Sorry for late update. My USB adapter broke. I was able to recover this chapter but I'll need some time to get things back in order.


Paulina was in no way interested in being involved with ghosts.

They were obsessive people who hadn't let go even when they died. It was pathetic and their constant disruptions throughout Amity park were irritating. Life was for the living.

The issue was mostly ignored until Dash was dragged into it. He was on the field for the first time and the latina wished him all the best. Unfortunately, middle school pick-ups were very different from high school tournaments.

Dash was tackled multiple times and she knew he'd be blaming himself for the loss of the entire game. She'd buy some ice cream and brownies and let him sulk.

Then it changed. Returning to the field after one huddle, Dash wasn't himself. He was angrier and more confidant. His play was also off the charts. Dash was good, but now he was matching seniors looking to get scouted. They finally scored on the other team so Paulina joined the other cheerleaders in victory.

The kick-off went well and then, Dash got tackled again.

Something was very wrong. Paulina didn't know what, but she didn't trust it.

Lounging among Dash's Teddy Bears that evening, he talked about being possessed. One moment he was talking about wishing he could crush the other team single handedly, and the next, he was saying 'hike' and getting tackled again.

He described it as being in a thick fog. He knew, very vaguely, that he was playing football, but it seemed unimportant and out of reach.

Star grabbed a notebook out of Kwan's pack and made note of everything they knew about possessions. Out of character behavior, unnatural abilities, and being stuck in a fog. It wasn't much and there was no simple way to get more information. Namely: how to stop it.

So they had brownies and ice cream, played go fish, and discussed what color Paulina should paint her nails. She was thinking purple. Dash suggested blue to match her eyes. Star thought light yellow would be nice since it had been a few months and Kwan agreed with her. They came to a consensus of yellow with purple rhinestones. She'd do blue the next time.

The next day, Paulina stopped on her way out of the mall to look at the promotional cardboard for 'Sayonara Pussycat'. She enjoyed the character greatly despite being 'too old' for it.

"If only I could be so popular and cute." She said with a hint of wistfulness. It was an animated cat so there was nothing to truly be jealous of but, the idea of world wide popularity appealed to her.

She came to in a storage closet with a headache. She got her bearings enough to notice the ghost boy sucking another ghost into a tube before flying off.

She frowned in annoyance. Now she understood how Dash felt. Like her life was a movie just out of reach where she could only make out half the lines. Never, ever did she want that to happen again.

So of course that's exactly what happened on Monday.

Ghostly pranks had been rampant the whole day including Mr. Lancer being pantsed. It was even more juvenile than usual. She had just crossed the street from school when a shiver ran through her entire being.

This was just too much. She tried to push against the fog but she felt weightless and directionless. There was nothing to push against and no point in fighting it. She should just float along and wait for it to be over.

Paulina felt fire in her core. She would not be so easily pushed aside in her own body and no mysterious force was going to coerce her into giving up. She mentally pushed with all her might but it was like popping her ears - pushing all the air in her body outwards but not letting it come out of the normal airways. The pressure built and just made her feel light-headed.

Suddenly, she was free and she stumbled over a response that might save her social life. Did these ghosts have no respect whatsoever? She was a person, not a barstool! They were not welcome to come and go as they please and destroy her social standing!

Staying calm on the surface, she walked off to find Dash. He'd understand her frustration.

The next day saw yet another ghostly fight in the halls of Casper High. This one staring a possessed Tucker Foley and, yet again, the ghost boy. The chemistry lab was destroyed causing fifth hour to be cancelled so they could air out the chemicals.

The rest of the day returned to relative normality until Paulina saw something she wished she hadn't. She was waiting by Dash's locker so they could walk to their respective practices together when Danny pulled a textbook out of his locker. With the door closed.

She frowned in sympathy. Being possessed twice in one week?

But, wait. When Paulina was possessed the ghosts just did whatever they wanted. Why would this one be grabbing Danny's text book?

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. If this ghost was trying to stay under the radar, he might be possessing Danny long term. That was monstrous. But what could she do?

She left it alone but kept an eye out.

It was small, but it was there. An arm through a table here, a moment of invisibility there - how long could a ghost possess a human? Being trapped in your own mind with no way out...

And what was it even doing under the radar? What was it trying to accomplish carrying on like he was the real Danny? And then it came to her: his parents. They were the top ghost hunters in town. Was it sabotaging their equipment? Helping other ghosts avoid capture?

Indignation burned strong. Danny was trapped in his own head with no way out while this ghost helped it's comrades.

She kept a level head though. Telling Dash would have him moping and telling Star and Kwan would be pointless.

It was Thursday that she considered another option. Why hadn't Sam noticed something was wrong? The girl was sharp - incredibly so. And after crushing on Danny for so many years, she knew the goth would notice something was off.

So either the ghost was really good or...

Or it was Danny. She'd seen ghosts with a plethora of different abilities. What if there was a power to look human? What if that accident had been fatal?

Ice ran through her veins.

No. She didn't know that for sure and if it was... what was his ghostly obsession? Living?

She pushed that aside as well. He might just be possessed. It was no use wondering what he might have thought in his final-

No. Deep breaths. She was getting ahead of herself. Way ahead. She needed more information. She needed to think over the facts. What had happened since Danny came back to school?

The lunch room had been destroyed, ghost fights took place in the hallways, he got possessed-

That was it. Danny had been possessed. Could ghosts possess other ghosts? She didn't know.

Paulina had never wanted a classmate to die. The lists, the rules, all of it. No one was supposed to die and with ghosts everywhere, the thought of a dead classmate was even eerier.

Salvation came in the form of tutoring. Specifically, Dash's required tutoring in math do to failing his last three tests.

He wasn't dumb. Just, simple. While they could help him through his homework reasonably well, without a formula sitting in front of him, her best friend was grasping at straws.

His assigned tutor was Jazz Fenton and this was a perfect in. Dash would invite her to his party this weekend and they'd get her alone to ask about how to protect themselves from ghosts. Easy. Under the radar.

Unfortunately, Jazz had other ideas. Concerned for her little brother being labeled a 'loser', she'd only go if Danny was invited as well. While Dash panicked over inviting his crush to his house, Paulina weighed the pros and cons of letting her friends in on her suspicions.

Pros: She wouldn't be the only one watching out for ghostly mishaps. Kwan might be able to strike up a conversation with to find out more. They'd understand the importance of talking to Jazz not as a concern, but a necessity.

Cons: Star would feel terrible knowing one of her classmates had died. They would be just as helpless to do anything which would just make them frustrated. Dash... he would be crushed.

Yes, he'd liked a few people before Danny but this was his first true crush. He'd liked the dweeb for half a year and was trying (if failing) to actually be friends with the boy. Maybe even date him. It was a long way from not wanting anyone to see his Teddy Bear collection.

But, they were her friends and she hated having anything kept from her. So she'd tell them. Nothing was for sure and that was all the more reason to have them all on the lookout.

Dash did not take it well. After landing a solid hit on Paulina's wall, they left him to sort out his feelings.

"If he's being possessed, how long can a ghost do that? And what does that mean for Danny being trapped like that?" Star asked.

Dash hit the wall again.

Since no one had answers, they made a list of questions to ask Jazz when they got her alone.

The next day, Dash went to invite Danny to the party. He was so nervous that he insulted the boy again. He'd bought a computer program from the garage sale as a silent apology.

They all saw the signs over the next couple days. Is he dead or possessed? Paulina doesn't know which would be worse. If he's dead, that's terrible but at least he's himself. If he's possessed than he can have his life back once they get rid of the ghost. But what would being trapped so long do to him?

The party was well under way with no sign of the female Fenton, much to the Queen Bee's chagrin. Feeling very stood up, her annoyance peeked when crashing could be heard from upstairs. A fight? Wild sex? Paulina didn't know or care. The music wasn't loud enough to drown it out (Dash's mother would ground him for months if they received a noise complaint) and it was more than Paulina was willing to deal with.

She encountered a panicking Dash at the bottom of the stairs. "It's Danny! I saw him go up there - I figured he just needed some air-"

A solid crash had him rushing up the stairs. Paulina stayed back to keep control of the party. Whatever was happening up there, Dash would handle it. A cry came from the window and everyone flooded to the front of the house.

The crowd parted for her until she reached the window to find a ghost fight taking place outside. The electronic-based monstrosity was at least thirteen feet tall and was throwing the ghost boy around like a chew toy. She mentally winced as 'Technus! Master of all technology!' threw the ghost boy into the ground.

A flash of movement between two houses caught her attention. Was that... yes. It was Manson and Foley. Were they here to gate crash and got caught up in this mess? She pushed aside her scorn to remember that Danny had been invited and he probably told his friends. Manson was likely there to make the boy leave - she certainly wasn't there to join in.

Watching the fight, the latina noticed that the two losers were actually helping the ghost boy. In the end, the ghost was sucked into the strange metal tube and the popular crowd went back to the party discussing what they'd just seen.

But Paulina waited. Those two were here to get their friend, right? So why were they just standing out there? And what was their connection to the ghost boy?

Danny walked out from between a couple houses and handed the metal tube to Foley before the three of them walked off down the street.

Why did he have that tube? Did the ghost boy give it to him? And how did Danny get over there?

Intuition struck and Paulina reviewed all the information she had.

Dash turned off the music and announced that the party was over since the ghosts had trashed his room. People shuffled off with compliments of 'nice party' and complaints of being sent home early. She pushed her way to the sound system he was slowly disabling and grabbed his shoulder. "Danny is fine. I saw him leave after the ghost attack."

He breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed her hand briefly.

Clean up for the evening would be fairly quick: put away the food, sound equipment, and lights. Vacuum up any big messes. Paulina already had a cleaning crew scheduled to finish everything the next day; she'd just add Dash's room to their duties. After all that banging, she was sure something was broken.

Major messes cleared away, they gathered in the remains of Dash's room. The four walls were standing but every piece of furniture was at least damaged if not broken. The closet door was dented and they set about removing the (luckily unharmed) teddy bear collection.

Bears safely stored in Dash's parents room, they grabbed a bunch of blankets and sleeping bags. Dash would take the couch and Kwan the floor. The girls would be returning to Paulina's mansion at midnight.

Settling carelessly across the couch, Paulina threw her feet over Dash's lap. Explaining what she had seen she drew two possible conclusions. "Either the ghost boy is possessing Danny with his permission, or Danny is the ghost boy."

"You know, it kind of makes sense." Star declared. "Think about it: the ghost boy looks about our age and he has more or less the same hair style as Danny."

Kwan brought up another point. "So why is the ghost boy fighting the other ghosts?"

To help his parents? So he can live his life in peace? Because he resents them/being one? They couldn't find any answers so they settled for watching some cop drama.

The next day saw the four friends at the mall to pick out new furniture for Dash's room (including a new purple bean bag). They grabbed an out of the way table in the food court each with orders from different restaurants. Plans were drawn up to have Jazz meet Dash for tutoring at the library in a private study room. They needed answers and if the brainiac wasn't going to accept their invitation, they'd simply invite themselves.

The next week saw no opportunities to corner the older Fenton. Her new boyfriend (an unsightly thug) was taking all her time and causing her to cancel all her appointments.

Paulina knew that people got stupid when they felt special. Hopefully, Jazz would snap out of it sooner rather than later and stop playing out every poorly written teen romance cliche.

Thankfully, it was a whirlwind affair that came to a screeching halt on Thursday. Dash was approached with frenzied apologies and a promised tutoring session on Saturday - she'd even buy coffee to make up for it. Refusing the coffee, he did accept the study session.

Arriving a half hour after Dash; Paulina, Star, and Kwan swept into the private room. Kwan stayed near the door to block any escape while the Queen Bee sat across from the wary red head. "We have questions we need answered. You're parents are the leading experts on ghosts and we need to know how to protect ourselves."

Pushing aside her protests that she didn't know much or why didn't they go to Danny or even her parents, she finally agreed to answer to the best of her ability.

"How do you stop a ghost from possessing you?"

The apologetic look in her eyes gave Paulina her answer. "I don't know that there is one. My parents might have invented or something, or maybe they will, but I haven't heard of anything that can prevent it."

"If you can't prevent it," Kwan spoke up. "can you end it? Like, get the ghost out of someone?"

Jazz didn't know that either.

So what about a ghost possessing another ghost? Not possible. The brainiac gave some scientific explanation for how that wasn't possible since it would be like two people occupying the same space. Dash and Star showed visible relief - Danny wasn't dead.

Could two ghosts possess one person? Maybe. It would be like two people in a phone booth - one of them would probably leave.

They learned a bit more about ectoplasm and how ghosts came to be. Powers apparently varied as much as back stories and obsessions - Jazz even shared that her boyfriend had actually been a ghost whose power lied in his shadow. She didn't have an answer for whether him seeming human was a disguise or if some ghosts just looked more alive.

They ended on a question about the ghost boy. Jazz didn't really care. She didn't want to be involved in her parents work and ignored all ghosts whenever possible.

Saying good-bye, Dash had another tutoring session set up for Monday and Jazz promised to pass along any information about protecting themselves from ghosts.

The four of them sat around the study table to digest the new information. So Danny was being possessed by the ghost boy, (probably) voluntarily. Why? What was the point in possessing him rather than just meeting up? Did it make a ghost more powerful?

There was no way to know and Paulina had no desire to waste time on questions there were no answers to. And then Dash brought up an interesting point.

"If Danny has ghost powers, why hasn't he beat me up?"

They tossed around several ideas (including Danny possibly having a crush on the quarterback) before settling on the most likely conclusion: Danny didn't want to draw attention to himself.

If they wanted to help him, they needed to maintain the status quo.

Dash frowned at the idea of continuing to bully his crush. He felt bad enough when that was his knee jerk reaction and was trying to have a decent conversation with the boy. Star pointed out that between the unwritten rules and Danny's access to ghost powers, Dash couldn't really hurt him. If he shoved his crush into a locker, the guy could just walk back out.

Unsatisfied, Dash gave in. All he seemed capable of was insulting the other male, anyway.

Paulina and Star exchanged a glance at his self-depreciation but didn't say anything. The latina silently reflected that what they were now doing for Fenton was a lot like what she was doing for Manson.

The next day, the Queen Bee decided to take subtle action: if you wanted information you went to Becky; if you wanted to spread information around, you went to Hayden.

"So, a rumor that the ghost boy is on our side? Not your usual style. You know something we don't?"

Glaring at him with a glance out of the corner of her eyes, she dismissed him.

"Yeesh. Don't have to take my soul. I'll spread the rumor. It's interesting at least. But if something comes up, you let me in on it."

She considered it for a brief moment. Hayden was a powerful ally but in the end, "It's not my secret."

. . . .

Episodes: What You Want = Attack of the Killer Garage Sale = 13