Chapter 03

Danny sighed as he collapsed onto a bench. Throughout the day, he had wandered around the campus, but he never saw Maddie or Vlad again. He also failed to find his father. As the sun started to set, and it began to grow colder, Danny came to a sudden realization. He had no money and no place to stay the night.

"This is the worst thing that could ever happen to me," muttered Danny as he dropped his head into his hands. When I get back, Vlad is so going to pay for this, he thought in a moment of anger before he fell into despair. But how am I even supposed to get back? I could try squeezing through the Proto Portal and search for Clockwork. But what if they haven't built the Proto Portal yet? How am I supposed to get into the Ghost Zone then? I've met past Vlad, so clearly they haven't tested it yet, but that doesn't mean it's not built. But even if it is built, that doesn't mean it's operational. If I could just find a way to get to Clockwork, he could take me back to my own time. But how do I get into the Ghost Zone without a Portal? He stared with wide eyes at the ground as a whispered escaped him. "I'm doomed."

"Why so glum, kid?" someone asked, causing Danny to jump and glanced up. The larger man stared down at Danny. He wore a wide grin on his face, which Danny recognized almost immediately.

"Da – um, what?" asked Danny, catching himself before he could let the word "dad" slip out.

"I asked why you look so down," Jack said as he took a seat next to Danny. He set the bags he was holding, that Danny noticed only at that moment, on the ground by his feet.

Danny could smell Chinese food wafting from the bags, and it made his stomach growl in hunger. Wrapping an arm around his waist, he blushed and glanced briefly at Jack. "I'm kind of hungry," he explained in a small voice. "And I don't have any money on me."

"You and practically every student on campus," said Jack in a joking manner, but Danny could see concern in his eyes. "But sometimes you get lucky." He motioned toward the bags of takeout. "You do a favor for someone and you'll get something in return." Bending over, Jack reached into one of the bags and retrieved one of the boxes. He handed it over to Danny. "I can't sit here listening to your stomach growl. Eat."

Danny hesitated before accepting the box. When he opened it, he found rice inside. "Are you sure I can have this?"

"If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have offered it," Jack said as he gave Danny a spork. He watched Danny dig into the rice before he continued. "Now what is a kid like you doing out at a time like this? And alone too?"

Danny paused with the spork raised halfway between the box and his mouth. "I, um," he mumbled. He lowered the spork back into the box and dropped his gaze to the ground. "I don't have a place to stay."

"No place to stay?" Jack leaned against the back of the bench. "Did your roommate kick you out or something?" He frowned when Danny shook his head. "Does your family live around here?"

"I - I'm not from around here," answered Danny. It was true since his home was in Amity Park. "I kind of ended up here by accident." If anyone else sat down beside him and started asking those questions, Danny would never have answered so openly. However, this man was Jack, his father. What reason did he have to fear being open with him? He knew it would be dangerous to the future, though, if he mentioned anything about who he was. He didn't want to affect the past too much and risk changing the future.

"That's not good." Jack released a sigh, loud and contemplative, as he folded his arms across his broad chest.

Danny stared at Jack. As his brow creased in worry, he wondered what Jack was thinking about. He was mildly awed by how deep in thought his father looked. He couldn't recall many times when he ever saw that expression on his father's face.

"It's decided!" Jack shouted suddenly as he slapped his hands on his legs. He grinned, ignoring Danny's bewildered expression. "You're coming home with me."

"W-What? Are you sure?" Danny asked, surprised by how quickly his father had come to that decision. This was the best scenario Danny could have hoped for. He at least knew his father wasn't some kind of weirdo on the prowl for innocent, naïve freshmen to prey upon.

"Will you stop asking that already?" Jack sighed and shook his head. "I said it so I meant it." He stood and picked up a few of the bags. "Now get up and help me carry these back to my place." He started walking away into the growing darkness.

Danny wasted no time. Leaping to his feet, he grabbed the rest of the bags then hurried off to follow Jack. He was glad his father was such a laid back and easy going kind of guy, but one thing nagged at his mind. "You don't care to know about where I came from?" he asked after they walked some distance across the campus.

"Afraid I would try to contact your family?" Jack gazed at Danny out of the corner of his eye. "It probably would be the smart thing to do. Ask you where you came from and why you're here, I mean. I know virtually nothing about you. My roommate says I'm far too trusting toward strangers. But I can't help the way I am. I like helping people." He shrugged. "Anyway, I know from past experiences, and my roommate could tell you all about those, that poking and prodding into someone's life isn't always the best way to do things. It usually just makes the person more withdrawn and less likely to tell you anything. Though I suppose asking you where you came from really isn't prodding that much into your personal business." He paused to glance at Danny. "So where are you from?"

Even in the past, my dad sure likes to blather on about stuff, thought Danny in amusement. "Where I'm from," he mumbled. Is there any harm giving away where I'm from? He couldn't find any reason why that would affect the future in any way. "I'm from Amity Park."

"Amity Park!" Jack shouted, and he released a booming laugh. "That's where I'm from. You're quite a distance from there. Do you mind if I ask how you ended up here?"

Danny shrugged. "It was just kind of by accident," he answered, not sure how to explain further. I guess I should think up some sort of background story while I'm stuck here, he thought, knowing from past experiences he could get himself into trouble if he went around making up different stories each time he met a new person. He was lucky that Tucker and Sam could help him out of those situations when his secret was nearly exposed.

"Not something you want to discuss, huh?" Jack nodded like he understood as he opened the door to the building they stopped in front of.

"Well, it's just - I left home," said Danny as he followed Jack into the building. "I didn't mean to end up here."

"Whatever happened at your home," Jack started, but he shook his head. "You shouldn't run from your problems. Of course, I can't force you to go home and face your problems. You're free to stay here as long as you want."

"Thanks. That's really nice of you," Danny said as they reached the third floor of the building. They walked down the long hallway until they arrived at Jack's room. Jack shoved his bags into Danny's hands; then he fished out his keys from his pockets.

"Welcome to my home," Jack said as he threw the door open. "It's not much." He shrugged, walking into the dorm room with Danny following slowly behind him. "Hey, V-man! I got us dinner!" exclaimed Jack before he grabbed Danny by the shoulders and pushed him forward. "Can I keep him?" He grinned widely.

"Tell me you didn't bring home another stray," groaned Vlad, turning to his roommate. He blinked at Danny, who stared back mutely. "We meet again," he nodded; then he glared at Jack. "Don't treat people like pets. And why are you even asking if we can keep him?"

"Because he has no place else to go," Jack explained as he pushed Danny farther into the rooms. "I already told him he can stay here, so your vote doesn't matter."

"I could go if it's a problem," mumbled Danny. He inched toward the door, but Jack forced him to sit on the couch beside Vlad.

"It's not a problem," Jack said as he dropped down onto the couch and forced Danny to press against Vlad. The couch wasn't big enough to hold the three of them. "Right, Vlad?"

Vlad frowned before he turned back to the television. "I guess it's okay," he grumbled, not wanting to appear as the "bad guy," which seemed strange to Danny who kept thinking about future Vlad.

"Great! He can share your bed," Jack said as he pulled the boxes of food from the bags and placed them on the table before them.

"What?" exclaimed Vlad and Danny at once, both staring in shock at the larger man.

"Well, he can't share my bed," Jack explained. "I'm too big, and those beds are too small."

"I could sleep on the couch," Danny suggested.

"This thing is way too uncomfortable, and we're pretty sure this is where the smell of our room is originating from," Jack said. Danny hadn't even noticed the strange odor, since the smell of the Chinese food was much stronger at that moment.

"Jack, you're my best friend," Vlad said with a sigh, "but sometimes you really like to push the limits of our friendship." He grabbed a box of chow mein and a spork from the table. "Why exactly do you need a place to stay, Danny?" He stared at the boy beside him as he took a bite of his chow mein.

"Um, well," mumbled Danny, feeling awkward as he sat squashed between his future dad and his future archenemy.

"Hey!" Jack exclaimed suddenly as he recalled something. "You said you met before." He stared with a puzzled expression at Vlad. "When was this?"

"He was auditing the Calc class I TA for," Vlad explained. "So as a student here, you, Danny, should have your own dorm room. Why do you say you have no place to stay?"

"Why would he be auditing a class if he's not a student here?" Jack asked before he bit off one end of an egg roll.

"Wait. So you lied to me?" demanded Vlad as he turned toward Danny.

"I," Danny mumbled and glanced around the apartment. "I didn't mean to." His gaze rose to meet Vlad's glare, and he could see anger in the man's eyes. Ducking his head down, Danny feared Vlad would lash out him for the lie. When no reaction occurred on Vlad's part, he thought, Of course he isn't going to yell at me. I have to stop thinking of what Vlad in the future would do.

"Hey, you any good at Pac Man?" Jack asked suddenly, breaking the silence that fell over them.

"Jack, you're supposed to be studying," Vlad said and frown disapprovingly at his roommate.

"Aw, come on, V-man!" whined Jack. "It's only one game."

"You always want to play games instead of studying," Vlad grumbled. "I'm just looking out for you. I wouldn't want you to break your solid B minus streak."

"And I appreciate your concern as a friend. But what's wrong with goofing off every now and again?"

After his father nudged him in the ribs with his elbow, Danny added, "And it's only one game. What's the harm in that?"

"And it's not good to spend all your time studying," Jack said. "I've had classmates who spend almost every waking moment studying and when it comes to major exams, their minds just go blank."

"That's an excellent point," Danny agreed. "You have to give your mind a break. That's a good fact to remember."

"Come on, Vladdy!"

Vlad stared at two men before he released a sigh. "I get the point already! I guess one game wouldn't hurt." He cracked a small grin when Jack broke into a wide smile of triumph.

That accident really changed Vlad a lot, Danny thought, surprised that Vlad caved so easily to Jack's pleading. I never would have thought this was how dad and Vlad spent their college days, he mused as he watched the two men get caught up in playing Pac Man. Maybe this won't be so bad. I can get to know my dad and Vlad when they were still friends while waiting for them to finish the Proto Portal. Once that's built and operational, I can slip into the Ghost Zone, find Clockwork, and go back to my own time. Crossing his fingers, he prayed that plan would actually work.