Where do I even begin to apologize for such a long update this time around... I've been quite caught up in school as 'finals' approach so I'm quite sorry, mes chers! For those of you who didn't know I declared The Substitute as my NaNoWriMo project with a goal to finish it by Christmas, so wish me luck on that front! For now, all you need to know is that I have quite a few chapters coming to you tonight. You'll know when I'm done uploading as you'll be left with quite a cliffhanger. Enjoy, mes chers.

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Chapter Forty Four

::

"I could be wrong, of course, but I rather think that Vidya doesn't appreciate having holes worn into her floor like that." The words that were meant to be edged with sarcasm and amusement at all of Randy's pacing were instead made dull and lifeless by the pure fear and worry that surrounded them. Andrew could smile and sprout off wise words and clever lines all he wanted, but Randy would always know the truth of what he said. "Have you considered that maybe he just needs space to work things out on his own?"

"We've given him space." Any other time Randy would feel bad about the snarl he sent Andrew's way, but it was hard to do even that much when he could feel nothing but the darkness that was swirling and drowning in Vidya. It felt like Randy couldn't even suck in a goddamn breath without dragging in tendrils of that darkness that made him want to gag. "It's been three days since that fight with Spectra - if you can even call that a fight - and I haven't seen him use his powers once- Not to mention the lovely little fact that he's been avoiding the Ghost Zone-"

"I would too, after running into her!" Jerking to a stop as Andrew stepped into his path, Randy only held his tongue when he felt a palm press lightly against his chest. "Randy… Spectra has always been a problem for him. He just needs time to get himself together. He'll talk to us, Randy, he just needs time."

"And what if that isn't what he needs!" Randy tried to step back, frowning when Andrew's hand only clutched at his shirt tightly. "Andy, you can't feel it- Andy, there's so much darkness." He didn't understand. They never understood when it came to things like this. Why couldn't Randy just get them to understand. "It's drowning him. It feels like everything about him is being eaten away by this darkness that just won't leave-"

"Randy." His name was said calmly and softly, but Randy couldn't stop his breath from hitching at the fear and pain that drenched that single word. "It'll be alright. Danny just needs time. Sometimes he needs to work things out himself before he can tell others about it. I won't begrudge him his silence when we've so often done the same."

"I can still be worried." Randy slumped in utter and complete defeat, even with the fear that coated Andrew's words. Even with that, Andrew was right. There was nothing they could do to help Danny when the teen didn't want their help. Maybe soon, but right now he needed the time and space to sort himself out. So why did even thinking that feel so wrong? "We at least need to work on getting him to Vidya if nothing else. Too long away from the Ghost Zone is dangerous for any ghost."

"He'll be alright for now," Andrew sighed, gratitude shining in his eyes as he pulled Randy down to kiss at his cheek. "The Fenton Portal releases ambient ghostly energy into that house. There's a reason all the Fentons are so attuned to this world and ghosts."

"Fine, but if he starts getting worse, we're doing things my way," Randy huffed, gently removing Andrew's hand from his shirt and holding it. There was still something… All of them carried darkness, but the darkness inside Andrew had never felt this much like- Like sludge. Tar. Thick and choking and looking to drown all it touched. "Andy?"

"Don't worry, Randy." The smile Andrew gave was tense and full of fear. It was a smile that had Randy's heart dropping and everything within him turning cold. "Don't worry. It'll be okay. Danny just needs time. Just time… Hey, it's okay. It's okay because everything is as it should be."

Randy couldn't help but wonder why those words were drenched in nothing except terror and guilt.

::

Spectra had been right. Spectra had been so right. Danny knew - he had always kind of known - but this was just… He hadn't ever realized just how bad it had gotten. It had been like this in the beginning, too. That first month of freshman year when he had first gotten his ghost powers had lead to so much terror. He had been afraid of what was happening to him, afraid of getting caught, afraid of people figuring out the truth-

Years later and he was going through the exact same thing all over again. It was the same kind of fear and it was a fear that Danny knew well. God, how hadn't he noticed sooner? Spectra had been right. His powers were out of control. Now that he was looking for it, he realized just how much he called up his powers during the day- Heck, he called his powers up all the time while he was at school!

Someone had probably noticed by now. Lancer had. Danny had told Andrew it hadn't bothered him, but… If Lancer had figured it out then how many other people had? How many people had figured it out his secret that wouldn't be so willing to keep it a secret? He knew he shouldn't let Spectra's words get to him- He knew he shouldn't, but… But, well… They were his words too, weren't they?

"Ow- Hey, watch where you're- Oh, Fenton." The small burst of pain at knocking into someone vanished at once, Danny blinking up at Valerie. "Thought you spent lunch with the ghosts." Wha… What? What did she-

Oh! Oh, okay, that- Okay. She must have meant all those 'rumors' about him and 'Mr. Riter.' Aiming for a smile, Danny picked up the few books of Valerie's that had fallen, "Come on, Val, buying into high school rumors now?"

"Yeah. Right. Rumors." Okay. Short, clipped, one-word responses. Danny had fought with Sam and Valerie both enough to know that he had done something very wrong.

"Um, here, these ones are yours, right?" The books were jerked out of his hands more than anything, Danny frowning at Valerie's behavior. He knew he hadn't spoken to her in a while, but- But… Actually, he hadn't really spoken to any of his classmates this year. Sure there were little greetings and short questions and things, but he never really spent any time with any of them. Had it always been like that? He felt like he used to spend time with a few classmates here and there even after he got his ghost powers.

"Thanks." The word was cold and flat, Danny frowning as he studied Valerie. With the truce he had made with the ghosts there had been less of a need for the Red Huntress, but it looked like Valerie was barely getting sleep with how tired she was. What was she doing? Going to school and working a job was hard, yeah, but Valerie could handle it more than enough on her own, so what was she doing to wear her out this much? Things were better with her father, last he knew, so she shouldn't be working that many hours. "Look, let me give you some advice, Fenton."

"Ah, sure? I mean, maybe your advice is better than the last advice I got." The joke fell flat, Valerie's cold look making him shudder. Now that he thought about it… She hadn't called him 'Fenton' in a while. Not since before that brief time they had dated.

"Get out of this before you get hurt." For the first time in a while, Danny felt nothing but utter and complete confusion. What the heck did she mean by all that? "I'm not an idiot, okay. I never was and I'll never get the luxury of it."

"I never called you an idiot?" If anything Valerie was one of the smartest people in Amity Park. Not only did she manage to keep up with her grades and job, but she had learned how to use her ghost hunting suit to the fullest potential. Valerie was many things, but an idiot would never be one of them.

"Then stop treating me like one." The growl that was snapped at him reminded him far too much of the Red Huntress. It was almost laughable at how Danny kept falling for people who had so many different sides to them. "You know it, don't you? The way you're going, you'll get caught in the crossfire that's about to happen and there will be no one to help to you once that happens."

"I, ah… Are we still talking about the rumors of me and Mr. Riter?" Something seemed wrong here. Valerie was tired and looked worn thin. Danny had barely seen or talked to her since she helped with Danielle, now that he thought about it. Why did she look so tired? And why was the look in her eyes so dark and bitter? "Hey, Val, are you okay? I mean, I know we kind of haven't talked in awhile, but-"

"Yeah, I know." Okay, she was definitely bitter about that. "You've barely talked to anyone except that ghost of yours. Even Sam and Tucker are seen without you more and more these days." That… That wasn't completely true. Danny still did his best to spend time with Sam and Tucker, they were just- They weren't growing apart, they were just becoming different people? "You can't live in two worlds forever."

"Trust me, I'm figuring that out." This was about more than just the rumors of him sleeping with Andrew. What, though?

"This is my first and only warning, Fenton- Danny." Valerie's gaze lost a bit of intensity, Danny frowning as a hand settled on his arm for a second. "If you have any respect for what we had or any care left for me, you'll take my advice and stay out of it." With that befuddling and emotionally compromising sentence, Valerie was turning on her heels and heading down the hall.

Staring after her, Danny slowly shook his head and what… What had that all been about? He knew he had neglected Valerie lately - especially after he started dating Andrew and getting caught up in his ghost life - but he didn't think he had done anything to really piss her off. Was this just what had been happening when he hadn't been paying attention? Was he really drifting away from all his friends in the human world?

Well, he wasn't going to let that happen anymore. Valerie's words, for as cold and confusing as they had been, had confirmed for Danny once and for all that he needed to focus on the human part of his life more. No more ghosts, no more ghost powers, no more Ghost Zone. With the truce in effect, Vlad his friend, and all the ghosts settled down, Danny could devote all his time to just being a regular human kid. He could just ignore all the ghosts-

All the ghosts… Andrew was probably waiting in his classroom so he and Danny could have lunch together. A lunch that Danny was currently avoiding by wandering through the halls as he was.

Later. He'd deal with Andrew later- He just needed a bit more time to try and figure out a way to keep his powers suppressed until he could get a handle on them again. Maybe he could talk to Vlad? Use the Specter Deflector? Something would help him, he just needed to figure it out.

Hm… What had Valerie meant by 'stay out of it'? It made it seem like she was working with someone but she wasn't working for Vlad anymore - Vlad had actually told him that Valerie had stopped coming to him shortly after Danielle was healed. She had been avoiding both Vlad and him… Both… Had- Had she started to catch onto the existence of half-ghosts? Of Phantom?

There was a reason Vlad had Valerie work for him for so long. Valerie was clever, powerful, and motivated by revenge pure and simple. All of them knew how strong revenge could make someone, too. If Valerie was starting to catch on to what he was… He needed to keep his powers hidden- Suppressed.

As much as he hated it, Spectra's words continued to pick at him. Things would be so much easier if he was just part of one world.

::

Andrew honestly found it a little amusing how their skills had developed when it came to him and Randy. Whereas Randy had always possessed the ability to catch onto feelings and understand them better than any spoken word, Andrew had always been in possession of seeing such complicated matters. It wasn't as simple as knowing whether someone was happy or sad, but it suited his needs just fine when he needed to make use of his little talent.

"Remember how I said I worried for your classmates greatly? One of them used the word 'totally' twelve times in their paper. The paper was only two pages and they used totally from a narrative standpoint twelve times."

Ah, as he suspected. Andrew had been quick to use his human disguise (reality shifting powers were so useful truly) and catch up to Danny once school let out, and just as he thought, Danny had startled as soon as he had heard him. "Ah, I'm… I'm sorry?" His mate was so precious, truly.

"Now why can't your classmate Star Anderson be that sorry? She's a brilliant student when it comes to computational maths, I've seen that much in the maths homework she chooses to do when I lecture, but her creative writing pieces… Danny, she misused the word 'communication'."

"Yeah, Star is kind of amazing in a lot of ways, some good and some bad." The tension in Danny's shoulders seem to bleed out, Andrew keeping pace and making it seem like he hadn't noticed as Danny shifted closer to him. "How did she use the word communication, then?"

"I'm rather certain she thought it meant debates had only by communists." As he had hoped, Danny slapped a hand to his face, cheeks flushing red and eyes shining with nothing but human joy. It truly was a beautiful sight, but a worrisome one nonetheless.

"So- So I mean, she was kind of right, almost? I mean, talking is going on, so half credit." The words were mangled horrible and lost in Danny's choked and huffing laughter, Andrew finding the sound one of the nicest things he had heard in weeks.

"I rather believe she should focus her efforts on mathematics for now." The laughter increased, Andrew keeping a careful eye on Danny as they began to get closer to Fenton Works and further away from the school. Groups of students and lone walkers were disappearing off into their own directions, Danny only keeping close to his side.

"Maybe, but you'd miss the challenge of trying to understand what she's writing." Well, perhaps- Ah, Danny was already doing better. It had been a risk to do the same thing twice, but Andrew remembered in the beginning how he had helped Danny overcome his skittishness around him. What a shame that it had to be horrible humor and stories about other people to get him to loosen up. Maybe he should pun? Mm. No, he'd save that for a life or death moment. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing?"

"Whatever do you mean, mon cher?" Andrew allowed himself a smile as Danny finally moved to wrap around his arm with his own, pout on his face as he hide behind the gray scarf tightly wrapped around his neck. Somehow, seeing the scarf still there reassured Andrew more than anything else would- Ah, but he knew why it really reassured him, didn't he?

"You're doing that thing you do where you make me try and forget about why I'm stressing out so much. You're just softening me up so I'll tell you stuff when you finally ask!" Both knew that last bit was dramatics, Danny proving it by walking even closer and kissing at Andrew's cheek. Andrew could immediately tell the suppressed snort was from the fact he had kissed stubble more than anything else.

"Ah, yes, thank you for reminding me to shave today-" The whine was truly impressive, Andrew had to admit. "Shall I remind you that I only agreed to keep it for a few days?"

"Andrew!" This time it was Andrew laughing, the man unable to resist pulling Danny closer and covering his face in an array of kisses and pecks that had the teen giggling and squealing. "Andy!" Laughing himself as Danny managed to get a hand on his cheek and shove his face away, Andrew looked back in time to see Danny with a fierce pout and flushed cheeks. Was Andrew really supposed to resist?

It took a moment, but Danny finally pressed back into the kiss Andrew had pulled him into. Andrew made sure to keep it brief, parting to press another kiss against the corner of Danny's lips. "I know what you're doing." Danny huffed, not stopping Andrew and instead letting the man kiss at his flushed cheeks. "You're just trying to get me to talk-"

"Really now, mon cher, paranoia is unbecoming of you." Andrew smiled at the look on Danny's face, cupping his cheeks and pulling him up into another soft kiss. "Oh, Danny… I of all people know how important it is to wait until the right words can be found. Especially with something that seems as difficult and complicated as this is."

Seeing that they had made it to Fenton Works even with all their goofing off, Andrew grinned and kissed Danny as he backed him up the stairs. "So take your time." Another kiss and another step up, this time Andrew lingering for longer. "I know you'll tell me when you can." The next step was where Andrew made sure to put all his feelings into the kiss, reluctant to part. "So until then, take as much time as you need, my dear." Danny was leaning forward for the next kiss, a hand on the back of Andrew's neck pulling him in close. Andrew didn't even try to stifle his growl, pushing Danny up the last stair and pushing for more. "Take your time, Danny. I'll always be waiting for you."

"God, whatever did I do to deserve you?" Danny's breathing was as ragged as Andrew's felt, Andrew soothing down Danny's hair and kissing at his cheek. "It must have been something really, really stupidly good."

"Doubtful," Andrew chuckled, running a hand through Danny's hair- Hair that was long. Long, not short. So there was still time. Long hair, warm eyes, and a grey scarf. He had time. "Danny…"

Blue eyes that shined like ice caught on his own, Andrew pulled forward through a force that was pure magnetism. The kiss, this time, was soft and gentle. Soft, gentle, loving, and filled with just one single question that felt like it was begging. "Danny." The name was whispered between their lips, Andrew's voice catching in his throat as he pressed closer. "Don't hate me." Forgive him.

"Andy?" Danny pulled back enough to speak, frowning, but not fighting when Andrew pushed forward again. "Hey, hey-" Danny pushed at his shoulders, kissing him back before parting. "Why would I ever hate you?"

"I…" Not yet. "It's nothing." This is the part where Andrew lied. It was just for a bit longer, though. Andrew would lie and say it was his paranoia or his ghost instincts kicking in, but… He knew the truth. Long hair that would soon be short, a grey scarf that would be missing, and blue eyes that would shine with-

Andrew knew where the story went from here.