Yayyy I did it! 8 chapters! I suppose there's nothing super great about the number eight, except that it rhymes with great, but oh well. I made it this far! And yet there's still so far to go... Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 8 (Tucker's POV)

Chapter 8

The smell of bacon woke me from my restless sleep. Listening closely, I could just barely hear the sound of my parents moving through the kitchen. Dragging my hands across my face to help wake myself up I make to get out of bed. Days just begun and I want it to be over…

Its week ten of GD 101. We were informed last week that there won't be any midterm, which leaves the final and the weekly unit quizzes for grades, as well as participation in class activities. On the bright side it looks like the final is going to be an actual written test. My door slams behind me as I make for the stairs, still wearing my pajamas.

"Mom? Dad? You down here?"

"Over here son." I hear my dad in the sitting room and head that way.

"Who made bacon?"

"Well, we know you've been working really hard in all your classes, so we made you breakfast this morning." I finally take in the state of the dining table. On it laid a large plate of pancakes, a bowl of fruit, waffles, toast, eggs, two different types of syrup, and a huge plate of bacon. The groaning of my stomach was suddenly all I could hear.

"Go on then. Dig in." Sometimes, I love my parents…

In under fifteen minutes the table was cleared, and my belly was full. Time to gear up…

Getting back to my room I reach under my bed for the large metal trunk hidden there. The lock is biometrics, handprint and voice recognition. My stash of ecto-weapons and tech is large and mostly ensconced in the GZ, however I have a small arsenal in my room, just for daily use. The ecto-pistols find their home at the small of my back before I grab the newly designed thermos and place it in one of my pockets.

The thermos is a thing of tech beauty. Modified to be about the same size as a PDA when in use, but it folds down smaller (about the size of a lipstick blaster, but a bit thinner) when resting. Instead of trapping a ghost inside the thermos, it creates a homing portal that sends ghost energy back to the ghost zone. And I never would've been able to figure it out without Danny…

I finally notice the clock on my wall as I'm reaching for my backpack.

"Mom! Dad! I'm off to school!" The sound of the door falling closed cuts off any reply they might've had. It's barely five minutes before I see the Fenton Works sign, Danny slipping quietly out the kitchen door.

"Uhm… Dude?" Frowning deeper as he startles, I close the distance between us, "Why are you coming out the back? Something wrong?" A loud sigh punches out of him before he speaks.

"Just don't want to deal with my parents right now. They must be working on a new experiment or weapon or something. They've been holed up in their lab for almost the whole weekend. And they've exploded things twice. Usually, I have to clean it up, but for some reason I'm not allowed down there right now…" I can see the concern in my friends face as he talks and lay a reassuring hand on is shoulder.

"If they're in the lab wouldn't it be safer to go out the front?"

"Yeah. If they were in the lab. But they stayed up all night working on… well… whatever they're working on. So, they're sleeping in a bit this morning, their first class isn't until the block before lunch. I didn't want to risk waking them up. They've been acting so weird, well, weirder then normal I suppose. I just don't know what to do…"

"I'm sure everything is going to be fine. They do this kind of thing all the time right? What's so different about this time?" I try for encouraging, but Danny's frown deepens, and I know I said the wrong thing. When he speaks, it's barely loud enough to hear.

"…This time they're teaching a ghost hunting class to a bunch of my peers…" The sentence leaves us both silent. He's right, of course. This time is different. They could be working on something for the class, or they could be working on something that will be used or introduced to the class. This could turn into a huge mess if we don't know what we're up against…

It took me a second to snap out of my thoughts before I notice a hand waving in front of my face. Looking up I see Sam's sparkling purple eyes.

"Is he awake?" She says laughing. Playfully shoving her shoulder, I give a snort and nod.

"Yeah yeah, laugh all you want. So, I get distracted sometimes, just means I'm having profound thoughts." Sam throws her head back and laughs while Danny chuckles beside me.

"Yeah right, any chance those profound thoughts include making it to school on time for once?" right as she spoke, we hear the five-minute bell ring in the distance. I look to Sam who rolls her eyes before turning to Danny.

"Really…?" I chuckle at his whining before grabbing an arm and starting to pull him along.

"Now or never guys. You wouldn't miss the pivotal week ten, would you?" laughing at the groans that follow my statement I continue to pull my friends along, Danny by the arm and Sam holding on to Danny's arm. All in all, not the worst start to my morning.

This day couldn't get any better…

"H-Hi Valerie!" My voice wobbles as I speak, clearing my throat I try again, "You wanna sit with us at lunch?" She smiles (like an angel) as she nods at me. She's matured a lot since Freshman year. We don't talk as much as I'd really like us to, but we can definitely consider her an ally at this point. Her look has matured a lot too. Most often you'll find her wearing her dark orange capris with a yellow tank top that shows just a bit of her mid drift. As well as her light jean jacket on top. She looks like an average high schooler in almost every regard. If you don't count the hundreds of weapons she has hiding on her person…

Her red huntress outfit is no more. Since becoming allies with Danny Phantom, we've created an agreement to supply her with state-of-the-art tech, stuff that can't be controlled by Vlad. Her new outfit is mostly black, with green trim and white weapons. If nothing else, she looks like a badass.

"Sure! You guys eat by the tree, right?" without a second to think about it I'm already nodding and pulling her along.

"You gotta meet the friend Sam made! Well, I say friend, but really she's more of a-"

"Sam made a friend?" I look over my shoulder with a Cheshire grin, immediately noticing the look of concern it causes Valerie to adopt.

"You'll see…" It only takes a couple minutes to reach the secluded spot past the trashcans. Danny, Sam and Cheyenne are already waiting for us. Since the day at Nasty Burger Sam's been dragging Cheyenne along everywhere she could. It was nice actually, seeing her so excited about meeting someone.

"Valerie? Cheyenne. Cheyenne? Valerie. Good. You've met. Let's eat!" I smile as my friends laugh at my antics, sitting down to pick at the meagre lunch the cafeteria has provided.

"Hi, I'm Valerie. Nice to meet you. I don't think I've seen you before?" The introductions are brief, but I recognize the look in Valerie's eye. She sees something. I want to ask but it's never a good idea to interrupt a detective from their work.

"So, Cheyenne-"

"Chey is fine, I don't really use my full name…"

"Chey. Uhm… are you sure we've never met before? You seem really familiar…" And the detective strikes a blow.

"Uhm… no… I don't think so? I- I think I'd remember someone as pretty as you…" The last part is mumbled, and I have to shove another bite of (what is this, meat surprise?) into my mouth to stifle the snort that bursts out of me. I take another bite when I see the direction of Sam's glare, obviously having heard the mumbled comment.

"Well, you know, I've changed a lot in the last three years. I think that's about how long it's been at least. Since the defense class? I think that was you, right?" Suddenly my full attention was on the conversation. I remember being told something about self-defense training, and her not wanting to talk about it (even lying about it, badly enough Danny noticed). But the subject has never come up again. To think we'd get a lead in the form of Valerie…

What I wasn't expecting was a bright red blush to cover Cheyenne's face from the tip of her ears all the way down her neck.

"Th-that… that wasn't… I wasn't… Oh God…" she places her head in her hands in mortification. I honestly don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't… whatever this is.

"So, it WAS you!" Valerie shouts before patting her shoulder. "You know, I don't think anyone really noticed for the most part. And the one-time people did it wasn't that bad. Honestly, it was kind of cool."

"…Thanks…" The mumbled reply was difficult to understand through two hands and what looked like a dazzling blush. Sam was the first to speak up from the three of us.

"So… what happened…?" Cheyenne groaned and Valerie laughed, eyes twinkling with mirth.

"That's a story for another time, I think we've tortured dear Jinx here enough." She smirks while she says the nickname, the utterance of which prompts another groan from the cherry red Cheyenne.

"Not the nickname, anything but the nickname…"

"Aww but it's perfect now. I mean, it doesn't even work anymore does it?" I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one here that's completely confused out of my mind. Looking around I see twin looks of puzzlement on the faces of Danny and Sam.

"It… sometimes it does… but it's not constant…" The hushed way she's speaking makes it seem even more like this is some big secret, but it all sounds like gibberish.

"Can someone please explain what's going on here…?" I feel like someone has to ask, though the look of mirth and stare of pure embarrassment I receive in return makes it feel a lot less worth it than I hoped.

"Let's just say, Jinx here had some pretty interesting… luck. Back when we were sparring partners. I can't wait to see how you use it…" Valerie whispers the last part to Cheyenne (Jinx?) conspiratorially, but still loud enough for the rest of us to hear.

Our bubble of tension is popped suddenly and unexpectedly by the ringing of the bell. Looking at our plates of uneaten food I let out a groan and flop to the ground.

"One normal lunch. Just one. It's all I ask." I look up at the sound of laughter and allow it to lift my spirits as Danny reaches an arm out to help me up.

"I'll throw the food away, meet you guys in GD 101?" Sam says around her smile. We all nod and pile our trays and food together. Sam jogging over to the trash as we pack up our bags.

"Ready for the shitstorm that is Ghost Defense?" I whisper to Danny.

"Absolutely not..."

"Sounds about right, let's go." Why do I suddenly get the feeling that something is about to go terribly wrong? It's probably nothing. Anyway, what's the worst that could happen?

And another chapter down! You're probably all really annoyed with these end of chapter notes by now. Does anyone read these? Hmm, I wonder. Oh well. Just in case I won't spoil anything. (But the next chapter is super awesome) (I never said that)