Chapter Two: Homeward Bound
"Change is inevitable except from a vending machine." - Tragic Magic by Laura Childs
Breaking through the barrier is raw agony. The wall itself is very thin, but it takes an eternity to force myself through. Lightning crashes over me, making my skin burn and itch at the same time. All I feel is pain. I can't even scream; my insides are numb. When I finally, blissfully reach the other side, I fall to my knees, bracing my hands on the grass to keep from collapsing entirely. Another wave of heat hits me, but instead of hurting me, it soothes my skin.
I look down at my hands, which are now devoid of white gloves and are a healthy beige-ish, as Mira put it, color. I must have changed back into a human. When one of my forms takes too much damage, I switch to the other instinctively. I think it's a survival thing. I can control it if I'm desperate enough, but usually it just kind of happens. And, thankfully no humans have seen it happen yet.
Panic shoots me to my feet. I whip around and am reminded of how solid-looking the barrier is. I let out a breath of relief. No one saw me change.
I scan the dome, expecting to see endless scorched earth where the school used to be. Instead, besides the bright glowing walls, everything looks untouched. I hear muffled noises from outside - frightened citizens and reporters yapping about the latest ghost attack - but otherwise it's…peaceful. Does the barrier only harm sentient beings? Ghostkind holds no end of surprises.
I find Mira behind the bleachers, right where I left her. But, now she is curled up in a ball on the ground, hugging her legs and resting her forehead on her knees. My heart breaks. I know what she's going through.
Except, I don't. I'm still human.
She doesn't react when I walk up to her and say her name. It's like I'm not even here. I sigh heavily and sit in front of her, hugging my own knees to my chest and wondering what to do. Helping others is my Obsession, the subconscious desire or interest that drives a ghost. Whether it's something small like helping Mom make dinner or something big like saving the town from being trapped in the Ghost Zone, I get a thrill and a burst of energy every time I see a smiling face and know that I'm the cause of it.
I've been keeping this town safe for almost two years. There may have been some bumps in the road - and some pretty big potholes - but I've always managed to come out on top. But, all those saving-the-day moments involved physical threats. Dangerous ghosts who could be knocked down with some ghost rays and a Fenton Thermos. Bad humans I could incapacitate so the cops could handle the rest. Unpredictable factors like fires or car wrecks that I could phase through to rescue the injured. Sure, I can't always prevent people from getting hurt, but I do everything in my power to minimize the damage.
But, for Mira, the damage has already been done. I've never had to pick up the pieces before.
"Mira," I say again. "Mira, please." Please, what? I have no idea.
At last, Mira speaks. Her voice is so quiet, I can barely hear it. "I had to cross the street to get home. My house was right there. I could see it." There's a lump in my throat as Mira remembers her death. "That car was just…there." She lifts her head up, her face streaked with pale green, her eyes hollow. "I'm dead, aren't I?"
A tear rolls down my cheek, clear water in my human form. I can only nod.
Mira lets out a sob and curls back into herself, lost somewhere I can't follow. "I can't go home. I-I can't go to prom. I-I was - hic - gonna open a restaurant."
"I was gonna be an astronaut." The words slip out of me.
Mira sniffs and lifts her head again. "You can," she says ruefully. "You're still alive."
I shake my head. "Please. Between the ghost thing and the hero thing, I'll be lucky if I can hold a job bagging groceries." I scoot closer until the tips of our sneakers are touching. "Mira, being a ghost…changes things. Obviously. All your plans are just…gone. But…but, it's like…another chance. Most people who die are just dead. But, we're still here." I rest my hand on her shoulder. "You're still here, Mira. You get another shot at living. And, yes, it is living."
Mira brushes the tears off her face, looking thoughtful. Then, she notices the barrier around us and stares at it in a mix of fear and amazement. "Did...I do that?"
"Yep," I say hesitantly. "But, don't worry. I don't think anyone got hurt." Beyond repair, I add silently. The coolness in my chest, where my heart and my core are merged, tells me that my ghost form appreciates the rest it's getting. "It might take some time to learn to control your powers," I say when she still looks scared. "Took me over a month to get the hang of things. Though that could have been because of my human-half. Let's just say that my pants fell down more than once."
Mira laughs which is what I'd hoped she'd do. "Did your underwear stay up at least?"
"Amazingly, yes. Except the one time, but nobody saw it."
Mira laughs again. "So, I know you can fly and turn invisible and stuff. What else can you do?"
She's calmed down enough that the barrier is starting to waver, and her question gives me the perfect excuse to switch back to ghost-form. I don't know how I would have explained Danny Fenton being in here. "Well," I start after changing, "there's my ghost sense. That tells me that there's a ghost nearby if I don't know about it already. I can also shoot ghost rays from my hands. Those are kind of my go-to." I feel the warm energy flood to my hand and shoot a bright green beam at a random spot, watching the smoke curl up from where the grass had been torched. "I can actually do a lot of stuff with just my ecto-energy." Mira is completely mesmerized now. The barrier is getting smaller. "I also have my ghostly wail, but that one's way too powerful to show off just because. And, I got ice powers not too long ago. Wanna see something I've been working on?"
Mira nods, still in awe. I raise my hand and focus. Slowly, the chill in my core seeps through my arm and up to my hand. I swirl my hand in the air as my skin gets colder and colder. A small powder blue cloud starts to form, growing until it's just big enough to cover both of us. I lower my hand, and - Yes! - a gentle snow falls over us.
"It's really just a parlor trick right now," I say despite the pride swelling in my chest. This is the first time I've managed to make snow appear, and I'm glad it happened for Mira. "My pal, Frostbite, has been tutoring me. He says that, if I keep practicing, someday I'll be able to make a blizzard appear! But, for now, all I can do is cool you off."
Then, I look at Mira and laugh. She's sticking her gray tongue all the way out, trying to catch the snowflakes. She must get one, because her tongue shoots back in and she makes a face. "Tastes weird."
"Well, this isn't exactly a white Christmas," I jest, recalling the oddly sour flavor of the snowflakes in the Far Frozen. I wave my hand again, and the cloud disappears. "You know, I bet you could fly and go intangible if you tried. And, with a little practice," I look up at the barrier, "I'm sure you could do other cool things with lightning."
"It does sound kind of cool," Mira muses. Then, she saddens again. "But, what about my family? And, my friends? And, Levi?" She chuckles suddenly. "Who am I kidding? Levi will love this."
I blink in surprise. "R-really? How do you know?"
She grins. "Dude, you don't know my boyfriend. He's practically obsessed with ghosts! How do you think I knew to ask you for help? It's pure luck that I ended up where you live. Levi's told me all about how you fight bad guys and protect people. Showed me news footage and everything. He's a huge fan of yours."
My cheeks cool at that. "I-I'm really not that impressive."
Mira frowns. "Are you okay? You look a little green."
I laugh and wave off her concern. "Oh, that's just how ghosts blush. Ectoplasm, remember? Though, it switches to regular blood when I'm human. Anyway, Levi likes ghosts, huh? Guess that's one less person to worry about."
Mira scrunches into a tighter ball and looks away. "What about my parents? What will they say?"
Oof. That nailed me right there. "I don't know."
"What about your parents?" Mira asks hesitantly. "What did they say when you…whatever happened to you?"
Oof, again. "Well, um, they don't exactly…know."
"You didn't tell them?" Mira asks incredulously. "You're half-dead! Or, something. How can you just not tell them?"
I suck in air between my teeth. I really don't want to talk about this. But, at the same time, I don't want to discourage Mira from talking to her own parents. "Um.." I rub the back of my neck and don't meet her gaze. "You know those ghost hunters out there?"
"No," Mira says. I glance at her, and her mouth and eyes are wide open in shock.
I sigh. "Yes. So, there's your answer."
Mira's face softens with sympathy. "Wow. Just…wow. How-how do you hide that sort of thing?"
"Wasn't easy in the beginning, but I've got it handled. It helped when my sister found out." A smile tugs at my lips. "She's a real trooper."
Mira hums thoughtfully. "How do you think my parents will react?"
I just shrug. I can tell she isn't really asking me.
"I have to talk to them," she goes on, lost in that place again. "I have to- What if I-" A sob escapes her. "Do I have a home?"
My own thoughts thrown right in my face. If my parents know I'm half-ghost, will I still have a home? "I'll help you," I promise. "I'll help you tell them. If you want me to."
"And, if they hate me?" Mira asks, her voice thick.
As thick as my own when I respond. "Ghosts always have a home in the Ghost Zone. They're called lairs, and they appear when a new ghost forms." I only use mine when I need a break from everything. My home is in Amity Park, and I pray every day that this place keeps being my home. "I know that's probably not the answer you want but," I shrug and try to smirk, "at least you'd have your own place, rent-free! But-but, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," I add when Mira looks like she's going to cry again. "I'll be right by your side, Mira. As long as your parents aren't ghost hunters, I'm sure it'll be fine."
Mira wraps her arms around me and whimpers against me. I hug her back and hope with every fiber of my being that my promise holds its weight.
If I'm going all the way to Nebraska, I'd better call Jazz, Sam, and Tucker and fill them in. Even with my enhanced speed, I'll probably be gone all day. Wouldn't want Mom and Dad worrying when I don't come home.
Ugh. More lying.
Out of nowhere, something smacks my cheek. It is a microphone held by a man with broad shoulders and blond hair that is definitely not natural. I was so focused on Mira that I didn't notice the barrier fade. Which is what I wanted, but what I did not want was a face-full of Lance Thunder, the local reporter. It's a distraction from my thoughts, but it's not exactly a welcome one.
I try to shield a bewildered Mira with my body as Lance looks at the camera that's being held way too close. "And, it looks like Danny Phantom has solved yet another ghost problem." He shoves the camera at me and grins that too-wide newsman grin. "Tell the folks at home, Phantom. Is this the vile, monstrous creature who caused that mysterious wall to appear? And, if so, will you be taking it to some sort of ghost prison?"
Normally, I don't mind sharing ghost news with everyone. I don't like being interviewed, but I can tolerate it if it means people understand the hows and whys of ghosts. Now, however, is not the time. Especially with what Lance just said about Mira. I get that he doesn't have the context, but come on!
I am very tempted to flip off the camera, but instead I say, "Now's not a good time."
On that note, I make myself and Mira invisible and send us into the sky. I don't check if my parents are still there. I don't want to see the looks on their faces.
"Danny," Mira says once we're in the air, "about what that news guy said…"
Oh, no. I'm shooting this down now. "Don't worry about it, Mira. There are so many ghost attacks around here that people just expect them to be bad if they aren't me." And, even then, I think bitterly. "As soon as I get the chance, I'll nip that in the bud."
Mira makes a noncommittal noise then stays quiet until I land us on a rooftop. I set her down and pull my cell phone out-
"Where'd the phone come from?" Mira asks.
"It's called pocketspace," I inform. "It's a ghost thing. It lets you carry small objects with you, but it's in, like, this…other dimension sort of thing? I don't know. It's just a thing we do. You'll figure it out."
"Okay…" Mira drawls, looking as lost as ever. And, that's saying something, given the kind of day she's having.
I have a lot to teach her, but it'll have to wait. For now, I have some phone calls to make.
The story the guys and I came up with is that my friend had a medical emergency, and her parents were out of town. It's not a total lie, and I've always been the first person to leap into action when someone needs help. Having it as an Obsession only ramped up my "hero complex," as my friends jokingly call it. We knew my parents wouldn't question the story, though I may have to work out some finer details if they call to check on me.
On the way to Nebraska, Mira hesitantly agreed to try flying and going intangible on her own. Moments later, she realized how naturally these things come to ghosts. Long story short, she spent the rest of the flight twirling and somersaulting in various degrees of visibility, laughing and shrieking with glee.
It was so nice to see her enjoy her new form. I wish I could have felt that kind of freedom so quickly after getting my powers. Alas, my house was, and still is, filled with so many weapons and ghost-detectors that I'd walked on eggshells until I gained better control of my powers. But, that doesn't stop the ghost-detecting devices from seeking me out. I'm just glad that my parents are too clueless to realize that, no, nothing needs to be recalibrated and, yes, there is a reason the Booo-merang always bonks me on the head.
But, this wasn't about me. This was about Mira realizing that being a ghost isn't all bad. So, I laughed with her and spun around and pretended that everything was hunky-dory. At one point, we wound up in an aerial game of tag that ended when a plane passed by and its passengers were staring and taking pictures. That's when we decided to get back on course. Mira was still "it" at the time, so I consider myself the winner.
I don't know how long we've been flying, but I sense my phone going off in pocketspace. We go intangible and rest in a tree, startling some birds in the process. There's a knot in my stomach when I see that it's a call from home. Mira moves to the other side of the tree, phasing through branches and giggling in the process, to give me some privacy.
I answer the phone, hoping my "hello" doesn't sound too nervous.
Mom's voice is on the other end. "Hi, sweetie. Jazz told us about your friend. How's she doing?" Such concern. It's like she wasn't threatening to shoot me this morning. As far as she knows, she wasn't.
"She's doing," I say vaguely. "Sorry I didn't say anything. It just sort of happened."
"I understand. Do you need anything? One of us could come over and-"
"Oh, that's okay. Mira - that's the friend - um, she doesn't live in Amity Park, and we're at a hospital anyway. They've got everything she needs."
"H-hospital? Oh, honey, is it that bad?"
I curse myself for making her worry even more. "It's a precaution more than anything. But, the doctors are letting me stay the night with her. So, don't expect home until tomorrow. I'm…kind of all Mira has right now."
I must sound as anxious as I feel, because Mom is quiet for a moment before, "It is that bad, isn't it?"
I glance at Mira - or rather, at the rustling branches where I think she is - and sigh. "It's not that good. She was, uh, in a car accident." My voice cracks at the end as I think about the vibrant, dorky girl I had just played tag with. I don't know if I should be telling Mom all this, but I know I'll get pressed for details eventually. Half-truths are better than the blatant lies I usually tell.
"Danny, I don't know if you should be there by yourself. Not to sound morbid, but…if it's what it sounds like-"
"Mom, I-I'll be okay," I say, my throat tight and my free hand clutching my knee. "I just…want to be there for her."
Mom sighs, but there's a hint of pride in her voice. "You always were a sweet boy." My fingers tighten around my knee. "Alright. But, if you need to talk, don't wait until tomorrow, okay?"
She bought it. Thank God. "Okay, Mom. I love you. And, tell that to Dad and Jazz for me."
"I will. Love you too."
I hang up and sit there until I stop feeling like crying and/or screaming.
If Mira heard any of my phone call, she doesn't bring it up. She is silent until we reach her street, a quiet, suburban area. She leads me to a rooftop and points to a house across from the one we're standing on. "Right there," she says, all the fun we'd had in the sky long gone. "That's my house."
It's a two-story house with cream-colored walls, a pale orange roof and an attached garage. The front lawn sports a small garden filled with colorful flowers. A simple building, but it looks cozy.
"So," Mira says, wringing her hands and staring at her house, "how do we do this?"
Good question. Her parents would have to be twice as clueless as mine to not know by now that they've lost their child. I shrug. "How do you want to do it?" Tears pool in her eyes. She swipes at her eyes with a hard sniff. "Do you want me to talk to them? I'm not great with words, but maybe I could, I don't know, ease them into it?"
Mira gives me a little smile. "You're better with words than you think."
I snort and roll my eyes. "Yeah, when they're quips."
Mira laughs and nudges my arm, making me smile back. If nothing else, I am damn-good at lightening the mood. Mira smoothes her hair back and blows out a breath she doesn't need. "Maybe I'll just do it. Why prolong the inevitable, right?"
"You're a lot braver than I am," I praise. Mira's eyes soften; she caught the hidden meaning.
Then, she turns away shyly. "Will you…come with me?"
I take her hand. "Didn't I say I would?"
We wait until the street is clear - don't want to scare more people than we have to - before flying to the front door. Squeezing my hand tightly, she reaches for the doorbell, pulls her hand back, then decides to ring the doorbell after all. A lot of high-pitched barking follows, and I hear a muffled, "Quiet, Yippy," on the other side of the door. The barking stops.
Moment of truth. Logically, I know that Mira is more nervous than I am, but it doesn't feel like it.
The woman who opens the door looks like a woman in mourning. Her light brown hair - the color Mira's used to be, I imagine - is chin-length and fluffed up like she's been running her hands through it. Her blue eyes are red and puffy. The face she's making is a "get out of my sight" kind of face. That face transforms into plain-old confusion as she looks us over. Can't say I blame her; she's the only one of us who still looks human.
Then, her eyes linger on Mira. There's the tiniest speck of hope in those eyes.
"Hi, Mom," Mira whispers shakily.
Mrs. Scott chokes out a sob and crushes her daughter in a hug. "Oh my God," she weeps. Mira lets go of me and holds her mother and cries into her shoulder. I bite my knuckle to keep myself in check. "Oh my God, you- But-but, they said- We saw- W-why do you look- Tell me later. Oh my God. You-you're freezing!" Mrs. Scott pulls back, her face wet and red. "Sweetheart, you're freezing! Get inside."
Now for the joyous task of explaining why her daughter will never be warm again.
"Uh, c-can Danny come in?" Mira asks when her mother starts to pull her inside.
Mrs. Scott barely glances at me. "Yes, yes, bring him in. Now, get inside and warm up, young lady! Why are you so cold?"
As soon as we're inside, a tiny white creature leaps off the couch and runs up to us, barking excitedly. Mira chokes out the chihuahua's name and picks him up. Yippy starts relentlessly licking his owner's face, making her laugh. Animals are more intuitive than people think, especially when it comes to ghosts. For one thing, animals can see us, or at least sense our presence, when we're invisible. And, they always, always, recognize the spirits of people they once knew, regardless of the person's ghost-form.
"Andrew!" Mrs. Scott calls down the hall. "Andrew, get in here now!"
"What?" Mira's father comes barrelling into the living room. A tall, reed-thin man with dark blond hair and brown eyes that must have been Mira's. "Natalie, what's-" He stops suddenly and gapes at Mira, frozen in shock.
"Dad!" Mira sobs.
She sets Yippy down and runs into her father's arms. While she cries into his chest, he slowly wraps his arms around her, still gaping like a fish as his mind struggles to process all this. Before I know it, Mrs. Scott joins in, and all three of them are holding each other and crying while Yippy runs circles around them, barking his little head off. Nobody tells him to be quiet.
I should leave, give them some privacy, but I can't move. It's a happy, beautiful scene, but it's like a knife in my heart/core. Mira's parents are holding her, covering her in kisses, saying they love her. Even if they don't yet realize that their daughter is a ghost, I'm confident now that they'll do this all over again once they find out. These people have no reason to hate their daughter, no reason to feel anything but love and trust toward her.
My own parents love Danny Fenton with all their hearts. Danny Phantom, not so much. Mom and Dad have hated ghosts since before they'd even met. And, ever since Phantom showed up, he's been number one on their radar. Even more so after…certain events. No matter how much Jazz defends me, they always try to shoot her down.
Have you forgotten the time he robbed all those jewelry stores? I'd been hypnotized.
How about when he attacked the mayor? The mayor was overshadowed by one of my enemies, who staged the whole scene.
Or, when he stole everyone's Christmas presents? …Okay, that wasn't me, but it was my fault that it happened.
When my parents go on their tangents, I keep my head down, even when I just want to shake their shoulders and scream, "I'm Danny Phantom, and I can explain!" Danny Fenton is a sweet, quiet child who hates conflict and is afraid of ghosts. That person flew out the window (sometimes literally) the second he got ghost powers. But, it's the person they expect, so it's who I am in front of them.
If they knew who their son truly was, one of two things would happen. Either they would realize they'd been threatening to dissect their own child and be torn apart emotionally, or they would tear me apart physically for science. I don't like either option, though I confess that the latter would be just a touch more traumatic.
It hits me that Mira's parents recognized their daughter's ghost-form immediately. My parents still don't recognize mine after almost two years. I bite my knuckle again.
When the trio calms down, and Mira tells Yippy to be quiet, Mr. Scott takes his daughter by the shoulders, looks her square in the eye, and says, "Okay, you need to tell us what happened, why you look like you just jumped out of Ghostbusters," Mira and I flinch at that, "and how anyone can be this cold when it's eighty degrees outside."
Mira turns around and gives me a helpless look. Her parents finally notice me, and her mother points to me and asks her family, "Isn't he that guy Levi likes?"
"Yeah, that's Danny Phantom," Mira says. "The superhero. He's the reason I got here in one piece." She winces and mutters, "More or less."
Mrs. Scott looks like she's going to cry again, but she's smiling. "You brought my baby home?"
That stupid throat-lump is back. I rub the back of my neck. "Well, technically, yes. But-"
Mr. Scott cuts me off by grabbing my hand in both of his and shaking it. I can't meet his gaze when he stammers, "Thank you. You- Just- You- Thank you."
I phase my hand free, feeling both embarrassed at the praise and unbearably guilty for what's about to happen.
"We got a call saying," Mrs. Scott hiccups, "saying she'd been hit by a car. W-we - hic - we even saw her…"
"Who cares what we saw?" Mr. Scott says with relief that won't last long. "It was obviously a mistake!"
"It wasn't," Mira says emptily, her head bowed, her hands clutching her jacket.
Mrs. Scott huffs a laugh. "What do you mean, sweetie? You're right here."
Without emotion, Mira takes her mother's hand and rests two of her mother's fingers over the inside of her wrist. Mrs. Scott's face goes pale when she feels nothing but cold, clammy skin.
I clear my throat. It's now or never. "We should sit down."
Mr. Scott and I sit on the couch with Mira wedged between us. Mrs. Scott was too restless to sit and paces back and forth. Yippy, sensing that there's bad news, rests on Mira's lap.
Mira starts off, her voice as dead as her human body, by outright saying that she's a ghost. Her parents are silent at first. Then, her mother throws her hand over mouth, covering a sob, and her father starts vehemently denying this. Mira has him feel where her pulse used to be. He is eerily quiet after that. I take over from there and try to remind them that this is still their daughter. That she is still here, even if she isn't alive in the traditional sense.
They ask how I found Mira. She tells them about getting hit by a car and waking up in the Ghost Zone and falling through a portal. I tell them about my ghost sense and how it indirectly led me to her, leaving out the part where Mira covered part of Amity Park in an electric shield because she was threatened by ghost hunters. What her parents don't know won't hurt them.
Throughout the story, Mira has one hand resting on Yippy's skinny back, and her other hand is cupped by both of mine.
Mira finishes off with a sob and a quiet, "Do I still live here?"
Her father wraps his arms around her. I hop off the couch when Mira's mother lunges for her as well. Yes, they say. We love you, they say. Yippy hops up and licks Mira's chin in his own reassurance.
That's when I feel it. A flash of energy, a lightness in my chest. Perhaps the high from my Obsession is the reason I'm still holding it together.
This could have been my family, I think selfishly.
When they all start to pull away, I clear my throat. "I…I guess I'll leave you be."
"No, no!" Mr. Scott protests, standing up and swiping at his cheeks. "Don't go on our account."
"Yes, please," Mrs. Scott begs. She stammers a bit then claps her hands and blurts out, "Dinner! Y-you can stay for dinner! I mean, I-I guess it's still early, but you can stay! Ghosts can eat, right? Levi says that ghosts can eat even though they don't have to. I-is that true?"
"Sounds like Levi is well-informed," I say, wondering where Mira's boyfriend is getting his information.
Mira jumps up with a gasp, and Yippy practically rolls out of her lap. "Levi! Does he know what happened to me?"
"I called him," Mr. Scott says. "When I told him…about the accident, he didn't say anything. Just hung up the phone right then. I think the poor kid was in shock."
"I have to call him!" Mira shouts and runs down the hall, phasing through her father in the process.
Mr. Scott stands there, paralyzed, then quickly runs his hand over his torso, wondering what just happened.
I can't help but laugh at his expression. "She's got a few ghost powers now. Get used to it, Mr. Scott."
Mr. Scott shakes his head clear and says to me. "Oh, uh, Andrew. Call me Andrew."
Mrs. Scott stands up and takes my hand. "And, call me Natalie. You don't have to be so formal, Mr. Phantom. You're probably older than all of us combined!"
I doubt it. My face cools, and I rub the back of my neck. "Well, if we're on a first-name basis, then call me Danny." My cheeks only get colder when they both look at me with concern. "I'm not sick. Ghosts blush green instead of red. I-it's just particularly visible for me since I don't have green skin. I-I'm gonna shut up before I start babbling."
They both laugh at that. "Sounds like we have a lot to learn," Mr.- Andrew comments.
"I'll answer any questions you have," I assure.
"Here's my first question," Mrs.- Natalie says. "What do you like to eat? Mira's constantly experimenting with recipes, so the kitchen is well-stocked. Dinner can be whatever you want!"
Wait, they were serious about me staying for dinner? "Oh, I don't wanna impose."
"Nonsense," Andrew assures. "You're the reason our girl found her way home. Let us reward you, Danny."
"I-I just did what anyone would have done…" I say lamely.
Natalie scoffs at that and lightly smacks my arm. "Stop being silly and tell me what you want for dinner."
Yep. She's a mom, alright. And now I'm blushing again. "Well…I-I've never met a burger I didn't like." Plus, it's something quick and easy to make, I figure.
Natalie claps her hands together. "Burgers! Perfect. We have ground beef that needs used anyway."
Andrew snaps his fingers. "I've been looking for an excuse to fire up the grill. Let's eat outside and make this a party."
God help me. I wave my hands back and forth in protest. "Oh, please, that-that's too much. I-I don't even need food." Not in this form, anyway. "I couldn't ask you to-"
Natalie smacks me again. "I told you to stop being silly."
Before I can argue, Mira comes barreling back into the living room, looking equal parts nervous and excited. "Guys, Levi's coming! He said he's right around the corner, and he's coming to see me! To see, us," she adds to me. "I told him you were here, Danny, and he really wants to meet you!"
"Is that so?" I ask cheekily. I sweep my fingers through my bangs. "Do I look alright? How's my hair?"
That gets a chuckle out of my audience. Then, Natalie says, "Well, if Levi's coming, and we're eating outside, we better get Yippy upstairs."
"How come?" I ask.
Andrew sighs and shrugs. "Don't ask us why, but Yippy's never liked Levi."
"And, Levi's, like, the nicest guy," Mira adds. "And, Yippy's usually super friendly. It makes no sense."
That raises some red flags. Besides the sensitivity toward ghosts, I find that animals are good judges of character over all-
Suddenly, I let out a puff of blue air. At the same time, Yippy starts growling and runs up to the front door. Before, he'd been barking just because that's what his breed does. Now, I can hear the threat in his voice.
Natalie sighs and rolls her eyes at the dog. "That means Levi's here."
You have got to be kidding me.
