before he could answer Tucker's question.

"Hmm? Yeah, just didn't feel good." Danny laid his head down on his desk, hoping to deflect any other questions they may have.

"Oh," Tucker said blandly as the second bell rang at 7:10, signaling the beginning of homeroom.

Danny wanted to test if the Reality Gauntlet had done what he commanded it to, but he didn't know how to bring it up. He just rested his head upon the desktop and traced the outline of the medallion beneath his shirt with his index finger as the morning announcements came through over the intercom. He played out various scenarios in his head, but ultimately decided to wait for an opportunity that wasn't as obvious as asking "So do you know who Danny Phantom is?"

Luckily, he didn't have to wait very long.

"Whoa, have you seen this?" Sam was scrolling through some online news site on her phone.

"What?" Tucker asked intrigued, leaning across the aisle to get a better view of the screen.

Sam read the article title aloud, just above a whisper as to not attract the attention of Mr. Lancer who was taking attendance at the front of the room. "Danny Phantom defends Amity Park against reality-altering Ringleader."

Shit! Danny totally forgot about all the media coverage of his fight with FreakShow. Idiot! He abruptly turned in his chair, and grabbed the phone from Sam's hands. He frantically scrolled through the article, praying there were no pictures.

Nothing. Phew!

"What, are you Phantom's biggest fan all of a sudden?" Tucker joked, taking the phone from Danny so that he could read the article himself.

"Huh, what?" Danny was dumbfounded. Did they really not know? He went along with it. "What do you think of him?"

"I think the dude's a hero!" Tucker exclaimed, earning him a stern look from Lancer. "He protects Amity Park from ghost attacks and never wants anything in return. He's like the Superman of ghosts, ya know?"

"I don't get it though," Sam jumped in the conversation as Tucker returned her phone to her. "Why is a ghost fighting other ghosts? And why is he protecting Amity Park of all places?"

So far so good. "So you don't like him?" Danny asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"She doesn't have an opinion on the guy," Tucker mockingly answered for her.

"I just don't understand what his motives are."

"I think she secretly has a crush on him," Tucker whispered to Danny.

"Do not!" Sam huffed as her cheeks turned pink, giving her away.

All three of them quietly chuckled amongst themselves. Danny's edgy mood visibly seemed to have lifted a bit as his facial expressions softened. He was relieved that the Reality Gauntlet had indeed worked, and that his friends no longer knew that the ghost boy was in fact sitting right next to them. But his relief was short lived, just until the realization sunk in that now he was completely alone...