So, just a head's up, but school for me is already starting to get crazy. Senior year of college and all that. I'm going to try and keep these updates fairly regular, but if they start slowing down that's why. School unfortunately has to come first.

Anyway, here is the next chapter!

Chapter 4

Gaining altitude, Danny flew over the city of Amity Park for an hour, letting the tears roll across his face where no one could see them. He'd been rejected by his own mother. If even she thought he was a freak…

He didn't let himself finish that thought.

What was he supposed to do now? How long should he give his mother? Where was he supposed to go in the meantime?

He could easily spend a night at Sam or Tucker's, but two nights was usually pushing it. Even if he rotated houses, their parents weren't dumb. They would realize something was up. And he definitely didn't need them prying right now.

Eventually he set down on the flat roof of a building, curling up into a ball in the corner. He transformed back into Fenton and felt his phone in his pocket. He pulled it out, and then he paused. Should he call Sam or Tucker first? Or…

He flipped it open and pressed three, the speed dial for Jazz. She was the only one who could possibly get through to his mom and the only one who could actually try and understand the way he was feeling. He wanted her weird psychology stuff to say the right thing to him to make him feel better. She was the best person to call right now.

"Hello?" Jazz answered.

"Hey Jazz," Danny said.

"Hey what's up? Everything cool over there?"

Danny hesitated in answering. The normal response to that was of course, but it really wasn't.

"No, no it's not," he said truthfully.

"What happened?" Jazz asked, her voice taking on that no-nonsense tone she'd inherited from their mother.

"I told mom," he stated. He stared at the vents on the roof, his face blank and expressionless. He'd already cried. He was done with that.

"Told her wha—oh, wait…about Phantom? You told her about that?"

"Yeah."

"How did it…I mean obviously she didn't take it well…what happened?"

He told her everything, how the confrontation this morning had ended and how he'd felt he had no choice to tell her and how he thought he was ready to tell her. He thought he was ready to deal with this.

How could he have ever been ready to deal with this though?

"She rejected you?" Jazz summed up when he was done.

"Yeah…I don't know what to do now."

"I'll call her and talk to her. I've got a test tomorrow morning so I can't leave until lunch, but I'll be home by dinner time to help sort this out. Where are you going to sleep tonight if you can't go home?"

"Probably Tucker's. He and Sam have both offered to let me crash there for a few days whenever I need to, but Sam's parents don't exactly like me."

"You should head over to Tucker's then. Get some sleep. You sound like you need it. I'll call mom and do what I can tonight, and I promise I'll get there as soon as I can."

"Thanks Jazz. You're the best sister a guy could have."

"Thanks Danny. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you," Danny said. They both hung up and Danny put the phone back in his pocket. He knew he should have headed straight to Tucker's then, but he didn't feel like uncurling himself from the corner.

So he didn't. He stayed for another hour or so, until his stomach growled loudly. He glanced down at it, frowning. Turning his eyes to the sky again, he decided now was as good a time as any to head over to Tucker's. The sun would be going down soon, and he did still need to eat.

Slowly he climbed to his feet, using the corner around him to help push himself to his feet. He wasn't physically injured, but he couldn't remember ever being so drained in his life. He almost couldn't get the ghostly rings to appear and transform him, but they finally appeared and he jumped off the roof, taking stock of his location and making a beeline for Tucker's house.

He landed a block away in an alley and transformed there, walking back onto the street as Fenton. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked and kept his head down. No sooner had he started walking on the main road than he bumped into someone. Both he and whoever he hit stumbled.

"Hey, watch it!" a high-pitch accented voice exclaimed. Danny glanced at who he hit. It was Paulina, and her bags had fallen to the ground. She looked at him. "Oh, it's you. Great, now I have loser all over me!" she complained.

Danny blinked. Normally he would have been ecstatic to be this close to Paulina when none of her other friends were around, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. He mumbled "Sorry" and looked away again, intending to just keep walking.

She didn't say anything for a bit, but then she called after him. "Uh, not that I care, but are you okay?"

Danny paused in sheer shock at the question. He half-turned towards her.

"You know, usually geeks like you would make a fumbling idiot out of themselves right now and pick up my bags," Paulina said, her hands on her hips. Danny glanced down at her bags and then up at her.

He walked back and picked them up, handing them to her without a single emotion crossing his face. She took them from him wordlessly, her eyes never leaving him.

"You're so weird," she decided, turning briskly and walking away. Danny turned and did the same, knocking sheepishly on Tucker's door. His father answered.

"Oh, hello there, Danny! Tucker didn't tell us you were coming over," he said. Danny managed a weak smile, but he knew it didn't reach his eyes.

"I forgot to call ahead of time…sorry about that," Danny said. Mr. Foley just smiled warmly and opened the door for him.

"It's not really a problem. Come on in! My wife is just putting dinner on the table. Have you eaten yet?"

"No…not yet," Danny said. He knew his acting was absolutely terrible right now, that there was no way this false smile on his face could fool anyone, but Mr. Foley didn't question it. He tilted his head a little at the lack of emotion but led Danny into the kitchen.

It was as he said, Mrs. Foley was just setting a pot roast on the table. Tucker was already sitting down and he smiled warmly when he saw Danny.

"Danny! Hey man!" Tucker greeted warmly.

"Hey Tuck," Danny responded. Tucker frowned immediately. Something was wrong, it was obvious. Everything about the way Danny was standing screamed that he needed help. But it wasn't physical…he wasn't holding any limbs in pain or avoiding weight on one leg. So then…he must have told his mom then. And it didn't look like it went well.

"Why hello Danny!" Mrs. Foley said. "You're just in time for pot roast! I hope you're hungry!"

His stomach rumbled in answer and she laughed. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, a little color coming back into his cheeks. Mr. Foley got out another plate and more silverware for Danny, setting them in his usual seat next to Tucker.

"Thanks," Danny said. "Sorry to just barge in…"

"Oh it's no problem! Certainly not the first time, and it certainly won't be the last," Mrs. Foley said cheerfully. "We don't mind at all!"

He smiled a little. After answering the typical 'how was your day?' questions Mr. and Mrs. Foley started discussing what had happened at Mr. Foley's work, leaving the two teens to try and talk quietly.

"You okay man?" Tucker asked. He didn't turn his head to Danny, knowing that if they showed they were having a conversation it might be noticed by his parents.

"Not sure. I'll tell you later," Danny said. Tucker nodded. That would likely be the best he'd get for now, so he let it drop until later.

Danny managed to clear his plate, but the food seemed tasteless to him. He knew it was just because of how he was feeling; Mrs. Foley's cooking was absolutely incredible and could never be described as tasteless.

As soon as they could, Danny and Tucker excused themselves from the table and headed upstairs to Tucker's room. Danny related to Tucker what had happened, falling into the same emotionless tone he'd had before.

"I think you just scared her," Tucker said. He got up from his spot and started fiddling around his computer. "Give it some time, let Jazz work her magic, and then everything will be fine. You'll see."

"I hope so," Danny said.

Tucker turned around, holding out two old joysticks. "In the meantime…it's been awhile since we played Doom."

Danny glanced up, a ghost of a smile on his face. A distraction was just what he needed right now.

Please leave a review!