Danny yawned stretching then pulling the covers off and shuffling his way to the bathroom.
One and a half weeks.
One and a half weeks and he was still stuck. Danny rubbed his eyes as he splashed water on his face staring into the mirror at those strangely dark green eyes. Shaking the excess water from his hair he continued about his business in the bathroom before emerging to find Maddie walking down the hall with a vast amount of paperwork in her arms.
"Here, let me help." Danny insisted taking the top stack of papers from her grip. Maddie nodded thankfully.
"Just a last minute bit of paperwork to take care of. Adoption. School forms, a couple letters about our work." Maddie prattled off absentmindedly. Danny nodded not really listening.
"Sound highly dull." He commented as he followed his mother downstairs.
"Oh, it is, but it has to be done you know. I'm really not sure where to start with most of this. Everything is so new and circumstantial." Maddie said turning on her heel as she reached the bottom of the stairs and walking briskly through the living room into the kitchen. Danny followed depositing his paper stack next to Maddie's on the table.
Maddie sighed then smiled over at Danny.
"Thank you. You've been so helpful over the past week." Maddie patted Danny's arm. Danny gave her a small smile back.
Maddie then sighed heavily forcing down tears. "Well… I better get started on this. We have that thing to go to this afternoon." Maddie said. Danny nodded biting his lip.
"Are you sure we have to do this." Danny said looking nervously around as if for an escape. Maddie nodded looking into Danny's face.
"You know perfectly well that this has to be done. We can't just keep you holed up in the house forever. Plus people are growing curious as well; rumors are spreading, and well… It's about time the world knew." Maddie said. Danny rubbed his face as if that could wake him from this nightmare.
"Alright… I'll just… go get dressed…" Danny said. Maddie nodded as she shifted though the papers.
Danny trudged upstairs opening the door to his room with a sigh, Jack came down the hall.
"Whoa there." Jack said grabbing Danny by the shoulder, "Whatcha doing in Danny's room?" He said kindly, but the suspicion was still in his eyes.
"Sorry… I… well I need clothes… and M-Maddie hasn't taken me shopping yet so she's been letting me… well borrow some of… well some of your son's clothes." Danny said. Jack nodded.
"Oh… right." Jack cast a defeated glance into Danny's room. Danny stretched out his hand trying to comfort the vast man. Then he caught his refection in the doorknob. The white hair that graced his head was foreign to this human form. Danny retracted his hand for a moment then gently rested it on Jack's shoulder.
"Jack… I'm… I'm sorry you haven't found your son. I… I wish I could help… I…" Jack cut Danny of with a glare.
"That's e'nuff Phantom. Grab some clothes and get in the shower." Jack shrugged off Danny's hand going downstairs. Danny clenched his jaw angrily but bit back his sassy retort going into his room and grabbing some clothes. He then slammed the door as he left, the bathroom door following in suite as he threw the clothes on the ground.
Once again Danny was faced with his reflection and all that was wrong in the world. He felt the overwhelming urge to punch something, to release all the anger that had built up in his stomach to the point he was sick. If he could just punch that face in the mirror maybe it would shatter and he'd see his own face. Maybe everything would finally be ok. Danny stared at the face in the mirror, glaring harder and harder as if trying to change that image.
"Change back." He hissed at his reflection through clenched teeth, "change back." He said a little bit louder. Yet his reflection refused to shift, refused to give way to black hair and blue eyes, it didn't waver, it didn't for a moment stutter as it stared back at him with concrete truth. It refused to respond to Danny's mental signals and intense glare. Nothing, absolutely nothing happened.
Danny raised his fist at the mirror ready to drive it into the smooth reflective surface that was so stubborn. Yet he slowed halfway and touched the mirror surprised to see angry tears in his eyes. The anger had passed leaving him feeling empty and confused. He leaned his head against the cold surface, a double reflection of his own white hair over his eyes.
"Change back." He said, his voice cracking slightly. "Change back." He whispered. But he did not.
Danny took a deep breath then proceeded to get into the shower.
Maddie set a plate of food in front of Phantom has he sat down at the table in Danny's clothes. She had taken him out on small errands in the past week but he never seemed interested in leaving the RV. It was probably just as well as it would have been rather hard to explain what he was doing and why he was human, but that would all change after the press conference to day.
With a deep sigh Maddie ruffled Phantom's hair.
"I'm going to drop off and turn in some things. Do you want to tag along. I can buy you some of your own clothes." She suggested. Phantom looked up.
"Yeah… that sounds good… how soon are we leaving." He asked a piece of egg stuck to his lip.
"With in the next half hour, I hope, that is if nothing unexpected happens." Maddie sighed remembering and incident when a vast quantity of ghost weenies had escaped the fridge and it took the next hour to get them all back into the specialized drawer she and Jack designed for them. Phantom sighed as if he too remembered this event, he might have witnessed it. During the past week Phantom admitted to using the Fenton Portal to put ghosts back in the ghost zone.
"Finish up your eggs and I'll load up the RV." Maddie smiled grabbing some papers and a large briefcase. Phantom nodded and continued to shovel eggs into his mouth while Jack lumbered into the kitchen dragging various ghost devices. Phantom looked up from his eggs and Maddie had to contain a chuckle at the look of horror on his face when he realized he'd be subject to another one of Jack's rants.
Maddie proceeded to shove her things in the RV not surprised to see Phantom running out of the house seconds later pulling Danny's jacket on and pulling up the hood. He jogged up to Maddie.
"Um… can we leave now?" He asked curiously glancing nervously over his shoulder. Maddie smiled to herself.
"Alright." She agreed starting the RV and Phantom ran to the other side of it pulling the door open and climbing in. Maddie pulled into the mall parking lot Phantom nervously picked at Danny's pants and at the drawstrings of the hooded jacket.
"You ready?" Maddie asked. Phantom looked at her and nodded.
"I mean… I kinda have to be." He said. Maddie nodded back and both of them climbed out of the RV in synch.
"Lets just get some basics to begin with." Maddie said.
"Well… I think that's probably the best… but I don't think I'm going to be able to come here again without… you know… massive swarms of people following me." Phantom said, "At least now… well they don't have a concrete idea of who I am." He said. Maddie paused nodding.
"You have a point." She responded, "Anyway, I need to buy you a suit for the press conference."
"Press conference?" Phantom said. Maddie nodded.
"We talked about this remember?"
"Right… Sorry… I… kinda space out a lot." Phantom blushed. Maddie refrained from rolling her eyes as they walked into the mall. Phantom seemed agitated, nervous, for that matter Maddie was as well. She walked briskly to "Spirit Suits" since ghosts had become a tourist attraction many small businesses had changed their names to reflect the paranormal.
"Really?" Phantom said frowning.
"Well it's not as bad as invisobill." Maddie said with a chuckle. Phantom turned bright red. Maddie had found that Phantom, being a teen, was still easily embarrassed by stupid nicknames. He wandered into the store grumbling about needing a press agent and his name being Danny Phantom and something about rhymes and stupid truckers.
Maddie followed the former ghost into the shop. He went straight to the discount rack, a fact that made Maddie extremely grateful.
Maddie pulled out a lime green suit holding it up with a playful smile.
"Uh… over my dead body." Phantom answered in standard teenage snark, he continued rummaging through the black suits. Maddie put the lime green suit back into place flipping though them. There were sequined suits if you can believe that. Maddie smiled thinking of Phantom dressed in this suit and as the image solidified a chuckle escaped her lips.
"What?"
"Nothing." Maddie replied looking up. Phantom's deep green eyes were on her, confusion on his brow, but a slight amused smile on his lips. Maddie pulled out a white suit. The material was soft, she could tell that much through her gloves. She glanced up at Phantom's snow-white hair then down at the suit.
"Hey… how about this?" she asked. Phantom's green eyes surveyed the suit.
"No… I'll look like the guys in white." He said simply then continued combing the racks.
"Oh." Maddie said softly putting the suit back, she hadn't even thought of that and looking at it now should couldn't help but think of those bureaucratic morons.
"This one?" Phantom held up a simple black suit. The color was a deep black, it was an English style suit and Maddie nodded, grabbed a matching black shirt and ushered him to the dressing rooms.
Phantom disappeared into the dressing room and Maddie tapped her foot looking at ties and cravats and tiepins while the sales attendant roved around.
Maddie could hear Phantom's shuffling as he tried on the suit. She fiddled with a silver tiepin in the shape of a P inside a D. A soft smile slid across her face as she picked it up. Danny Phantom charms and products had been a common occurrence once the infamous hero had defeated the Ghost King. Maddie stared down at the tiny DP her mind wandering to the tattered black suit with a matching DP in white on the chest that was lying in the basement along with other research materials.
"Ahem." Maddie turned in the direction to see Phantom standing with the suit on. It fit perfectly. Maddie smiled setting down the tiepin and clapping her hands together with a smile.
"Very nice, now turn around." Maddie insisted as she checked out the back, "Is it riding up anywhere?" she commented lifting up the back of the jacket to inspect the waist.
"No."
"Lift your arms up." Maddie ordered, Phantom did so, "Is that pulling anywhere, that feels fine? Not too short on the wrists then?"
"No Mommmmmadddie, it's fine." Phantom said, he lowered his arms eyes downcast, "sorry." He mumbled. Maddie swallowed a lump she didn't know she had in her throat and turned away.
"What color tie should we get." She tried to say cheerfully and busied herself picking out ties so that she wouldn't have to look at his face.
"Green?" Maddie asked holding a neon green tie to Phantom's neck.
"Sure." He responded. Maddie nodded.
"Green it is." She smiled grabbing a matching handkerchief since they were cheaper as a set. Phantom was already returned to the dressing room changing back into his regular clothes. The sales associate seemed to be staring at the door through which Phantom had vanished behind as if deciding something.
Maddie glanced at the little DP tiepin then back to the door before grabbing it as Phantom reemerged hood drawn over his head handing Maddie the suit.
Maddie walked up to the counter past the girl who snapped a photo of Phantom as he passed and paid for the suit, which was a modest, $125, which considering the quality wasn't that bad.
The rest of the shopping trip was spent in silence as Phantom stared at the other window and refused to look at Maddie and indeed Maddie refused to look at him.