A/N: It's been a VERY long week…My schedule got kind of weird…anyway, I should be updating a fair bit next week, as I have several days off – I have to get my wisdom teeth removed…let's just hope that the pain meds don't put me so out of it that I can't write.

Steph117: I'm glad you view my work so highly. :D Continue to enjoy!

ShadowWarrior85: *Sniff* I'm so touched… *Sniff*

KaLeighSamantha: Yes, I'm referring to purple streaks.

Oh, and I uploaded a sketch (you can find the link on my profile) of Dani, Ashton, and Connor. Check it out!

Chapter #5: Terrifying

"Fenton, huh?" Connor mutters as he finishes an equation on his worksheet, "Danielle's cousin? He was in the news yesterday – at the end of Ghost Watch. It actually happened before school let out, but they aired it again around dinnertime, in the official ghost-fighting slot."

"I saw it. He seemed pretty eager to get out of there," Ashton comments.

"Yeah, that's the funny thing about Danny. He does things that put him in the spotlight and then runs away from it. Yesterday, after school, there's a rumor that he pulled two guys from the office building that collapsed near the Nasty Burger."

"…Nasty Burger?" Ashton's brow furrows.

"Dude, you haven't been there yet?!"

"I'm not sure I want to."

"It's the biggest hangout of the town!" He assures.

"What's with the name?"

"It's an old joke," Connor laughs, "It used to be 'Tasty Burger', but someone scribbled out the 'T' and put an 'N' over it. They kept fixing it, but the vandals kept at it. Finally, they got a new sign that said 'Nasty Burger' on it, as a joke, but the vandalism stopped, so it stuck around. Now it's one of the most popular hang-outs in Amity Park. You seriously can't say you live in Amity Park until you've gone to Nasty Burger."

"I'll have to add it to the list, right under 'See first live ghost-fight,'" Ashton remarks dryly. It's odd – he never feels nervous around Connor. His stutter hasn't appeared – around him, anyway – since their initial meeting.

On second thought, he thinks, it's not that odd. He ticked me off.

He'd been furious, realizing that no one actually knew Dani. They all watched her from a distance, equal parts admiring, laughing, and scorning. He'd instantly decided to defy them and sit with her – which he plans to repeat today.

"Well, it's been a while since there's been one near school. So you may not–"

He's interrupted by a flashing green siren, and sighs, "Well, you're in luck. Kind-of."

"All students please make your way to the cafeteria or gym. I repeat. All students please move to the cafeteria or gym in an orderly manner."

"What…?"

"Ghost alarm," Connor laughs, looking at the transfer student's stunned expression, "It means that there's a fight on or near school grounds. That was Principal Lancer on the P.A. system."

"Why the cafeteria or gym?" Ashton follows the lead of his fellow students, calmly packing his papers and swinging his backpack over one shoulder before lining up at the door.

"There are ghost shields installed there. The structure is reinforced there too."

"Do you think it'll be Danny or Destiny?" One girl asks her friend, "Destiny's cool, but Danny's pretty hot for a ghost."

"It's probably Destiny. Danny doesn't show up hardly ever anymore. For all we know, he could've only been in town yesterday."

They stroll down the hallway, to the cafeteria. His eyes flick continually towards the windows, eagerly waiting to see his first live ghost fight. He'd seen a ghost for the first time today – a short, rotund man in overalls. His English teacher swatted it away without a glance. It started to protest, but something had silenced it.

He'd almost swear that Danielle had woken up from a nap and glared at it in that moment.

"Speaking of Dani…" he mutters to himself, his eyes scanning the room, "…maybe she's in the gym?"

Ten minutes later, the green glow of the ghost shield fades, and each class is allowed to return to normal.

"Well, you live here now," Connor claps his back, "You'll have plenty of chances, trust me."

"Yeah," he nods, "I guess I will."

-BREAK-

"You should've seen the look on Danny's face," Dani grins widely, "It was this awesome mix of horror and amazement. I mean, he's seen weird stuff, and I mean weird, but the burger absolutely horrified him!"

"J-just how big was this thing?" Ashton stutters in bewilderment.

"Bigger than her head," someone snorts. Their heads turn, revealing Danny Fenton. He jogs to the table, a notebook clutched in a gloved hand, "You forgot your math homework," he explains, handing it to his cousin.

"Oh my gosh!" she shrieks, "Thanks, Danny. I would be so dead!"

"I figured. Get a little distracted?"

"Yeah," she laughs, "Oh, Danny, this is Ashton Crossdale. He just transferred here."

"N-nice to meet you."

"Ashton, this is my cousin, Danny. He's more like an older brother to me, really."

"Welcome to Amity," Danny smiles, "Where you can get a ghost-hunting license with your driver's! The ghosts have calmed down a bit, though. Most of them are just bored, rather than outright malicious nowadays."

"There was a bit of a spike…" Danielle trails away.

"Yeah, after Phantom and the Red Huntress took off. They thought they'd get free reign, but Destiny showed them otherwise, didn't she?"

"…Yeah…so, you going home? Or maybe somewhere with Sam?"

"Unfortunately, Mom and Dad have been called in to consult on the collapse yesterday. A couple of friends were caught in it, so I'm heading over to the hospital to chat with them, and then I've been summoned to the Police Station to give a witness statement."

"…you aren't going to head over with Maddie–"

" –Mom–"

"–and Jack?"

" –Dad. No…I'm hoping I can get out of it entirely. I'm not too happy about appearing in the witness list to begin with. I'm hoping Mayor Gray can pull a few strings for me."

"What's the big deal?" She shrugs, taking a grape from her fruit cup, "You just happened to be near a building that collapsed."

"I don't like questions," Danny sighs, "Besides…in Amity Park, things are never that simple. Not right now, especially."

"What do you mean?" she blinks.

"The anti-ecto movement," Ashton answers quietly, "right?"

Danny nods, "Yeah."

"The what?!" Danielle's fork falls to her tray, "Seriously? Then…what about…"

"I don't know," Danny whispers, "But if that anti-ecto bill gets passed in Congress, Amity Park is going to be a war zone. I don't know about you," his gaze turns to Ashton, "But I don't think ghosts are big enough of a problem to justify large-scale military involvement in one American city," he glances at his watch, "Well, I better let you two finish eating. I'm off to visit Jaden at the hospital. It was nice meeting you, Ashton," he leans over the table, his voice becoming so quiet that even Danielle can't hear it, "watch your hands, got it? If I see even a hint of funny business, I'll start with your thumbs."

"Y-yes s-s-sir," Ashton stutters in reply, imagining red flickering in the college student's eyes.

"Good. Have a good day, you two," He waves them off cheerfully, vanishing around the corner of the building.

"What did he say?" Dani gasps, "You look…well, as pale as a ghost."

"J-just some advice," he replies, "That's all."

"Is that so," she retorts flatly.

"Yes."

-BREAK-

Soft afternoon light pours through his window. He glances as the unpacked boxes still stacked by the wall and grimaces. He should get that done, but he won't. Instead, he curls on his bed, his back propped against the wall and his knees raised nearly to his chest. In his lap is a sketchbook, and in his hand, a pencil.

This particular drawing has been driving him crazy since he started on it yesterday.

"She just doesn't look right," he snarls, tearing the page away and crumpling it in a hand. He shoots for the trash can by his door, only for the crumpled paper to land on the floor. He leaves it there, for now, "The posing, the expression…" he sighs, beginning to scratch at a fresh sheet, "They don't suit her. But what…?"

The new eyes on the page rest beneath furrowed brows, "perhaps…" he whispers, "something more…determined?"

"Ashton!" his mother calls.

"Coming, Mom!" he replies, placing the sketchpad back on his bed.

She waits at the bottom step, her arms loaded with plastic sacks, "Can you help me unload the groceries?"

"Yeah," he nods, "You just focus on putting them away, and I'll bring them in."

"Thank you," she smiles, placing the groceries on the countertop and brushing a stray strand of chocolate hair out of her face, "I finally finished cleaning the fridge this morning and got it all hooked up, so…"

"You mean I no longer have any excuses to request doughnuts for breakfast?" he shouts from the garage, the concrete cold beneath his bare feet as he plucks the milk and cereal from the back seat, "Darn!"

"Aw, I know, you might actually have to eat something a little more nutritious. Poor Muffin," she coos sarcastically, filling the refrigerator door with jam and other condiments.

"Find the bowls yet?" he smirks.

"…no," she admits, "Not the small ones, anyway."

"You found the big, glass salad bowls, but not the normal ones?"

"I don't know where I could have put them," she chews her lip, "I mean, wouldn't they be with all of the other kitchen stuff?"

"You know how you are when you pack," he snorts, "You use every bit of space. For all we know, there could've been an empty spot in another box and you were running out of space for kitchen items, so you just shoved them in there and figured you'd get everything unpacked in a day and that it wouldn't matter."

"I needed to make sure we'd be able to fit everything into the truck," she pouts.

"Yeah, because we have so much stuff."

"We do!"

"Not really," he laughs.

"I don't want to hear this from the kid who needed three large boxes for all of his old sketchbooks and art supplies."

"Some people keep journals. I keep sketchbooks."

"Are you working on something right now? How was school, by the way?"

"Well, I almost got to see a ghost fight," he hangs the final bag on his arm, slams the trunk shut, and closes the garage door, "And what I'm trying to draw now is really ticking me off. I can't get it to work like I want it to."

"Which character is it?" she inquires.

"Actually…it's based on…a friend at school."

"Oh?" she arches an eyebrow, "A…friend?"

"Yeah," he starts to unload the bags.

"…what's her name?"

"…Danielle," he replies resignedly.

"Danielle…?"

"…Fenton. Danielle Fenton," he growls, "Yes, those Fentons."

"Wow," she laughs, "She must be really popular, huh? It's a big name in this town."

"Actually," he frowns pensively, "Not really. I'm the only one who sits with her at lunch."

"Why?" she frowns, "I would've thought she'd be crawling with friends and admirers."

"I don't know about friends, but it seems that plenty of guys think she's really pretty – just to be admired at a distance."

"Is she?"

"Is she what?"

"Pretty?"

He feels heat rise to his cheeks, "Yeah, she is."

"Describe her..." she pushes with a smile.

"A little shorter than me, but with long, black hair in a ponytail and really light blue eyes…remember the Ghost-Watch last night?"

"Yeah," she nods.

"Danny Fenton. Imagine a fourteen-year-old, female version of him with long hair, and you'd have Danielle."

"Okay," she nods again, "I can see it. They look similar, huh?"

"Yeah," he smiles, "Yeah…they do. They could be twins…"

"Ashton?"

"Hm?"

"What's on your mind?"

"I met him today – Danny. He showed up at lunch and gave Danielle her math homework."

"He looked like a nice boy."

"He is," he assures with a smile.

He's also the most terrifying person I've ever met.

A/N: What, did you think Impurity was possessive of Sam alone? Pff!