Me: Yeah! We're back for another chapter *dances around happily*
Danny: What do you mean we? I'm not the one writing this.
Me: Well…you're here with me, aren't you?
Danny: I guess so…
Me: As promised, this chapter is going to be a lot, lot better than the first. Sorry it's sooo late guys, I was working on my other two fics, EXILE and Gone and Forgotten.
Danny: Hayden doesn't own me. *Looks at me* Why do I need to keep saying this every time?
Me: The copyright bunnies will eat you if you don't
Danny: *Goes ghost* Oh yeah? Let's see them get past Danny Phantom! *assumes Super Danny pose*
Me: *Sighs* Here it is guys, enjoy :)
No Worries, Chapter 2
When Danny found Tucker in school the next morning, he was asleep with his head in his locker. Somebody had put a 'kick me' sign on his back, but no one had kicked him. Then again, if you kicked the mayor you probably got arrested.
Danny took it off and shook Tucker awake. The mayor groaned and re-adjusted the red beret on his head.
"Mornin' Tuck, sleep well?" Danny joked.
"It's not funny Danny," his best friend said. "I was up until 2am last night doing paperwork." He sighed, "I never knew being the mayor was so hard! Where are all the girls? Don't they come with the job?" He looked around at the girls in the hall. About thirty of them had approached Danny that morning, asking him out. Danny had rejected them all, of course. After all, he had Sam. Tucker had nobody.
"Have you seen Sam this morning?" Danny asked Tucker.
"No, but Paulina's looking for you. Something about Paulina Fenton." He replied.
"I'll talk to her later," Danny checked his watch, "It's almost time for class. Sam's not usually this late," he said worriedly.
"I'm sure she's fine. Maybe she's sick or something." Tucker grabbed his textbooks and shut his locker, "come on, let's go."
Danny walked into room 23 and sat down in his usual seat for English. Hardly anyone was in class yet; just Tucker, himself and two other boys with their noses in late homework.
Tucker sat down next to him and opened up his textbook. He made a confused face and pulled a small brown envelope out of the middle page. "What's this?" he asked Danny.
"No idea," Danny replied, "Open it,"
"But it's addressed to you, Danny."
"Me?"
"Yeah," Tucker handed him the envelope. Sure enough, the envelope said 'Daniel Phantom'. Danny opened it carefully. Inside it was a piece of folded paper. He took it out and looked at it.
"What does it say?" Tucker asked, leaning over to his desk to try and see what was written on it.
"It says 'Hakubutsu kan'"Danny replied to Tucker.
"No it doesn't. It's just random squiggles in different places on the paper," Tucker observed, "It kind of looks like someone's pen leaked over it."
"No, seriously, Ha-ku-but-su-Kan," he pointed to each squiggle as if it represented a syllable.
"How can you understand it?" Tucker asked Danny, puzzled.
"I…I don't know. Can you look up the word on your PDA?" Danny asked.
Tucker looked up at the clock, "I'll do it after class. Lancer will be here any second now."
As if whatever Tucker said came true, their English teacher, Mr Lancer, walked in the room. Danny had been so busy looking at the letter that he hadn't noticed his classmates come in as well. Paulina was giggling and waving at him. Danny waved back and turned to face the front of the room.
"O.K. class, please open your textbooks to page 105," Mr Lancer told everyone. "I am now going to give out this play to everybody, and I expect you to read the first ten pages and answer the questions specified in the textbook."
He caught sight of Danny and Tucker. "Mr Fenton," he said in his monotone voice "You maybe a world-renowned superhero, but that is no excuse for passing notes in class. Put it away before I give you detention."
Danny sighed and put the envelope in his backpack. He heard Dash smirk from the other side of the room.
Mr Lancer handed out the plays and Danny spent most of the lesson staring into space. He got a lot of winks and giggles from various girls, but he mostly ignored them and continued to do nothing.
The rest of the morning lessons passed quickly, and there was still no sign of Sam. After convincing the A-list that Danny really didn't want to sit at their table, he took his phone and dialled his girlfriend's number. After five rings someone picked up. But it wasn't Sam.
"Hello?" Danny recognised Sam's mum's voice.
"Oh hey, Mrs Manson. Where's Sam?" Danny asked.
"That's what I was going to ask to you," she replied, "I thought Sam had left for school early because I didn't see her this morning. Last time I saw her she was with you."
"Are you accusing me?" Danny was slightly taken aback. He knew Sam's parents didn't really like him, but it was unfair to assume that he was responsible for her disappearance.
"Well, you were the last to have contact with her. And considering your ghost activities… well, it's hard to think that you weren't behind this."
"Behind what? Mrs Manson, I flew Sam home. I saw her walk through the front door before I left, I swear it."
"If you say so," Sam's mum replied, "but I still don't trust you, Phantom." She hung up.
"Is everything OK?" Tucker closed his folder full of paperwork and looked at Danny, "that conversation sounded pretty heated up."
"Sam's gone and her mum's blaming me for her disappearance." Danny replied, frustrated.
"Dude, that's not fair," Tucker pointed out.
"I know. Come on, it's time for class again." Danny got up from the table he had been sitting at and encouraged Tucker to follow him.
Tucker shoved his folder back into his bag and went after his friend.
Afternoon lessons passed fairly quickly too, and in what seemed like almost no time at all, school was over for the day. Tucker left almost immediately to go to a speech, so Danny didn't get the chance to talk to him.
He went ghost as soon as he walked out the front doors of Casper High and flew straight to Sam's house.
He floated over to her bedroom window and peeked inside. Her bedside table light was switched on and the covers on her bed were unmade. He couldn't see Sam.
Danny phased through the wall to get a better look. Her bedroom was definitely empty. He checked her en-suite. A black towel lay screwed up on the floor. Danny picked it up. He was surprised to find that it was still wet. That meant that someone, maybe not Sam, had been in the bathroom recently.
He heard the sound of dripping water and turned to see that both taps in the sink were still running slightly. Danny turned them off. Whoever was last in here was really messy and careless.
"Who's there?" Danny whipped round when he heard a voice call out.
Sam's father walked into the bathroom and glared angrily at Danny.
"Phantom! What are you doing in my daughter's bathroom?" he said furiously.
"Looking for her!" Danny replied calmly. "I'm not here to cause trouble, I promise you."
The man narrowed his eyes, "I won't believe that until you get out. You bring danger to our home when you're here. Ghosts hunt you, Danny. Our daughter isn't safe with you."
"But I fight the ghosts that hunt me!" Danny protested, "And I beat all of them!"
"Not all the time," Mr Manson pointed out, "Just get out of here."
Danny scowled at him and phased through the wall, out into the street. He transformed back into Danny Fenton and decided to walk home.
He passed a newspaper stand on his way back. As usual, he was on the front page. This time, as well as pictures of Phantom, there were pictures of him in his human form. The seller noticed Danny and called him over.
"Hey kid, you're Phantom, aren't ya?" he asked him with an accent that Danny couldn't place.
Danny nodded and tried to sound as enthusiastic as possible, "yeah, that's me. Danny Phantom." He forced a smile.
"You do a great job of protecting Amity Park," the man said. He handed Danny a newspaper, "here, you can have this copy for free. There are some good photos of you in there. I think there's a four-page article inside too. Something for yer little memory box."
"Thanks," Danny said.
"Oh, and one more thing,"
"Yeah?"
"Can you sign this?" he held out a small piece of paper and a pen, "My little girl loves you. It would make her day if she got an autograph from her hero."
"Sure," Danny scribbled his name down. Some little girl thinks that I'm her hero, he thought, suddenly slightly happier than before.
"Thanks kid," the newspaper man said as Danny began to walk off, "Good luck in the rest of yer um… battles."
"Ok, bye," Danny called back to him.
When he was almost home, Danny stopped at the local shop to pick up some juice and a sandwich. When was outside again, he sat down on a bench and opened the newspaper.
He turned to the page about himself and jumped when something fell out of the paper. It was another small brown envelope addressed to him. He tore it open and looked at the note inside.
"Dillow y funll," he said it out loud as he read it. He had absolutely no idea what it meant. Maybe Tucker will know, he thought. Danny placed the note in his school bag next to the other one he had found this morning in English class.
He finished his food, got up off the bench and began to head home again. Danny bumped into numerous girls and news reporters on the way and did his best to co-operate with them. But for every step he took, he grew more and more worried about Sam and the mysterious notes that were appearing in the strangest of places.
Danny: Cliffy, oh noes!
Me: There's one thing about me that everyone should know. I always end my chapters in cliffys, it's a known fact.
Danny: Unless you're ending a story, then that would just leave readers frustrated.
Me: Well thanks for reading guys! Hope you enjoyed XD