Well, readers, we're nearing the end. Once more, a shoutout to The 13th Unlucky Jinx. Read her story and review so she'll hurry and update it! *taps a pickaxe in my hand threateningly with an insane grin* Before I go nuts waiting for a new chapter.
Danny was in the living room, curled up with a book (fantasy, just to spite Lancer) when the doorbell rang.
"I've got it!" Vlad called from the study, which was the room closest to the front door. Danny shrugged and took a sip of his coffee before going back to his book. From the front door, he heard Vlad say, "Jack, Maddie! Welcome back!"
Danny nearly dropped his book as he scrambled off of the chair and toward the front door. "Mom, Dad!" he said happily, rushing up to them and hugging his mother. Maddie looked shocked for a moment before hugging him back.
"Danny..." she said softly, looking quite touched by his affection. "How are you?"
"I'm great, Mom," Danny replied, smiling. "How' the family?"
"Jasper's going to make a full recovery," Jack replied, sounding heavily relieved. Everyone else is fine, just a few bumps, bruises, and broken bones."
"I'm happy to hear that, Jack," Vlad said earnestly. He shut the door behind all of them. "Daniel, why dont you go show your parents into the living room, and I'll get everyone coffee."
"Sure, Vlad." Danny led his parents to the living room, where Jack and Maddie sat on the couch and Danny took up his spot on his chair and picked his book back up. "It's great to see you guys back," he said, smiling. Jack and Maddie exchanged a curious look; Danny was acting a little too chipper for having spent two weeks with Vlad.
"How have YOU been, Danny?" Maddie asked. "Did you and Vlad get along alright?" Danny shrugged.
"Not at first," he replied honestly. "But we got over it." That was all he said.
"...How's school?" Jack asked. Danny blushed a little.
"Ummm..."
"Daniel was suspended for two weeks," Vlad answered for him, carrying a small tray with three coffee cups and putting it down on the coffee table. "He lost his temper at school on another boy...Dashiel Baxter, I believe his name was...?"
"Danny!" Maddie scolded. Danny hid his face behind his book.
"Now, Maddie," Vlad cut in, picking up his own coffee cup and sitting down in a chair adjacent to Danny's. "Although the fighting was a little...unreasonable, from what I've been told, this boy had been bullying Daniel for some years now, and with Daniel's recent...hormonal imbalances...it was only natural that he wished to stand up for himself." Danny flashed Vlad a thankful look.
"I just wish we knew what exactly was wrong," Maddie said, sipping her own coffee pensively. "Not that there's anythign WRONG with you, Danny...!"
"Maddie, I know what was wrong with Daniel," Vlad intervined quickly. "I, in fact, had the same problem when I was younger. It's quite rare, but not unheard of." Danny resisted the urge to snort into his own coffee cup and shot Vlad an amused expression. "It's simply a hormonal imbalance, as I mentioned earlier. His outbursts were caused by stress, which only worsens the imbalance." He sipped his coffee. "Fascinating, really...since he's been out of the school, his behavior has improved dramatically. I believe that Casper High is where most of his stress originates from."
"Danny's grades HAVE been slipping this year," Jack remarked, looking at Maddie. She nodded back. "We just thought it was because it was a little too difficult for him..."
Before Vlad could respond, he heard the front door open and someone walk toward the living room. "Vlad, are you in here...? Oh." The visitor paused when he saw the Fentons. "...My apologies, Vlad, I didnt know you had company."
Danny stared; was that the Ghostwriter, he thought. It looked like him...but he looked...alive.
Andrew still had black hair and green eyes, but the green was more of a forest green, rather than a vivid green. His skin, which was normally dead-pale, was softly naturally tanned. He smiled at Danny and Vlad, then moved to introduce himself. "Hello, my name is Andrew Writer, I'm a good friend of Vlad's."
Maddie smiled and shook his hand and introduced herself, and Jack did the same. Danny looked about ready to keel over laughing, but Vlad, ever the great pretender, calmly sipped his coffee. "Andrew, what brings you here tonight?" he asked, his voice perfectly even. Andrew pulled something out of the satchel he was carrying.
"Danny's essay, actually," he replied. He handed it to Danny. "Proofread and spell-checked. Only five errors this time, well done." Danny took it and looked it over; the 'Writer had been helping him with his essays and written work, and said that he would get around to editing the essay soon.
"Thanks, Andrew," he replied.
"What were you doing with Danny's essay for school?" Maddie asked. Andrew smiled at her and sat down on a free chair next to Vlad.
"Oh, I'm actually a tutor," he replied. "I've been helping Danny with his schoolwork while he's been suspended, and he's gotten it done and turned in on time...but there is something I wish to address to you..." Jack and Maddie nodded in attention. "From tutoring Danny and studying his schoolwork habits, I have to say, it's not from a lack of trying, or even the content and level of the work that his grades are so low, but rather, the way he's being taught. It doesnt quite coincide with the way he learns.
"Danny is an exceedingly bright student, but all children are different and cannot all learn in the same way. The conforming way of teaching doesnt quite work for him. He needs one-on-one teaching to learn properly. His math grades are especially horrid, but after tutoring him in Algebra for just a short time, it's clicked for him. I also believe that with this recent hormonal imbalance that Vlad spoke to me about, I dont see him finishing high school without either flunking out or being suspended enough times to fail."
Jack and Maddie nodded. "It makes sense," Maddie replied, looking over at Danny, who was ignoring the conversation in favor of his book. "But what do you suggest?" Andrew smiled, but only Vlad could see the conspiracy behind it.
"I'm a professional tutor, Mrs. Fenton," he said. "And in my professional opinion, taking Danny out of school and getting him a home-schooling tutor would benefit best for him before taking the ACT and CLEP. Someone to work one-on-one with, if you will." He smiled at Danny. "In fact, since I'm already acquainted with Danny, should you choose this option, I would be more than happy to do so myself."
"And I would be more than obliged to offer payment for his services," Vlad added. "And it is true; he and Daniel DO get along rather well, and from what I've seen, his work is improving. I would suggest he finish up this semester, since there's only a month and a half left of it, and then try to tutoring for the next semester."
Jack and Maddie looked thoughtful, and Danny still had his face buried behind the book. Andrew smirked at Vlad, who kept his face straight.
"...How do YOU feel about this, Danny?" Maddie asked her son. Danny lowered the book and nibbled his lip.
"...I HAVE been having trouble at school," he confessed. "I mean...it's not just the work, like Vlad and Andrew said...it's the teachers, and the other kids there. None of the teachers really like me because they think I'm...slow..." His face flushed a little with indignancy and embarrassment. "...And I dont really have any friends other than...Tucker, Valerie, and...Sam." He shifted his eyes over to Andrew. "Andrew's really helped me with my work. It makes SENSE when he teaches it. I really wouldnt mind putting in the extra work if it meant he could tutor me."
His parents nodded and shared a look between them. "...We can talk this over later," Maddie said, smiling. "But why dont we go home and sleep on the decision, alright?"
"Oh...damn, I forgot to pack my suitcase," Danny muttered truthfully. "And some of my clothes are in the wash..."
"Maddie, I wouldnt mind Daniel spending another night here," Vlad said. "You and Jack must be tired from the plane ride home. Why dont you two go on, and I'll drop Daniel off tomorrow morning?"
"You really dont mind?" Jack asked. Vlad shook his head.
"Of course not. I have tomorrow off anyway, and we can discuss the homeschooling further. How does that sound?"
"Sounds great, Vladdie!" Jack replied, grinning. "Danny, we'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay." Danny got up to hug both of his parents. "Bye Mom, bye Dad." He went back to his seat, and Vlad walked Jack and Maddie to the door.
"Vlad...how HAS Danny been doing?" Maddie asked softly when they were at the door. "Jack and I were so worried about him the whole time we were gone..."
"Daniel has been fine," Vlad answered honestly. "I took your advice, Maddie, and I settled the peace between us. When I made the effort, so did he. He began to trust me when I told him that I knew what he was going through, and I havent betrayed that trust. I told him that if he should ever feel stressed out, he could come here. I've even given him a key to my house. So if he doesnt come home for some reason, assume he's here or with me." He was cut off by a surprise hug from Jack; and uber-powerful half-ghost or not, there was NO defense against one of Jack's bearhugs.
"I knew I was making the right choice when I made you his godfather!" Jack replied happily. Vlad winced when he felt his vertebrae pop.
"Happy to be of service, Jack," he gasped. "...Let go." Jack let him go, and Vlad brushed the wrinkles out of his clothes, only to be surprised by a hug from Maddie, too, only she was much more gentle.
"Thank you for taking care of Danny, Vlad," she said, smiling. Vlad smiled back and nodded.
"My pleasure," he replied. "I'll see the two of you tomorrow." Jack and Maddie left for the car and waved to Vlad before getting in.
"...Jack?" Maddie asked after a moment of driving.
"What, Mads?"
"...Did Vlad seem a little...off to you?" she asked. Jack thought for a moment.
"...Kind of," he said. "He seemed a little warmer...like he used to be back in college."
Maddie made a noncommital sound and went back to her driving. And it was true; Vlad DID seem warmer and not 'fruit-loopy', as Danny called it. He wasnt a creep at all. It was like he saw her as just a friend, like he had when they'd first known each other. She smiled; she'd take non-obsessive friendly Vlad over the creepy Vlad ANY day.
Back in Vlad's house, Danny had gotten out of his chair and leaned over to kiss the 'Writer. "You're a genius!" he exclaimed. Andrew smirked.
"So they tell me," he replied vainly, pulling the younger halfa into his lap. "At this point, we'll be able to spend so much more time together..."
"During the evening," Vlad said, sitting down in his chair. "During the morning and afternoon hours, Daniel will spend it on schoolwork, and you as his tutor and ONLY his tutor."
"Duh," Danny replied.
"We've already established that fact, Vlad," Andrew added. "I wouldnt want my reputation to go down the drain. If Danny doesnt finish his junior year with all As, then I'll eat my new novel."
"...THe odd thing is, I really think you would," Vlad muttered, though smiling at his two lovers. "How did you make your appearance look alive again?" he asked.
"Library secret."
"...I'm beginning to hate that explaination."
"Then quit asking." Andrew carded his fingers through Danny's hair.
"You guys bicker like an old married couple," Danny commented.
"Really?" Andrew asked. "Who's the wife?"
"...Tough call. Vlad brings in the money, but he's also the one who provides the cuddles."
"DANIEL!"
Andrew laughed and blew Vlad a kiss. "Care to go to an early bed, dear?"
"Not if you two keep teasing," Vlad replied stiffly.
"Well," Danny replied, standing up and taking the 'Writer's hand, pulling off Vlad's 'arrogant rich snob' tone, "if you're going to be that way, we can just go on without you. Come, Andrew."
"Oh, I intend to," Andrew replied pervertedly, scooping Danny up and flying through the ceiling up to Vlad's room.
Vlad glared up at his ceiling for a few moments before hearing a yelp from Danny, then growled and transformed into Plasmius and went straight after them.
Epilogue is next, my dears! *giggles insanely* COFFEE!