Disclaimer: I own nothing from Danny Phantom
Chapter 9: Impediment
Danielle's POV
"Do I really have to drink this?" I asked with weak raspy voice and a disgusted scowl on my face while eyeing the weird glowing liquid that Vlad told me to drink that looked like the colored goop inside of a glow-stick...
When I woke up about half an hour ago, I swear to god it felt like I had the worse cold in existence because my throat was so sore, hot, and scratchy. Honestly it hurt so much that I kinda panicked a little because I genuinely thought the Banshee cursed me or something at the last minute with her magic. Thankfully Vlad eventually convinced me that there's no way she had enough power left to do that after our battle even if she wanted to and what he had given me was just some of his special half-ghost medicine to help with the pain since this was one of those I-overused-my-ghost-powers kind of issues normal medicine wouldn't be able to help with.
Turns out that using my new power like that while borrowing someone else's voice put a lot of extra strain on my ghost-half since it was rejecting the foreign presence inside of me. Which seems odd to me since it wasn't like that lady's voice was from someone hostile or part of a ghost trying to overshadow me. It made sense I suppose, but still, hopefully once I get used to using this power now that I have my real voice back this sort of thing won't be a problem in the future...
Either way I'm really excited to learn more about my new power. Its always exciting when I discover something new I can do with my powers and I have a feeling that this one has a lot of potential if I use it creatively. But everything comes at a price so as much as I hated the idea of drinking the glowing medicine Vlad given me if that's what I had to do to get better then that's I'd do.
Besides, Vlad knows what he was talking about when it comes to our ghost powers way better than I do at the end of the day and I trust him so it's not like I was about to drink poison or some untested ghost-drug. He made sure to let me know upfront that he's used this many times to help give his own healing powers a boost as a last resort since it was difficult to make it. That's why Vlad usually saved it for emergencies. I guess he deemed this an 'emergency' after explaining that it might take longer for me to recover than usual thanks to my voice being stolen and then using a new vocal power that drained me to the point of blacking out from only using it once because of the extra strain of it all.
When I finally swallowed the medicine as instructed it felt really weird as it went down because it was so cold, but thankfully it didn't taste like anything at all so I took that as a win since it was better than it tasting like something gross. It made my mouth a bit numb too which was a little annoying but hey, whatever works. Vlad also instructed me to avoid talking too much until we knew for sure it wouldn't irritate my throat and I decided to actually listen to his advice this time. Still, I'll admit I was going to miss having an excuse not to answer any stupid questions my teachers might ask me once I go back to school...
Jason was relieved to hear I was already well-on the road to recovery and a little earlier he even told me that mom and dad were overjoyed by the news that Vlad successfully got my voice back. They were so happy in fact they didn't bother asking how he did it and agreed to let me stay with him as long as I needed to to recover. No surprise there but I had mixed feelings about it. Especially when Jason told me he was going to be heading home first to keep an eye on them in case they've developed anything new to use against ghosts while we've been gone.
Still, I was going to have to go back to Fenton Works too sooner or later whether I wanted to or not. Back to the usual routine of fighting ghosts, avoiding my parents, trying to juggle school and my fleeting moments of freedom to hang out with my friends, the works. But at least I know Vlad's got my back and he even told me we could finally start getting serious about my training thanks to my brand new power revealing a crap-ton about my ghost-half. And I have a feeling this is only the beginning of a long but rewarding journey of discovery for both of us...
When things returned normal -at least to what my version of it amounts to- it was pretty obvious that something had already changed about my life in a big way. Everyone noticed it too because despite a few people teasing me about going temporarily mute for a while I didn't care at all. I was in such a good mood that I even apologized for snapping at that one teacher. Thankfully Mrs. Aston actually did feel kinda bad about what happened and asked Mr. Lancer to take that incident off my permanent record after admitting she may have overreacted which is big of her.
Sam and Vallen both vouched for me too so I was let off with a warning and told to try and get more sleep that doesn't happen again. Unfortunately, given that ghosts don't need to sleep I doubt that'll happen any time soon. Honestly, if it wasn't for all the ghost fighting I've been swamped with I wouldn't have been so tired. Vlad's been tutoring me though so that's helped me keep up with my studies at least if nothing else. Now I just need to get enough sleep to actually remember what he's been drilling into my brain because I hate wasting all that hard work.
I mean the guy has, what, maybe five or more different college degrees? Despite having to deal with his own ghost powers, Vlad eventually went back and finished college after his portal accident and that gave me hope that if I could pull my grades back up with his help then maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to get into decent college too someday. Then there's the fact that Vlad promised he'd help me bypass the blood tests and such I'd need to take so I could become an astronaut which is a dream I had almost given up on entirely.
Having some clear goals to aim for had really brightened up my mood which is why not even all the school bullies usual taunting could keep me down for long. That is, until someone decided to burst my little bubble of happiness by roughly shouldering past me while I was carrying a huge pile of papers for our History teacher and they went flying all over the place.
"Geez. Watch where you're going next time will you? That really hurt." I complained, tilting my chin up to see who had bumped into me. But when I saw it was Trish and that her eyes red and puffy from crying I immediately stood up to check if she was ok since a slightly sore ass had become the least of my worries.
To tell you the truth I hadn't seen much of Trish lately because of how busy we've all been, especially me, so I genuinely had no idea what could possibly be going on with Trish. She stopped answering my calls or texts beyond shooting the occasional generic message to the point where I started wondering if Trish was mad at me or something.
Forgetting all about the papers, I pulled myself up off the floor and put my hand on her shoulder asking. "Hey...what's wrong Trish?"
Meeting my gaze tearfully, she sniffled and straightened up a bit before explaining. "Oh Dani, I'm so-so sorry I haven't been a good friend at all lately for not giving you the time of day when you were going through a lot at the same time I was but I um, well, the truth is I started dating someone and he just-just-"
"He what?" I pressed, giving her a hard look since I was already in serious protective-friend mode. "Did he hurt you or say something incredibly stupid?"
Slowly bobbing her head up and down to answer yes, Trish finally choked out. "Uh-huh, he dumped me just because of something I corrected him about. He called me a know-it-all in front of everyone and said that pretty girls shouldn't act smarter than everyone else because it makes them less appealing."
"That bastard!" I snarled, my eyes flashing green in anger. "He must have only said that to make himself feel better about not having a brain between his ears since you're one of the most beautiful, bad-ass, and insanely smart girls I know. Don't let anyone put you down like that because we both know you're better than this, Trish. You deserve someone who loves and respects you and appreciates that awesome brain of yours."
Trish couldn't bring herself to say anything else in response so I just hugged her for a few minutes then let go once it seemed like she had calmed down a little and casually started reaching down for the papers that fell on the floor earlier. She helped me grab the last few after snapping out of her depressed daze and added them back to the pile too.
To give us a chance to talk a little longer eve though we had to hurry and get to class Trish helped carry half of the papers for me. And as soon as we walked into class together to sit at our desks after handing them off to the teacher she quietly filled me in on the details of what happened. I felt guilty for being so out of the loop so I invited Trish to go with me to grab a couple of shakes with Sam at the Nasty Burger...
I'm sure Vlad will understand if we have to reschedule our first day of training one more day. My friends are important too after all. I thought to myself, making a mental note to call him before the three of us head over to the Nasty Burger.
Sighing, I settled in for a long and boring History lesson while grumbling silently In my head. Guess this is what I get for letting my guard down. So much for having a good day today to make up for all the bad ones lately. Seriously, will I ever catch a break...?
"I still can't believe you didn't tell us you were dating someone." Sam commented, just as surprised as I was by the news which was totally unexpected. But at least we were all finally on the same page again.
"I know. I'm sorry..." Trish sighed, taking another sip of her limited-time-only Neapolitan milkshake. "I didn't know how to tell you guys without making a big deal of it or risking the chance of him finding out about Dani's secret so I started making up excuses while I assumed Dani was busy off fighting ghosts anyway and you had your nose in one of your favorite mythology books. I wasn't even really sure what you guys where up to honestly but lately I just felt so left out which is why I decided to go looking for a nice boyfriend to keep me company instead. It was selfish not to say anything about it until now but I just-"
Leaning back in my seat I cut her off by sighing heavily and saying point-blank. "No, it's my fault for not paying enough attention to you guys. I should have known nothing was going to change even after I got my voice back so I'm the one who wasn't being a good enough friend when you needed me too. And I don't blame you at all for wanting to do your own thing, Trish, I just wish you mentioned it sooner at least so I didn't have to constantly worry about you suddenly hating me now or something. At the end of the day I just want you two to be happy and safe. That's all I care about."
Smiling back at me Trish replied. "Thanks for understanding, Dani. Anyways, I guess I should have known he was bad news from the start when he started hitting on me first completely out of the blue so you know what? Screw that guy! He wasn't even that good looking himself and always made me pay for my own food during our dates. Who does that?"
"What's his name anyway? You never told us." Sam pointed out, smirking wickedly at her. "If you give me his name and birthday I can totally try hexing him for you. I mean Desiree is a genie ghost and Freakshow had that spooky staff so I though why not learn a little magic of my own to see how much of it is real and can help Dani out more in the future? If I study hard enough I bet I could totally become a real warlock! So what do you say, Trish? Want me to literally curse him out?"
When Sam said that last part we all busted out laughing at the same time and he started waving his hands around in the air for dramatic effect. Then we started talking about all the fun and creative ways we could put a curse Trish's now ex-boyfriend even though we weren't planning to actually do anything like that since magic is still pretty uncharted territory for us despite all the ghosts we've met with similar powers. Still, brainstorming about it together seemed to cheer Trish up a lot so mission accomplished.
But just when things were finally looking up again my phone suddenly started buzzing in my pocket and two things happened at once. First off, I saw that I had a text from Vallen, and second I saw that I'd missed three calls from Vlad while we were talking and winced. Shit, I forgot to tell Vlad I was coming here after school. He's probably pissed at me for playing hookie when today was supposed to be our first training session. Also, since when did I give Vallen my number...?
"Sorry guys, I gotta jet but call me later ok? We've got some serious catching up to do so let's make plans to do something else together next time like catch a movie or go to the arcade!" Hastily waving goodbye to Sam and Trish I flipped my phone open with a sharp snap as I rushed out the door.
As soon as the call went through I blurted out apologetically. "Hey Vlad. Sorry I forgot to call you earlier but I have a totally good explanation for-"
"Vlad? As in dad's boss? I think you called me by accident, this is Vallen." After hearing Vallen's voice unexpectedly respond, I screeched to a halt before sputtering out a few lame excuses like butt-dialing him by accident.
I mean, to be fair their first names do both start with a V so thankfully Vallen took it in stride and just laughed at how flustered I was. "Relax Dani. Like you said, it was an honest mistake. But I'm glad you called either way since I actually wanted to talk to you about something that's been on my mind for a while now anyway. The truth is I feel really bad I never got the chance to thank you for getting Mr. Masters in touch with my dad and asking him to help us out when he lost his job because of those two ghosts that broke into Axion Labs a few months ago..."
I was about to tell Vallen he didn't owe me anything when he stopped me mid-sentence and continued in an all-serious tone. "When you and your friends showed up at my house that day a first I thought your offer to help was nothing but lip service because I figured you three were only there to gloat. I couldn't understand why you even cared but...I think I get it now. Dani, you've had to deal with ghosts your whole life before anyone else in this town knew they were real so back then you already knew exactly what I was going through.
"So now I want to do something to repay you for being such a good friend to me even though I used to be such a jerk before who probably didn't deserve it. And I felt horrible when I heard that recently a ghost stole your voice but to be fair I was out of town when it happened, otherwise I would have tried to do something about it. Anyways the point I'm trying to make is I'd like to become someone you can rely on from now on."
My heart skipped a beat when Vallen said that because I knew he sincerely meant them. On top of that I couldn't help but laugh at the irony since I know he's already in the ghost-hunting business too. "Thanks Vallen, I appreciate the thought but trust me, fighting off ghosts isn't half as easy as my parents or Dani Phantom make it to be so you're better off leaving it to professionals. If you're that determined to repay me though maybe you can help us dig up some dirt on the son-of-a-bitch who dumped my best friend Trish."
After that, Vallen and I ended up chatting for the next hour or so before he finally had to leave to make dinner since it was his turn tonight so we said goodbye and I hung up the phone with a soft click. I mentally smacked myself though when I realized I had forgotten to call Vlad AGAIN and it was already way past time for me to head over to the mansion after hastily ducking further into the alleyway and making sure the coast was clear, I transformed and flew straight there to tell him in person...
I called my parents too just to be safe and told them I was running late heading over to Vlad's for our study session but thankfully my dad was pretty chill about it for once probably because he was counting on Vlad to drive me back home before my usual curfew. With that settled, I braced myself for whatever harsh words Vlad might have in store for me for making him worry when I didn't let him know what I was up to because I had already resigned myself to the sad reality that today, like every other day it seems, was going to end on a sour note.
