I have decided to randomly spoil you all today with another chapter. I'm in an extremely good mood today, :) I felt like sharing the same good mood as well.
Beta'ed by Dragonian Master (who is doing such a fantastic job!)
Enjoy the chapter!
Vlad chose to help me carry my grocery bags to the apartment and here we are, laughing about our past quietly since some people aren't awake yet. I mean, it's like almost ten o'clock and people should be up by now, but it also depends on when they work. I opened my door with the key – thankfully I had it on my cell phone attach. We walked in and my dad was sitting up on the couch, waiting for me. Oh, ghosts! Really?
"Where were you? I went to wake you up and I wanted to spend the day with you, son!" Dad complained.
I laughed sheepishly and forgot that he wakes up so early. Vlad came in and dad changed his behaviour immediately at the sight of his best friend. He grinned and this was the time to see Vlad getting hurt! Dad stood up and ready to rush over to Vlad.
"Dad! Don't run or tackle anyone! I finally got food and I don't want to go back to the store for another two weeks! That and the neighbours will want to kick me out!" I frowned.
Dad didn't go against my word and he smiled to see his 'best friend' in the room. Vlad sighed and worried about my dad. I knew how Vlad felt about my dad sometimes, but there are moments when he can't stand being touched. Dad doesn't know too much, but it happens.
"So you were getting food, son? Why didn't you leave a note?" Dad walked up to Vlad, but the billionaire still have the grocery bag.
Vlad helped bring the bags onto my kitchen counter and we began to put food away.
"Yes and I didn't think I'd need to in my own place, dad." My eyes rolled and started to put the stuff away.
"How are you doing, buddy?" Dad asked.
Vlad faked his smile, "Swell. I'm shocked to see you here, Jack."
The man laughed, "I'm shocked too, Vladdie!"
That made me cringe, even Vlad did. When was dad going to stop it with the whole nickname thing? Vlad came over to my right side and took over the half of the kitchen to remain distance from my dad. This wasn't easy and had to let Vlad help or dad will suspect something.
"Why is it that you are shocked, Jack? Everyone knows I have a new company to run here." Vlad raise his eyebrow at my dad.
If my dad could pick up body languages, he would leave Vlad alone completely. Despite of that, he's too positive and blind about everything. He only sees his world to be compare to a child's imagination and believes strongly about ghosts. If it weren't about ghosts, it'd be his favorite food.
"I didn't expect that you'd be with Danny on food shopping." He grinned, "I never see you two together to do anything. What changed?" Those blue eyes were sure enough eager to find out.
I blinked at him, "Dad, we're just companying each other for grocery food."
"Anything else?"
Vlad shook his head, "I don't think so. Daniel and I are only helping each other for food we need." He smiled, faking it that is, "Now, I best be going since I need to head to work. I'll see you in a couple of weeks, Daniel."
Dammit! Vlad, he's leaving me when I'm not in the mood to be around my dad-
Wait, what just happened here? This was more of an opposite here. This was too weird and couldn't shake it off too much. I didn't bother putting the cereal away and headed to my bedroom. I slammed the door and decided to sit down on my bed. Well, I plopped down and laid back to stare up at the ceiling. It was too novelty for me to handle.
The door knocked on a few times, but I didn't bother to answer. They waited a few seconds, but stood there. They knocked once more and still, I didn't bother. I had too much on my mind to handle and needed to figure out what happened. Everything was so…different to me. Almost too foreign for my taste and…have I lost myself to normal?
I tried to think of how I had perceived normal and it made me realize how my definition of normal. I would fight ghosts on a regular basis. Lying is a skill that's all normal. Attending to social events were nearly impossible. Driving a car isn't necessary for me. Security for a home isn't important to me because I can defend myself with my powers – whether they are seen or not. To be on guard twenty-four-seven.
To see Vlad as my archenemy. To see my dad as some goof dad that everyone loves. To see Jazz psychoanalyzing anyone, even ghosts. With mom, someone to be extra careful with ghosts topic. My best friends who would argue and bit off my head if I'm being immature, but great team members to count on. Danni who will not let anyone kick her butt and do something about it, plus, a bonus help in the team. Valerie who hates my ghost half, but tolerance towards the human half.
Everything had changed as I got older and it doesn't stop. I've changed too and my mind was too curious about the dreams I had in the past two months. With coming out so hard or some faded memories that were slowly returning to me. The frustration is building up inside me more than ever and driving me crazy. It made me feel like my heart is going to burst in a matter of seconds. All these times, I'm so confused to what is happening and there isn't a thing I could do about it.
The door knocked on again, but nothing had changed. I refused to leave my room. My dad knows better not to get me kicked out of this apartment because I can't afford to be moving again when summer courses are coming soon less than two weeks. With so much on my hands and my mind, I needed to handle things on my own.
I picked up my phone and sighed. I needed help, but I can't think on my own anymore.
"Son, Vladdie's gone. Is…everything alright? I hope I wasn't interrupting your dates with him." Dad commented.
Dates with Vlad? Why would dad say that? I walked over to the door as I tossed my phone on my bed. I looked at dad, wondering what he could have possibly means. At least I'm only two inches taller than him.
"What are you talking about? Dates with Vlad?" Dad really threw me off there.
Dad pulled out something from one of the pocket and showed me something. It was one of those magazines that keep up on celebrities dating whoever. The blood escaped my face when I saw the picture…not just one, but more! It was the day when Vlad bought dinner that night and how drunk we were.
The first picture showed how I grabbed Vlad's suit and kissed him like he's all mine. My stomach was turning and twisting around so much to see him and me into this so easily. The next picture showed how close we both were and so into the kissing into each other's throat. There's a knot in my stomach every time I kept staring at the second one. The third one showed I was the dominate one by biting his neck. I stopped breathing by then. The last picture was all where we went to one of the private rooms in that restaurant.
Then, now it all had made sense. The dream, the memory, and the emotions I had felt overall. My hands dropped the magazines and nearly fell down on my knees. Dad caught me and carried me to the living room's couch. He set me down and I'm stammering to comprehend it all thoroughly. What were we doing in that private rooms? Making out? Oh ghosts, this was not my year!
"Danny?" Dad called me out.
My head lifted up at him, "I came because of the magazine I found when cleaning the house for your mother. I wanted to find out from you first, but I thought you were denying because you weren't ready to tell your old man here."
My head shook, "N-no. I didn't even know we were on cameras, let alone kissing Vlad." My face buried into my hands, "Oh, man, what am I going to do?" I felt miserable about this.
How was I going to tell Vlad that I'm the father? That we were so drunk, we ended up having sex and now we are having a baby. Dad doesn't even understand what is going on.
"Son, there is no harms done. It happens and there's no shame in kissing a guy. Heck, I experimented a few times in college." Dad thought to help.
He doesn't understand because he doesn't know my secret. I picked up my head and stared at him when he clearly doesn't understand a damn thing!
"Dad, you don't know the half of it." I groaned, "This is more serious! It's not that I could have given my virginity to Vlad, it's something else!"
He frowned, "You're acting like as if you almost got a girl pregnant or cheated on someone."
I sighed. He's half right, only I did get somebody pregnant. Yet, for a couple of days, I couldn't help and wondered if Vlad's dream warning him that I'd be the one taking his kid away. That hurts…to take away, but that's not fair. I told Vlad that no one would take his kid away and…well, it's mine too. I think…I needed more memories on how it had happened and only one person knows everything.
"Son, did you get someone pregnant?"
I sighed, "Look, it's more complicated than you think. I don't want to drag you into something you don't understand."
My dad tilted his head, "What do you mean? Like some sort of connection to Phantom or something?" He questioned something that would just make it so easy.
I kept my mouth shut, knowing I don't have an excuse to cover that or lie right now, and Vlad…pregnant with my kid, maybe. Great, this is going to be so awkward! Somehow, it changed my feelings around and confused about everything. At least I'm not jealous of Vlad anymore and I don't think I want to be apart from him anymore.
"Why are you quiet about Phantom? Don't tell me, the reason he's missing because you're him?" Dad was serious.
I froze and found myself shock. He wasn't even joking about this and something tells me he's not clueless anymore. Dad sat down on the recliner to prove he meant to talk to me of all this stuff going on. Personally, I was shocked he figured it out all those years. I was glad Jazz caught on first to allow me adjust the chances of either of our parents or both of them finding out. It's been so long, I didn't expect them to know by now.
"What is your theory," I asked.
Dad shook his head, "Look, I thought about it since you went to college in your second year. I do notice how you are and Phantom resemble too much alike. I'm not going to, uh, you know, destroy you by molecule by molecule because you're my son anyway."
This was something I hadn't expected and he was telling me all of this. I hugged myself and nodded to understand his promising anyway. There wasn't anything for me to fear, just difficult to break out the truth to him without feeling the need to explain. To continue hiding everything else, it'd be pointless and he's probably studying through all video, newspapers, and anything he can remember.
"I guess I can't hide it anymore. I'm half ghost anyway, so I'm not entirely dead or a full ghost. But, right now, I need to think on this matter because you just…" I buried my face, "…can't even understand, or remember a thing that night."
Dad frowned, "Why? What's wrong? How is it complicated?"
Could I trust dad to handle this bizarre and similar situation I'm in? Could I trust him to handle it well, but help me?
"Why don't you order dinner, dad? Let me sink this in because this is more than out of the blue for me." My head shook.
He fixated at me, "Are you sure, Danny? I mean, I'm not in a rush or anything. I want to help, heck, you're a hero and you'll need all the help you can get."
My head shook, "No, I'm not a hero. I'm just doing my job to put ghosts in the ghost zone and make sure no one gets hurt. And I'm sure, dad. It's just…I don't want to rush this out because of some stupid accusation before it goes any further or I'm going to look stupid. Just get something for dinner, I need to think for a while." I almost want to bite my fingers off.
He sighed, but he saw things my way. I knew he would have a lot of questions and stuff. It's the fact that I'm finding out I'm the father. There are no doubts about it. Magazines don't cover up the fakes, they go for the real deal and what happened that night proved it all.
A penny for thoughts?
The next chapter will be on every Monday~