When I get back to school the following week, I am bombarded with questions.

"What was it like to be in a coma?"

and

"I heard you tried to off yourself. How's it feel to be a failure in that too."

I felt like banging my head against the locker. School was harder, home was harder, and life was harder. Stella wouldn't talk to me. The only thing I had going for me was Tucker. Sam was trying to get back on my good side. In fact, she's following me now.

"Sam. Go away." I said. She shook her head. "I'm sorry." She said for the millionth time. "I don't care." I snapped. Sam sighed. "Danny, I know that I shouldn't have said that to you. I feel like shit." I sighed. I turned around.

I smiled at her. "Sam…" I started. She looked up at me with hopeful eyes. "Fuck off." I glared.

Sams face shattered and nodded, walking away. Finally, peace and quiet.

Except nevermind because Stella decided that very moment to come up behind me and say, "We need to talk." I turned and smiled, nodding gratefully. I may not remember much before and after the incident, but I know Stella was very upset at what I said to her, and that I didn't even so much as call her.

I learned that from Tucker.

"...so…." I started, awkwardly rubbing the back of my neck. Stella crossed her arms. She uncrossed them and grabbed my face in her hands, kissing me roughly. "One last good day." She muttered under her breath.

"...when I had found you in that bathtub, trying to escape life, you reminded me of my younger brother. His name was Dean. He went through a rough patch when his role model, my uncle, died. He was bullied all the time and I couldn't do anything as I watched him spiral down until it was too late. He killed himself last year. I didn't want to see the same thing happen to you. So yes, the reason I started dating you was to fix you." She said.

I nodded. That hurt...a lot. I had liked her from the start, and she looked at me like some school assignment?

"Then you were different," She continued, "When you were happy, you were so...alive. You felt, looked, and tasted alive. You were so much different than anyone else I knew. I fell in love. I felt like my mission was complete and that I could just live beside you. I let my guard down. Then you got sick and I had to go alone with my parents to Florida. As I'm coming home, and I can't wait to see you, I get a text. Just a couple damn texts saying goodbye. That it's not my fault. Well, that hurt me really bad, because I love you. I love you so much and I can't stand to see you hurt all the time, Danny! I just-" I cut her off with a kiss on the lips, grabbing hold of her hair and pulling her close to me. She was crying and I was crying; we were both one big mess.

"I love you too Stella. I don't remember what the last thing on my mind was when I tried to...you know...but I know I regretted it, and I think you were the last thing on my mind." I said. A deep part of me screamed that it wasn't true, that someone else was on my mind. Another part of me screamed that I hated the other person at the moment, so it was Stella who was on my mind. I shrugged and kissed my girlfriend so more, before she stopped me.

"...You have to tell me when you are hurt, okay? When we break up, you need to tell me when you are feeling horrible." Stella said. Wait...when we break up?

"...Are we breaking up?" I whispered, my heart shattering. She shushed me. "No, baby, not today. Not today. In the near future? Probably so. Not everything is meant to be. I know that half my feelings for you were because you reminded me of Dean. His eyes were blue too. With you knowing now that I was pretending to be into you for the first couple weeks because I wanted to fix you hurt you. I still want to fix you, but I don't think I can if I am your girlfriend." Stella said calmly. I nodded, like I understood. But I didn't. I didn't understand why she thought it was okay to do this.

"Come on. One last ride." She offered out her hand to me. I nodded. If this was my last day with Stella as my girlfriend, I was going to make the most of it.

…

I woke up alone. I was tangled in my sheets with a note on the pillow. I recapped the day in my head.

After Stella and I ditched school, we rode around town in my car. We went to the movies and then out to dinner. Then, we went home to my house. I carried her in. We were laughing and happy. We shared one last night of passion. Now, I'm alone.

I turned over the note and read her neat handwriting.

Danny,

Thank you for one last day. I will give you time to feel the pain, because feeling is good. My want of wanting to fix you had overridden my feelings for you and I hope that you forgive me. I loved you so much.

Goodbyes are easier when not in person. I see why you sent that text instead of calling. No one to talk you out of it but your own thoughts.

~Stella

I just cried after that. I just put my head into my hands and cried. I didn't know what to do now. The one who had been there since this whole mess was started...was gone. Stella wanted nothing to do with me except fix me. Like I was a dog.

I couldn't even bring myself to be mad. After I had cried, I just felt numb. The pain of her leaving me fresh on my heart, but I couldn't bring myself to feel anything. The numbness was just there. So I got up and grabbed my late work and started doing it. I played video games; I avoided my family.

Then my dad came home.

"Danny...can I talk to you for a second?" He called up the stairs. "Yeah, coming." I called back, jumping off my beanbag chair and running down the stairs.

He was sitting on the couch alone. My mom was in the lab, like she had been since I had gotten home from the hospital. "...I want to know why you would do something so stupid." My dad said simply. I shrugged.

"Was it because of your family?" He asked calmly. I shook my head. "No…" I trailed off.

"...then why punish us?" He asked, his voice angry. I was taken back. "What?"

"Daniel, we raised you in a family where you can talk about your problems, not go and run away from them! This is an open household where you can talk about anything! So why didn't you tell us how you were feeling? Why did you lead us to believe that you were fine, when you were dying inside. Your mother was the one who answered the phone when the hospital called. They told us you were in a coma and that there was a pretty big chance that you wouldn't wake up.

We rushed to the hospital to find Stella there, holding your hand. Your pale, lifeless hand trying to get you to wake up. We asked her what happened and she just looked to us and said, 'He gave up." My dad yelled. I flinched.

"We sure as hell knew what that meant. You gave up on living. You broke your mothers heart. Now, I don't know what to do with you." Dad spat. I gasped.

"Dad! I'm sorry!" I begged. He shook his head. "No...you are a disgrace to this family. I will decide what your punishment is. Go to your room." Dad ordered. I nodded and raced back up the stairs.

First Stella...now this? My dad thinks that I'm a disgrace to the family…

Wonder what he'd think if I was half-ghost...that that was the reason I did all of this.

Tucker [sent] ...hey.

Tucker [rec] hey dude! how goes it?

Tucker [sent] ...I may need a place to stay tonight…

Tucker [rec] aw man, my grandma's here and I don't have an extra room… why?

Tucker [sent] ...oh! No reason! I just wanted to get out of the house lol

I sighed, seeing that Tucker's house was not going to be my usual safe haven. I sighed.

Where else could I go for the night until my dad forgives me? I decided to watch TV for awhile to get my thoughts off the my-dad-hates-me variety. I've never seen my dad act like that either. I really disappointed him…

...Wasn't that why I tried to kill myself in the first place? For them to stop being disappointed in me?

If this wasn't a wake up call, I don't know what is.

I ignored the burning in my skin that itched for a cut and waited until my dad called me down the the living room. My mother was crying the sofa, and my dads face was hardened.

"I've come to a decision Daniel…" He began. I braced myself. What was the decision? Extra chores? Therapy?

"...You have two hours to pack a bag and leave. You can come back when all thoughts of killing yourself is out of your head, no matter how long that takes you." Dad finished. I gasped. "No! Dad you can't do this to me! I have no where else to go!" I begged, a tear running down my face.

"Until you learn to express your feelings without needing to die, then you are none of my concern." My dad said. I flinched, looking to my mother. She shook her head.

"Jack...theres got to be something else he can do!" My mom pleaded. Dad shook his head. "This is the only thing. This will teach him a lesson. This will have him know what it feels like to lose family." Dad said. "Pack your things. You have two hours. Only. Two. Figure out where to go, but don't come back until you are clean." My dad ordered. I nodded in defeat. There was no changing his mind. Jack Fenton may not be a smart man, but he never backed down on his word. There was no arguing.

"...I'll help you pack…" My mom sobbed. I nodded numbly, letting her drag me to my room and pack my things.

We packed my clothes, cell phone with its charger, shampoo and soap, and other necessities. "I will still pay your phone bill, okay? Text me or Jazz anytime. I think this punishment is too severe, but you know your father. This is the only way to-"

"Win back my loyalty...I got it." I said quietly. "Danny...talk to someone. Do something. Do something fast then come home." Mom pleaded. I nodded, hooking my arms around her in a tight hug.

"Shower. I'll pack you some food." Mom sniffed, leaving the room. I got up on my shaky legs and went to the bathroom, starting the water. I showered for my remaining time, and then my dad was yelling at me to leave. I got out, dressed in a black sweatshirt, dark wash skinny jeans, and navy blue converse, and grabbed my bag.

I hugged my mom and said goodbye to my father, and then I left. I walked to the park, and sat down on the park bench, watching the people around me walk by. I people watched until the sun went down. Then I remembered the bag of white powder in my room. I transformed in a bush and quickly flew to my house to retrieve it. I didn't listen to too much of my parents conversation about me, because it was making me upset. I flew back to the park and put the item in with my other things.

If worse came to worse, I could sell it for some cash. I wouldn't use it. I wouldn't get that far gone.

I went into the trees, into the small clearing where Stella, Frank, and I had gotten stoned almost forever ago, and laid out and blanket. I laid down and watched the stars until I fell into a fitful sleep.

…

I woke up to birds chirping around six o'clock in the morning. I made sure no one was around and dressed for school. Believe it or not, I was still going to go to a place that educated me and offered free food.

I checked my phone to see if my dad had backed out on his decision.

Tucker [rec] you can stay tonight if you want! Grandma is leaving today!

I smiled. A guaranteed place to go. I would not inform him of my current living conditions. I would work on building a small borough or something to safely hide in during the day on the weekends, maybe get some furniture to store in it. I would have to clean it first…

I stopped planning in my head and hid my clothing and other things, grabbing my backpack and heading out of the park, towards the school.

I got there early, and people were staring at me. I knew no one knew and that gave me relief that I wouldn't have anything else for people to make fun of me for.

"Daniel...may I speak to you in my room please?" Mr. Lancer's voice said to me from behind. I turned and nodded, following the overweight teacher into his classroom.

"...I'm glad you are well, and was wondering if you would need some extra tutoring to catch up on your late work." Lancer offered.

"I actually taught it to myself, or at least three fourths of it to myself!" I said happily. Lancer's face brightened. "I'm glad to hear that! Now...why were you in a coma for a few months? Some people are saying you tried to...you know, but I wanted to hear it from the source."

I thought about whether or not I should lie and say I was in a car accident. "...Well Mr. Lancer, I can't say I've been in the best state of mind recently, and yes I did decide to give up…" I said awkwardly. "But, I'm trying to get better." I added hastily, as Mr. Lancer's face clouded with pity.

"...Could I give you some advice?" Lancer asked after a few minutes. I was sitting down at my desk now, waiting for first period bell to ring. "Sure, I guess." I shrugged.

"Get help. Don't try to bottle everything up and wait for the right moment to let everything out. Talk to someone. I could be Tucker or Sam or your parents," I flinched, "but I promise, talking about it will make you feel better. I'm free all the time if you need to talk to me." Lancer finished. I nodded.

"Thank you Mr. Lancer...do you want my late work now or?" I changed the topic. Lancer went from concerned adult figure to level-headed teacher in the blink of an eye.

"Yes. Now would be splendid. Just hand everything over to me and then I can give you tonights homework so you can get an early start." Lancer smiled, handing me a worksheet. I got to work, only looking up when Tucker tapped me on the back with his pencil when class started.

"Bro...do you understand this?" He asked, pointing to question five.

"Yeah, but I taught myself in like a weird way." I said simply, turning around to see he was actually point at a note. I grabbed it and opened it, sending a wary glance to Mr. Lancer.

Hey… Rumours going around that you and Stella broke up…true? She's been hanging all over Jack Fussy.

I rolled my eyes at Stella's antics.

Yeah. She decided that she was only with me in the beginning to fix me.

Ouch.

I nodded, closing the note when Lancer sent a glare our way. I got up to throw away the note when I met Sam's gaze. She looked up, questioning me with her eyes. I shrugged and threw away the note, surprised when another one took its place on my desk. Sam was looking down, so I knew it was from her.

Can we talk? ~Sam

I thought about it. Figuring that I had nothing better to do with my time, considering I was homeless, I nodded at her. She smiled gratefully and turned back to her worksheet.

I then remembered my current living situation, and decided that building a borough in the ground would probably not work, even with ghost powers. I was starting to panic, thinking of various scenarios that would go wrong with living in a park.

Wolves.

Bears.

Spiders.

For a ghost hunter, I had a mean case of arachnophobia.

The bell rang suddenly, making me jump as other students began gathering their stuff. I sighed, adding on to the list of stuff I have to get done. Maybe I should call Jazz. Dad always favored her so maybe she could get him to change his mind.

"Danny? Hello?" A hand was waved over my face. I shook my head, looking up. Tucker and Sam were waiting for me like they used to. I sent an irritated glance at Sam before giving up and walking with them.

"So, Danny, Sam was wondering if you wanted to have a movie night at her place?" Tucker asked hesitantly. Sam was bracing herself for the answer I was about to give.

"Yeah, pass."

Tucker visibly lowered himself and nodded. "...Sam," I started as she looked at me, "Just give me some time...okay? What you said really hurt me and I'm not quite so ready to forgive you so easily." I finished. Sam nodded.

"Yeah, okay." She said. I gave her a ghost of a smile before parting ways with them to my next class. Math.

…

At the end of the day, I walked home with Tucker. Sam had been walking with us, but only conversed with Tucker, not even trying to get my attention. I appreciated it, because I had a lot on my mind.

"Hey, so Tucker...I think that I'm going to pass on staying the night tonight." I finally said. He looked at me worried. "Why? Is everything okay?" He asked, his eyes sympathetic.

"...I just need to think about somethings. I'll talk to you later." I waved and made my way to the only place that I could forget about everything.

My parents. Sam. Stella. Tucker. Jazz. School. Home.

I walked to Frank's house. I knocked on the door and waited and low and behold, Frank opened the door. "Hey Danny!" Frank greeted, holding his cell phone. "Are you having a party tonight?" I asked quickly. Frank nodded. "Yeah! Was literally about to text you. I have a weird question though." He asked nervously.

I leaned against the doorframe. "Ask away."

"So, do you know where someone could get their hands on coke?" He said quietly. I nodded. "I actually have some...you want it? I'm not going to use it." I said. Frank smirked. "Oh, bring it tonight. But you are taking some with me."

I got nervous. I'm not going down this road. I just want to get drunk. I can't mix anything together, thats dangerous. That could kill me.

"...Uh, no." I said. Frank smirked. "Come on Danny, just try it once. You can't get addicted from doing it once." He persuaded.

He did have a point.

No, what the fuck Danny, no he doesn't have a point!

One time! Just so I can get it out of my system?

...Fine.

"...Fine." I said aloud, watching Frank's mischievous smile turn joyous. "Want me to invite Stella?" He asked.

I smirked. "Fuck no, dude. Stell and I are done. She made that very clear this morning." I spat. Frank whistled. "Duude. Now you have no choice but to drink and get high with me. Man, this will be a party for the record books." Frank shook his hand in the hair, triumphantly. I smiled, a pang of guilt and nervousness deep inside my chest.

What's the worst that could happen?

…

I showed up to Frank's house around ten. I finally got the answer to where Frank's parents were. He lived alone with his parents sending him loads of cash every month.

I gave him the bag of coke. "Why don't you just buy your own drugs?" I asked. He rolled his eyes. "I have to tell them what I'm spending the money on before I do. They don't care about anything except alcohol and drugs, but they are a bit lenient on the alcohol sometimes." He explained. I nodded. The house was crowded by now, and a person was there I didn't want to see.

Stella.

"Daniel Fenton." She hissed. I rolled my eyes. "Yes Stella?" I asked, glaring at her. She stepped back a bit. "You do not need to be here." She snapped.

"I don't need to be, but I want to be." I snapped back, taking a swig of my beer. She glared harshly.

"Danny...lets go." She snapped. I shook my head, downing the rest of my drink as someone I didn't know handed me another, much to Stella's annoyance.

"No, I'm not letting you fix me, Stella." I snapped, walking away. I heard an angry growl and a door slam. I smirked, knowing I had gotten her to leave. "Woah, I'm just letting you know right now that you do not need to be fixed." A short brunette girl smirked at me. I smiled. "Thanks."

I walked away from her and into the dining room where Frank was lining up the powder into lines. People around him were whispering excitedly. Most of them were junkies excited for a free fix.

"Danny! You get first line." He said, throwing me a rolled up dollar bill. I shrugged and took it, fear taking hold of my senses.

"Now, you've probably never done this stuff before. Basically, since its your first time, you gotta inhale through your nose gently. One line. Just one, since you're only just now trying it. Then, if you want more, you gotta buy more." Frank winked. I nodded nervously before leaning over the table, pressing the dollar into my nose and inhaling.

It was strong and gave me a headache for a moment, before my senses were completely overwhelmed with the feeling. I felt my nose start to bleed and I quickly pressed my hand to it. Frank laughed. "Yeah, that usually happens on your first try. Congratulations, you've done cocaine."

…

The high didn't last long as I thought it would, but it didn't matter. I was drunk and on my way to the park Where I lived now. Great.

I leaned over the sidewalk and threw up into the road and wiped my mouth to continue walking. I walked all the way to my house. I looked inside to see my sister, mother, and father eating dinner at the table. I felt overwhelmed with anger.

I stomped up the stairs and burst open the door. Jazz smiled in confusion as she watched me approach my father, whom I punched in the face.

"Daniel!" My mother gasped.

"Listen here, father." I slurred. He narrowed his eyes, holding his nose. "When your family member is having problems, you do not under any cir-uh-circu-shit,"

"Circumstances?" My sister asked in shock. I nodded, "Yeah that. Circumstances throw your child onto the street! Okay? Yeah, I'm a messed up kid, and you could probably do way better without me. You could probably not have to worry about anymore kids if you...didn't...have...me." I trailed off.

My dads eyes softened. "Daniel-"

"No, shut the fuck up and listen to me for once." I slurred. He nodded.

"I have a secret that I can't tell you, okay? It's stressful and it hurts that I can't tell you, but you'd hate me. You would want to tear me apart and experiment on me. Hell, you already hate me but you don't think it's me when it is." I yelled. Jazz paled and got up. "Danny...why don't you go to bed?" She asked.

I shook my head. "No. Fuck you. Fuck everything. I'm done." I held up my middle finger at my father as I walked out of the house. I jogged to the park and into the trees. I laid down in the clearing with my blanket and pillow and slipped into a fitful sleep.