Chapter 30

Danny didn't know what to think when he walked into computer science class that day and discovered not the mousy looking woman with gray hair pulled back into a messy bun and thin wired glasses that she kept having to push up her nose when they slipped down it that taught the class but a man in her place. He hunched down behind his assigned computer, trying to go unnoticed throughout the class. Even without the shades and the white suit, Danny couldn't forget the Guys in White agent that held him at gunpoint at the football game last Friday. He couldn't even focus on the work they were supposed to do that day as he wondered what the GIW agent was doing teaching the computer science class. The entire time all he could do was fear that somehow the agent would recognize him as Phantom. He swore the man would somehow hear the racing of his heart or the panic running rampant through his head.

When the bell rang, Danny bolted out of the classroom, leading the rest of the students out the door. He wanted to get as far away from the agent as possible, his skin crawling with fear. As he turned down the hall, he slammed into another body. He started to fall until a hand caught his arm and steadied him.

"Better watch where you're going, Fenton," Kwan said with a chuckle.

"Sorry," Danny mumbled, thankful he didn't end up running into one of the other jocks. He still didn't know what to make of that recent encounter with Dash when the blond man stopped Calvin from harassing him. Dash saying things like he wasn't going to let Calvin hurt him was something he didn't want to think too hard about because it made his head hurt. It didn't help when Tucker's questions danced into his head at the same time, asking him if he had girls he liked. Or guys. With all the viruses attacking and getting his grades up so that he could graduate, Danny didn't even stop to think about things like crushing on someone. Not since Sam at least. He didn't really count any feelings toward Paulina because every man at Casper High had a crush on her at one point in time, and the feelings were generally superficial.

"Don't sweat it." Kwan shrugged, half a grin slipping onto his face as he dropped his hand away from Danny's arm. His aqua green eyes lingered on the other man.

Danny shifted awkwardly under the gaze. It was like the jock was trying to puzzle out some very difficult riddle, and if this was still a few weeks ago, Danny might have thought it was as simple as one plus one. But after seeing Kwan's bedroom, Danny realized the jock wasn't as dumb as everyone pegged him to be. He could understand now why Valerie got angry over Sam calling the jock stupid.

"Hey," Danny said awkwardly, frowning in his uncertainty. "Is everything okay with you? Like at home or anything?" He turned his gaze away, feeling like he was treading into a topic that was forbidden between them. They talked during their theater class, but they weren't friends and it wasn't any of his business. He certainly had no right sticking his nose into what sort of things transpired between Kwan and his father, even if it had him worried.

Kwan sighed, running his hand through his short raven locks. "Just the usual." He shrugged like the usual meant what every teenager went through at home, except Danny didn't believe that. "I guess I'm just a little stressed out with my brother moving back in for a while, and now he's taken up a teaching position here, and it's really not helping with that whole 'in my brother's shadow' feeling."

Danny jerked his gaze back to Kwan, his blue eyes widening in shock. "Your brother?" he gasped out, quickly snapping the pieces together. He vaguely recalled the man announcing his name as Jing Long, but at the time, he was too panicked over the man's presence to make the connection to Kwan. "But why? I mean, he works for the Guys in White! Why would he need to teach computer science at a high school?"

"How," Kwan started slowly, his brow pinching as the frown stretch over his face, "do you know that?" His gaze pierced into Danny like the jock was seconds away from figuring out the answer to a long suffering problem.

"Uh, well," Danny stuttered and glanced away, scrambling for a believable excuse. "I just had him as my teacher in my last class." He rubbed at the back of his neck with a nervous laugh. "And I thought I recognized him from the game on Friday. I mean, I was pretty freaked out when those viruses attacked so I could have just been confusing him. But when I walked into the classroom, it was just like whoa! Because he looked exactly like the Guys in White dude that ran past me at the game."

Kwan squinted his eyes, and Danny gulped at the scrutinizing stare. "I guess he does have that annoyingly recognizable face," the jock grumbled as he leaned away, taking his eyes off the man in front of him. Danny breathed out, subtly, in relief as some his tension melted away. He really wasn't sure if the jock would buy his lame excuse, but something in Kwan's expression caught his attention. That haunted look that seemed so familiar to him.

"Hey." Danny gave the jock a light punch to the shoulder. "You're a hundred times better than that stuffy brother of yours." He threw on a friendly smile. Maybe he didn't really know all that much about Kwan's brother, but considering the jock never held a gun to his face, that gave Kwan major points on the cool scale. But Danny knew what it was like to constantly compare himself to an older sibling and always feel like he came up short in every category. If he could make Kwan feel a little bit better with that simple comment, then he would say it a million more times.

"Thanks, Fenton." A smile pulled at Kwan's mouth.

"Trying to work your way through all the jocks, Fentonsogay," Calvin jeered with a hard shove to Danny's back that sent the raven haired man stumbling right into Kwan.

"You know, at least Dash was somewhat clever with his names," Danny grumbled, turning a glare onto the bully.

"Yeah, well, I don't see your girlfriend here to save you this time." Calvin smirked as he cracked the knuckles on one hand. He probably thought it made him look more threatening that way.

Danny swallowed because it was a little intimidating, especially when he couldn't use his digital powers to fight back, and even more when he saw a few of the other jocks at Calvin's back, all looking ready to join in on beating up the loser. A hand grabbed hold of his arm and tugged him backward. Danny blinked in surprise as Kwan blocked off his fellow jocks from their harassment of a loser.

"Back off, Williams," Kwan said tiredly. "We were just discussing something for class so stop being such a dick."

Calvin smirked as he stepped up close to his teammate. "So do you and Dash make up the bread in a loser sandwich?"

"Is there a problem here, gentlemen?"

Danny didn't miss the tension in Kwan's body when they heard the voice of his brother. He turned to see the man, the GIW agent, standing before the group of jocks. Kwan's brother folded his arms over his broad chest as he narrowed his brown eyes at them. Danny swallowed, his throat constricting as his earlier panic returned. While the agent's attention remained on the jocks, Danny slowly inched away from the gathering.

"No problem, Sir," Calvin said as he hugged an arm around Kwan, who didn't look like he enjoyed that any more than being near his brother. "Just having a nice chat with my buddy here." The grin on his face couldn't have looked more fake if he tried. With no one even noticing his presence, Danny slipped around the corner and hurried toward the cafeteria for lunch.

"You look like you've seen better days," Tucker said when he met up with Danny before his friend could reach the cafeteria.

"This day couldn't possibly get worse," Danny muttered, rubbing his hands over his face. "Guess who my new computer science teacher is?" He stared blandly at his friend as Tucker shrugged without a clue. "One of the Guys in White agents." He sighed tiredly, shoulders sagging, but it felt like a relief to be able to unload his problems onto someone else instead of bottling it all up like he did previously.

Tucker patted him on the shoulder. "Life just likes to kick you around, huh?"

"Yeah, like bullying wasn't bad enough. Now I have viruses and the GIW to worry about. Not to mention my parents." Sometimes, Danny really wasn't sure how he survived. He frowned down at his hands. The last fight almost was the end of him if Vlad hadn't stepped in to save him. He sighed at the memory of that. Vlad came off as a total jerk during their first encounter with all those lies he spewed out, but maybe he wasn't all that bad. Not when he would actually jump in to save Danny, even if it was for some selfish reason like keeping his own skin safe.

"And don't forget Valerie," Tucker added after they entered the cafeteria, nodding his head toward the table where Sam was already sitting with Valerie at the trio's usual table. "What are you going to do about that? I mean, you were the one that pushed us to try to be friends with her."

"That was before she ended up with that weird suit and started having a vendetta against me." Danny frowned as he stared at the two women chatting. "It was kind of my fault her dad lost his job. I was fighting a virus that attacked where he worked. I had no idea that her dad would lose his job." He still felt really guilty about that, especially after everything stabbing word Vlad said to him before the football game last Friday.

"Yeah, but, I mean," Tucker rubbed at the back of his neck as they headed for the line to grab their lunch, "that wasn't completely your fault. You were trying to fight off a virus. She can't blame it all on you."

"Try telling her that," Danny grumbled then snapped his gaze toward his friend. "I don't mean that. Don't say anything to her."

"Dude!" Tucker gasped with an offended look. "Do you really think I'm going to spread your secret around?"

Danny dropped his gaze with a stab of guilt. "No. I'm sorry. I'm just no used to having someone else in the know. You know? I've been keeping all of this to myself for the last three years. It's... weird that someone else knows now. Well, two someone else. But it's a good weird." He grinned at Tucker, thankful to have such a good friend. It really was a great relief that Tucker didn't completely freak out or get so upset that he didn't want to talk to Danny anymore after finding out the truth.

"Two?" Tucker frowned, came awfully close to pouting, as he picked up a tray.

"Remember how I told you my parents were apparently old friends with Vlad Masters?" Danny heaved a sigh as his friend nodded. "The whole reason he was even there on Friday was because of me. He knows what I am. Please don't pull the friend card." He could see it in Tucker's eyes. His friend was gearing up to complain about Danny telling some random man about his powers when he wasn't even going to tell his friends. "He knew when we first met that I wasn't just some run of the mill program."

"Yeah, but-" Tucker tried to argue, but he snapped his mouth shut, his eyes widening somewhat as he stared at something behind his friend.

"Mr. Fenton."

At Lancer's voice, Danny winced, shoulders hunching up. He turned around slowly to face his teacher. "Yes, Sir?" He gulped nervously as he tried to think of what he might have done to get the man's attention.

"I'd like to have a word with you." Lancer placed a hand on Danny's shoulder, guiding his student from the cafeteria.

"Uh, Sir," Danny's gaze darted about the hall as they walked, heading in the direction of Lancer's office. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Not at all," Lancer assured him with a pat on the shoulder. "I simply had something I wished to discuss with you."

When they reached his office, Lancer held open the door. Danny hesitated, glancing at his teacher nervously before he entered the office and took a seat in one of the chairs before the desk. After he closed the door, Lancer walked over to lean against his desk, gazing down at the teenager wiping sweaty palms on his jeans.

"You have no need to be nervous," Lancer said in an unusually gentle tone that only made Danny feel a little more tense about this whole situation. "I merely wanted to discuss your future options. I saw that you only sent a college application to Amity University." He frowned in that displeased way he usually did.

"Uh, well," Danny reached up to rub the back of his neck. "It kind of seemed like my only option. My grades haven't exactly been all that great, and really it's a miracle if I can even graduate."

"I'm well aware of your academic accomplishments." Lancer folded his arms. "And I'm very proud of the improvement you've made so far this year." One of those rare smiles graced his face. "But your college application wasn't my entire reason for this chat. I wanted to know what plans you've made for the future."

"Plans?" Danny winced when he heard the crack in his voice. He shrugged awkwardly in his uncertainty. "Right now, I've mostly just been focusing on graduating." He shrank under Lancer's stare. The future wasn't exactly something he spent a lot of time considering. When did he even had the time between homework and virus attacks?

Lancer sighed tiredly, like that was the same thing he heard from his students all the time. "Have you considered something in the field of literature? Or you could go into a number of fields involving writing. There's journalism. You could write for a newspaper or a magazine. You could become a fine novelist if you chose."

Danny blinked several times. "I hadn't really thought about it." He stared at his teacher, surprised that the man was so concerned about his future. None of his other teachers would ever think to pull him aside and talk to him about what career he might like to pursue. Though now that Lancer mentioned it, a career in writing didn't sound too bad, especially after having the crushing news that his grades were too bad to make it into the space program after high school thrust upon him. He felt some relief wash over him with the spark of an idea in mind about his future. A new dream to pursue. He could even discuss ideas with Ghost Writer sometimes.

"If you're interested," Lancer reached behind him and picked up a pamphlet from his desk, "there's an internship at a publishing house this summer. I have some friends there and can pull a few strings, if you like. You can learn a thing or two working there. Maybe it will inspire you and help you find a career path."

Danny stared at the pamphlet presented to him and felt - He wasn't entirely sure how to describe it, feeling several different emotions at once. Happiness, relief, deep appreciate for his teacher. "I'll think about it, Sir." Danny smiled as he accepted the pamphlet.

"Don't put it off until the last minute," Lancer warned. "There's a limited number of summer intern slots, and plenty of other people will be trying to get them."

Danny nodded as he stood up. "I'll be sure to decide soon." He paused before turning to exit the office. "And thanks, Sir. I really appreciate this." He held up the pamphlet.

"You're welcome." Lancer walked over to the door to open it for his student. "It's been a pleasure having you in class."

Danny bit his tongue before he could same something like "I bet you liked Jazz more." That was the kind of thinking that always left him feeling like a disappointment to his family. Smiling at his teacher, Danny stepped toward the door when he froze. An eerie high pitched noise rang in his ear, making his brain scream in agony, and he wondered why Lancer wasn't reacting at all to that painful sound that made his eardrums feel like they would rupture at any moment.

Then he was falling. Danny tried to catch himself, correct his balance, but his body refused to respond to his commands. He hit the ground, or he thought he did. He couldn't really tell with his body feeling numb all over. Lancer's face appeared before him, the man's mouth moving like he was shouting, but Danny could hear nothing beyond the scream in his ears. Darkness crept into his vision, eating away from the outer edges. The blackness reminded him too much of the time he fell into the under level. Panic set in as Danny begged, screamed at, his body to respond in some way, any small way.

DARKLOVEFORFANFICTION123: *pets Kwan* Jing unfortunately has his head too much up his own butt to notice anything not directly related to his own selfish problems? D:

Sammi: So many different perspectives to write from. 8D

midnight: If only he wasn't a GIW agent~ D:

maltese: Maybe one of these days he will learn. orz

Just Will: Yeah... Season 3 especially. orz Jing is just... oblivious. *sobs* He, like, can't even understand why his brother doesn't like him. So different from how Jazz is with Danny, huh? Hopefully I won't leave a bunch of loose ends when the story finally reaches its conclusion. Which is looking far off at this point. XD;;;