Chapter 16. Holy hell. I didn't think I would ever write this much when I first started. And now… well. You'll just have to see where everything goes next. It'll be a rather exciting journey.
I have a few plot bunnies running rampant around here. I think I might have to take my gun out and start shooting a few. Metaphorical gun, of course. I can't shoot anything to save my life. Except, of course, with a bow and a couple of arrows. I learned how to do that not to long ago. Thanks uncle and aunt I rarely get to see!
*cocks gun* Say, "Bye-bye," little bunnies. Momma ain't playing nice. Especially when I have several other things to work on.
Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.
Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to Danny Phantom or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's Mediator series and Kelly Armstrong's Darkest Powers trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.
Do Not Cross
Chapter 16
Discoveries
"A fight is going on inside me," said an old man to his son. "It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One wolf is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other wolf is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you."
The son thought about it for a minute and then asked, "Which wolf will win?"
The old man replied simply, "The one you feed."
Wendy Mass, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life
Valerie stood nervously outside of the auditorium the next afternoon. She wanted to get that stupid Department of Freakiness's mission is over. If she did this for them, they would somehow get her dad's job back. All she had to do was ask Danny if they could rehearse the scene that afternoon, peek around the house, and find the stupid portal. Easy… right?
Danny and Sam turned the corner and made their way over to her. She wondered if anything really was going on between the two of them, and if there wasn't, what was wrong with them? They really suited one another.
She couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Danny was obscenely gentlemanly. He was also polite and kind, putting other's needs before his own. He'd open doors and pull out chairs. He'd ask the right questions at the right time. And he had a nice smile.
Sure he was on the shy side, but what was wrong with that? Shy guys were the best. She liked them that way.
"Not the time to be thinking about boys." she muttered to herself.
"Hey, Val." Danny said, waving to her.
Sam smiled and nodded.
"Were you waiting for us?" the Goth asked.
"Huh, oh…" she said. "I was wondering if you'd like to run lines this afternoon. We have that project due for Shakespeare on Friday and all…"
"I'll tell Lancer to hold off on your lessons until tomorrow." Sam said, patting Danny on the arm as she brushed by Valerie to enter the classroom.
They both watched her go.
"So…" Danny said, scratching his neck.
"Rehearsal this afternoon at your place?" Valerie suggested.
"That's fine with me."
"Great. Okay. Right. We'll meet up in front after school ends?"
"Okay."
Danny smiled and walked into the classroom just as the bell was about to ring. When he was gone, Valerie heaved a sigh of relief. Phase one was complete.
.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.
When the school day was over, she gathered her things from her locker and tucked what she'd need in her backpack. She was surprised to find that she had very little homework, just her Shakespeare book and her math book.
Nervously, she closed her locked, twisting the lock to ensure it couldn't be opened easily. Valerie headed out to the front of the building.
She was starting to rethink the deal she made with those men. Sure, it would make her dad happy again, but she might lose her friends. What would she do then? Join back up with Paulina, Dash, and the rest? They weren't exactly nice.
Why were these decisions so hard to make?
She was surprised to see Danny waiting for her. When he saw her, he waved her over to him.
"Jazz is going to drive us home." he said. "She has some stuff to pick up before going over to one of her partners' houses to work on their own performance."
"Okay, then." she said, shrugging off her bag and setting it down next to his.
The two of them chatted about the scene they had to act out while they waited.
"Ew."
Danny and Valerie turned to see Paulina staring at them with a look of disgust twisting her pretty features.
"Since when do you two hang out?" she asked.
"Since the first day of school." Danny said.
"You really pay attention, Paulina." Valeria said, rolling her eyes. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with her right now. Really, Paulina could get on anyone's nerves very quickly just by the sound of her voice.
"I pay more attention that you think, Valerie." Paulina shot back. She looked Danny up and down. "What about your little Goth girl? Did you move on from her that quickly?"
Danny looked confused, innocently blinking his big blue eyes.
"We're not dating, Paulina." Valerie told her. "We're just going to work on some homework together. That's all."
"Whatever." she said, waving at them as she walked away.
"Why do I have a feeling there's going to be a bunch of rumors about us tomorrow?" Danny asked.
"Because that's how Paulina is. She likes to spread rumors." Valerie said, sighing.
"Hey!"
They both jumped at the sound of a voice. They turned to see Jazz standing there, cradling her books in one arm. She was beaming at them both.
"Ready to go?" she asked.
"Huh?" Danny said, blinking at his sister. Realization settled in and he nodded. "Yeah, let's go.
Jazz led them to the Fenton RV. She unlocked it as they approached.
Valerie gaped at the monstrous vehicle. Someone could actually drive that thing? Sure she had seen it before but she'd never really gotten close to it.
Danny allowed her to sit up front next to Jazz.
"It's… safer," he said, "than sitting in back."
"Are you saying I'm a reckless driver?" Jazz asked. Valerie picked up a slight teasing tone in her voice. This was one of the few times she'd ever seen them acting like siblings. It was really quite amusing and touching. It made her wish that she had a sibling.
"No," Danny said. "I'm saying that you are your father's daughter."
"You're his son."
"Yeah, but I'm more of a momma's boy." When he realized what he said, he turned to Valerie, looking a little horrified. "Don't… share that with anyone else."
She laughed.
"Anybody else sure." she said. "But Sam isn't just anyone."
A look of sheer mortification spread over his face as all of the color drained from it. His eyes dilated and his mouth fell open. He looked lost and very afraid.
"I'm just kidding, Danny." Valerie said, biting back her giggles. "Sam won't find out."
"Though I'm sure she'd like to know." Jazz said. "She might be interested in momma's boys."
Valerie looked at her, raising a brow. Had Jazz picked up that Danny and Sam might like one another, as well? Undoubtedly. Anyone could tell, except the two of them. Maybe they were oblivious to one another's affections?
Secretly, she hoped so. Danny was a nice guy, and she was starting to grow very attached to him and was wondering what it might be like to be in a relationship with him.
She shook her head. No. She wasn't supposed to be thinking about Danny that way. He was her friend, as was Sam and her loyalty to her friends was worth more than anything else. Except her father.
She felt the guilt build up in the pit of her stomach. She was really going to go through with the deal, wasn't she? She could still back down and really just rehearse the scene…
But what would happen to her and her father…?
"What's wrong, Val?" Danny asked. "You look a little sick."
"Oh." she said, fixing her hair and sitting up straighter. "The medication is probably just wearing off."
"Do you need me to swing by your home?" Jazz asked.
"No. I have some in my bag for emergencies."
It was sort of illegal to bring those types of meds on school property without bringing them to the nurse but Valerie didn't think the school would mind as much. She had fainted in the hallways, after all. Plus, she was in the top ten of her class. She highly doubted that she would get into any serious trouble, just a warning and a slap on the wrist.
She looked at the little assortment of pills in the little organizer. It was roughly a half hour too early for her the estimated time she should take them next. She shrugged that off her mind and grabbed her water bottle, easily taking her medication with the cool liquid. She felt it settle in her stomach.
Neither Jazz or Danny said anything until they reached their home.
Valerie, like everyone else at school, knew about Fenton Works. Seeing it and hearing about it were two different things. Were they even safe to go inside with that metal building perched on top? She tried not to think of the ceiling caving in from the monstrosity above as she followed the siblings in.
She didn't care much for the interior but she thought it suited the Fentons quite well. Everything had a very homey and relaxed feel to it.
Jazz dashed upstairs while Danny set his things on the floor by the couch.
"Sorry about the mess." Danny said, fixing the magazines and books on the coffee table. He set them in neat piles in different corners. "My parents have company over and they're usually in the basement or the Emergency Ops. Center."
"…Emergency Ops. Center…?" Valerie asked, raising a brow.
"Yeah." He nervously scratched the back of his neck. "It's gotten really useful due to all the ghost attacks."
"There aren't that many. It's usually the same ghosts from what I've seen."
Danny shrugged.
"So…" He looked around. "Do you need anything to drink? I'm pretty sure we still have some juice left and maybe a few cans of soda in the fridge. I think we also have some pretzels and chips in the pantry…"
"I'm fine, Danny. I won't be hungry for a couple of hours."
"Right. Okay then. So. Balcony scene."
Jazz sprinted down the stairs, carrying a large box. A few things, like a pink feather boa and a stripped hat peaked out from the top.
"Have fun, you two." she said as she ran out the door.
Valerie dug her Shakespeare books out of her bag. There were several, most of them the plays they were going to read this semester and the last the official book that had a limited amount of knowledge on the Bard of Avalon written sometime in the late 90s. She could find more information on Shakespeare Geek's blog. She particularly liked the claim that he was a half human and half Australian Frilled Lizard hybrid.
She flipped open to the scene in the Romeo and Juliet book. Act 2, scene 2. It was an annoying popular scene, probably why their teacher had chosen for them to perform it. The class was small, no more than five or six groups of three total, but most of them were theater geeks, only a small percentage of them took the class for fun. And then there was her, who took it just because she could.
She never got Danny or Sam's reasons but they both probably had an interest in Shakespearean literature, no doubt. It seemed like something they would be interested in.
"Okay, so do you have any idea how Sam wants this thing set up?" she asked.
"I was thinking we just run lines until she can get here." Danny said. "She said that she and Tucker will stop by around four maybe five."
"I thought that she was teaching you guys some self-defense, not working on something with Mr. Lancer."
"Huh? Oh, no, Sam, Tucker, and I are helping Mr. Lancer with this big school project. Something for spirit week at the end of the month. Student council asked for his help on something and we got recruited. Top secret and all that."
Valerie wasn't sure if he was lying. Something about the way he fidgeted told her that he was lying but it sounded very plausible. Jazz was president of the student council and she would happily volunteer her younger brother just to get him involved with something school related. She decided to nod and accept it.
"Okay, can't wait to see it."
He sighed and smiled.
"Great." he said. "Now, this scene…"
Phase two: completed.
.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.
"My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words
Of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound:
Art thou not Romeo and a Montague?" Valerie said, reading the lines off the page.
"Neither, uh, fair saint, if either, uh, thee dislike." Danny said, glancing down every-so-often to see the words.
Valerie had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing. They had been at it for around an hour. Danny was still stumbling over his lines and she hadn't had the chance to really look for the ghost portal yet. She was still wondering where it could be.
She decided that there were two plausible locations. The basement with a sign saying "FENTON LAB: KEEP OUT" written in red crayon and caution tape with DO NOT CROSS in big, bold, black letters. Another possible spot was the Emergency Ops. Center. She hadn't found the door to take her up to the roof yet but the basement door she could see quite clearly. If only the door was open, Danny was gone for a little while, and she could drop something down the stairs…
She jumped from her seat when the basement door slammed open. Three people were talking simultaneously, their voices sounding concerned. She couldn't discern what they were talking about over the cacophony of voices but it sounded rather urgent.
"Uh, mom, dad?" Danny said. "What's going on?"
"Oh, Danny." the woman Valerie perceived as Mrs. Fenton said. "Thank goodness you're home. There's another ghost attack in town."
"Where's Jazzy?" a large man in an orange hazmat suit asked.
"She's over at a friends' working on some homework." Danny said.
"Right, you kids stay here while we go take on the evil ghost in town. Coming, Vladdy?"
The man referred to as "Vladdy" she recognized immediately. Not only was he the man who had stopped by that one evening at the Nasty Burger but he was also Vladimir Masters, the man who now owned the fast food restaurant. He was also looking at her.
His gaze made her want to shiver, as it had the first time they met. She returned his gaze with a fierce one of her own. She wasn't ever one to back down and she wasn't about to start now.
"Right," Vladimir Masters said, still looking at her, "evil ghost terrorizing the town. We must make haste."
He turned away from her so quickly, that she nearly fell out of her chair. She counted her blessings that no one was watching her.
She was grateful for when they went on their way without asking many questions. She didn't really like it when people asked her questions. "How are you doing?" or "Are you in pain?" or "What happened?" were starting to annoy her, especially when it came from adults and her peers.
She looked at Danny, who seemed a bit on edge. His leg, she noticed, bounced up and down. Maybe he needed to relieve himself. If he did, this might be her one chance to snoop in the basement.
"If you need to go to the bathroom, go." she said. " Don't let me stop you."
"Huh?" he looked at her incredulously. "Oh, right. Yeah. I'll… be back in a few minutes."
He dashed out of the living room to the bathroom upstairs. She could plainly see the one downstairs from where she was sitting but she shrugged it off.
Looking around, she made for the basement and cautiously tiptoed down the stairs, being extra careful not to step on one that creaked. She made it down without any —
"Ow." she said, hissing as she hit the ground.
She tripped on the last stair, landing in a heap on the floor. She looked down at her hands and winced. The floor was made of polished metal but her hand managed to get nicked by one of the screws that held every piece in place.
She sucked on the scrape and looked around. Her hand dropped from her mouth with an audible 'pop' when she noticed the swirling green circle at the far end.
"Phase three," she said to herself, "is completed."
(grins) I like how this turned out. I rewrote this thing sometime of Thursday or Friday because I didn't like how it originally turned out. It's shorter now but it flows a lot nicer. That and the wording is twenty times better.
Some of the wording is due to me picking up a Jane Austen novel again and me finishing on The Tempest. Oh crap… I have finals next week. (starts to hyperventilate) This is not good. I must study~! …I'm too lazy to.