Chapter Seven: It's All Wrong

The rest of the week came and went in a depressing blur. Danny hadn't returned to work, instead staying in the apartment while Sam had to keep texting Frank that "he just wasn't ready yet." Frank was nice enough to not push it, but Sam could tell he was confused by Danny's distance. She didn't know how to tell him that Danny was probably not going to come back at all.

"I really liked the kid." Frank had told her over the phone on Wednesday. "I hope we see him soon, I think Mike wants to thank him in person."

Well, that wasn't likely to happen. Not with how upset Danny had gotten over the whole thing. Sam had tried to convince him that nothing terrible would come of this, that he had done the right thing. The guys would take him back with open arms, simply grateful that he had been there in the first place. So far, none of her words had managed to persuade him. He just sulked around, somehow even more miserable than he had been in the weeks before. Now it was Friday afternoon, and they were supposed to be at Lancer's home by dinner time.

"Danny, we gotta go!" Sam called, checking her watch. They were running behind, and Sam was the type of person who liked to be at the airport really early. At this rate, they were going to need to rush through checking in and going through security. Part of Sam wondered if Danny was dragging his feet so much in a deliberate attempt to miss their flight to Indiana.

"Okay, alright I'm coming." He answered irritably, emerging from the bedroom with his duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He wore a scowl, looking very displeased with the idea of going. Sam sighed, unsure of what to do with him. If he was going to be like this for a trip they had planned weeks ago, how was he going to fare flying to Chicago for the gala? He had agreed to go, but she was worried that he would try to back out. Two trips so close to each other was asking a lot from him, but he had agreed to go.

"It's just the airport, Danny." She said gently. He glared at her.

"I know." He snapped, adjusting the strap on his bag. But she could see a tinge of fear in his eyes. When they had escaped from Amity, he had invisibly boarded the flight home with her. Something about actually going through the airport as himself seemed to fray his nerves. He had nothing to worry about, the fake ID that her parents had secured for him was plenty convincing.

"Alright." She said, choosing to ignore his foul mood. "We gotta go." She grabbed the handle to her own suitcase, rolling it to the front door. She loved her friend, but she just didn't have the time or patience to deal with his attitude right now. He'd probably relax once they were boarded on the plane. Danny quietly followed behind her, his sulking tangible even without looking at him. Sam closed the door, locking it and hurrying down the hall. Travelling so much with her parents had primed her to stick to a tight schedule, a habit that she couldn't break from even as an adult.

They made their way down to the lobby and through the front doors where the taxi Sam had ordered was waiting. The cab driver looked annoyed, clearly upset that he had to wait on them to come down for so long. Sam made a mental note to give him an extra big tip as they squeezed into the back. Poor Danny had to hunch over in the tiny cab, his head brushing the top of the car. Sam winced at the thought of him having to sit in a cramped plane seat for four hours with those long legs. Maybe she should have gotten some first class tickets, just to make the flight a bit more tolerable for him, even if she personally had sworn off flying in luxury. It may have been easy for her to say economy would do just fine, but she was barely 5 '3.

The drive to the airport was uncomfortable, with her anxiety about missing the flight and Danny's shitty mood. The cab driver tried to awkwardly start a conversation a few times and Sam had done her best to politely respond, but it was probably obvious that no one was particularly happy at the moment. He eventually gave up and they made the rest of the trip in silence. Sam even pondered for a second if it would have just been simpler and quicker to have Danny fly them to the airport, but the suggestion would have likely annoyed him further. Whatever, the weather was finally starting to cool off anyway. It would have been a chilly trip. Sam glanced at her watch again as they pulled into the airport. It was going to be a long day.

Their journey had passed without much incident, no disastrous reaction when Danny had shown his fake ID to TSA, they hadn't missed their flight afterall, and the plane hadn't gone down in flames. In fact, there hadn't even been a spot of turbulence on the entire trip. Not that Sam could bring herself to worry much about turbulence anymore after having been literally flown and dropped in mid-air while being chased by bloodthirsty ghosts.

Danny had simply sullenly curled up with a book and read the whole flight. Sam tried to not take his silence personally, deciding that it was probably for the best. He had ended up with a window seat, so while he couldn't stretch his legs out into the aisle, at least no one had to crawl past him to use the lavatory. It wasn't as dreadful as she thought it might have ended up being, but she was grateful for the flight to finally be over.

Sam slipped out of her seat, moving aside so Danny could grab their luggage from the overhead compartment. A little old lady in front of them struggled to grab her oversized purse, and Danny reached over to help her out.

"Here you go, Ma'am." He said quietly, shyly handing it to her.

"Oh thank you, dear!" She said with a wide smile. The woman leaned over, peering at Sam. "He's a keeper! So handsome!" She added, patting Danny's hand. Sam didn't know who blushed more- her or Danny. The older woman shuffled off and they followed, exiting the plane in an awkward silence.

"At least we don't have to go to baggage claim." Sam remarked casually, watching as the rest of their flight ambled towards the baggage carousel. They only had small bags with them, just enough for a weekend's worth of clothes. Danny hummed in passive agreement, his eyes scanning the signs above them.

"Rentals are this way." He nodded, pressing forward to their left. Sam scurried after him, trying to keep up with his long strides. She huffed, wondering when this funk would wear off. Being stuck in a car together while they made the drive to the Lancers would be irritating if he kept this up. As each moment passed, Sam had to fight the urge to chastise him for his rudeness. She had bad days too, but she never was this short with him.

Sam breezed past Danny, approaching the counter and flagging down the clerk. She spoke to him briefly before accepting the paperwork with a polite smile. As she began to fill it out, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out to see a text from Lancer asking if they had landed yet.

'Yes,' She typed. 'Getting the rental now. We'll be on our way soon.' She slid her phone back in her pocket and finished signing all the papers, handing her credit card to the clerk.

"Have a great trip!" He smiled once he returned with her receipt and the keys. Sam assured him they would before spinning around and motioning to Danny to follow.

"We got a Honda Civic." Sam said cheerfully, jangling the keys. "Very reliable!" Danny scoffed, just the faintest of smiles ghosting on his lips.

"Not as fancy as you're used to, huh?" Sam rolled her eyes.

"My car is extremely eco-friendly, sometimes you have to pay more for more environmentally sound options." Really, he made it sound like she had a Ferrari or something. Her car was on the cheaper side when it came to electric vehicles.

"Let me drive." Danny asked. Sam eyed him as he held the door open for her. Was he finally going to talk to her?

"Are you sure?" Sam asked, still a bit uncomfortable with the idea of him driving. She really wished he had been more open to the idea of taking a driving test instead of just taking the fake license and running with it.

"Sam, if we crash I can just turn us intangible." Danny said. She was surprised by how casually he spoke about his powers while they were in public. Sure, no one was around, but it was pretty out of character for him. She suddenly didn't know if she liked this change in mood or not. "Please?" He asked with wide eyes. "I'll die of boredom if I just have to ride passenger after being on a plane for several hours."

"Sure." She relented, hesitantly. She handed him the keys as they approached their car. "Just be careful, please." Intangibility or not, Sam had no interest in getting into an accident on the road. As reckless as she could be, Sam was a very safe and cautious driver. Danny took the keys eagerly, opening her door for her before walking around the car to climb into the driver's seat. For as weird as he was being today, Sam had to admit that he was nothing if not a gentleman.

Sam pulled up the address for him, setting her phone on the console so he could see the navigation. Danny started the car, backing up and pulling out of the parking lot with practiced precision. Maybe he was a good driver after all, license or not. She found it hard to believe that he really had been so interested in teaching himself to drive when he could simply fly everywhere, but he had been a teenage boy. Perhaps driving had truly been something exciting and novel for him, even in Amity Park.

Danny drove at just over the speed limit, clearly trying his best to not attract her criticism. She could sense that he was itching to go faster though, probably used to being able to tear through empty streets with no fear of traffic tickets. His hands remained steady and he kept his eyes on the road, only glancing down occasionally to check the map. Sam let herself relax, reclining her seat and resting her eyes. She had always found it difficult to fall asleep on planes, being too easily alerted by all the noise around her.

Danny turned the radio on at some point, flipping through several stations with a dissatisfied grunt. All the trendier pop stations were playing new music that he was unfamiliar with. He finally settled on a classic rock station, quietly humming along. Sam grinned to herself, pleased to hear him enjoying himself finally. The opening guitar riff for (Don't Fear) The Reaper came on and Sam pretended to be asleep while Danny softly sang along. He really did have a nice voice, whenever he wasn't too embarrassed to let loose.

The drive passed by pleasantly fast, and before she knew it she awoke to Danny gently nudging her.

"We're here." He said, visibly nervous. Sam yawned, stretching as she unbuckled her seat belt.

"I must have dozed off." She said groggily, trying to gain her bearings. She hated naps, they always were disorienting and usually left her feeling more exhausted. Sam stepped out of the car while Danny grabbed their luggage. She smiled at the familiar sight of Lancer's cozy home, made only more charming by the glow of the setting sun.

The front door opened and Lancer stepped out with a warm grin, waving at them. An attractive middle-aged woman followed after him. Sam recognized her from the photos Lancer had all over his home the last time she had been here, soaked in rain and freshly shocked by the revelation that ghosts were real.

"Sam!" Lancer called out, walking towards her with open arms. Sam wasn't a hugger, but she fell into his warm embrace. "It's so good to you again."

"You too!" Sam said, pulling away. She extended a hand to Arlene, but was crushed into an even tighter hug by the woman. Her hair was chestnut-colored, streaked with grey and smelled of lavender.

"Oh Sam, it's so nice to finally meet you in person! William does nothing but brag about you to everyone we meet, he loves telling them how one of his pupils became such a great writer." Sam pulled away with an embarrassed laugh.

"That's very flattering." She said, turning to look at Danny. He stood behind her, shrinking into himself and averting his eyes. He looked pale.

"You must be Danny." Arlene said kindly, her brown eyes glittering with mirth. Lancer stepped forward, quiet and with unmistakable fondness in his own eyes.

"Daniel." He said gently. "I'm so happy to see you again." Danny gave an imperceptible nod, barely looking up.

"You too." He said, nearly inaudibly. He looked like he wanted to disappear right there. The outlines of his body were just a touch blurred, and Sam wandered in amazement if he really was a bit more see-through than usual, or if it was just an effect of the blinding sunset. Lancer seemed to understand that Danny was very closed-off at the moment, so he graciously spared him further conversation for the time being.

"Why don't we get you two inside so you can get comfortable? Dinner will be ready any moment now." Lancer said, beckoning them towards the house.

"Of course." Sam said, shooting Danny a look. "We can't wait."

Dinner was absolutely delicious, and though the food was great and the conversation light and enjoyable, it had been hard to ignore Danny's silence. He had barely eaten the roast Arlene had lovingly prepared, only pushing his fork around on his plate. Sam tried to ignore the elephant in the room, giving Arlene endless compliments on the roasted vegetables she had made special for her. She exchanged pleasantries, listened to Arlene and Lancer's stories about their school, and shared some of her own recent developments. She had already warned Lancer earlier this week to not bring up Danny's brief stint working for Frank, so the conversation did not stray towards Danny at all.

After Lancer had gathered their plates and followed Arlene to the kitchen to help clean up, he told them to wait on the couch. Sam couldn't stand the silence from Danny, so she flicked the TV on to some random reruns of Seinfeld. She tried to nudge Danny, giving him a meaningful glance.

"You have got to say something." She hissed over the sound of canned laughter from the TV and running water in the kitchen. "They're both such sweet people, you are welcome here."

Danny frowned, staring at his shoes.

"I know." He muttered. "I'm trying."

"Bullshit, try harder." Sam said, trying the tough love approach. "They already know everything, there's nothing to hide or be weird about." Danny shot her a reproachful look.

"Don't tell me what I should or should not be uncomfortable with, Sam." He said, in a rare display of outright anger towards her. "This is not your place to push me. The last time this guy saw me I was fourteen and human. It's not like Aubrey, it's harder when they actually know." Sam tried to not look hurt.

"What about me?" She said. "I know." Danny sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"You're different." His voice was heavy. Sam felt her heart flutter at the words, feeling the weight of them. It was suddenly hard to stay mad at him. "Besides, you were never my teacher." He added, trying to add some levity. Sam paused, unsure if she should laugh or not.

"Just try." She finally relented. "At least respond to them or something, it'll be easier for everyone once you give it a try." She suggested. Lancer walked in then, joining them on the couch and delaying whatever Danny's response would have been.

Sam grabbed the remote, muting the TV.

"Thank you so much for dinner." She said gratefully.

"It was no trouble, thank you for coming to stay! Emailing and calling just isn't the same as gathering together in person."

"No, it's not." Sam agreed. Lancer turned to Danny, meeting his eyes.

"Daniel, how has school been going?" He asked gently. Danny looked pained at the question.

"Fine." He said curtly. "And I go by Danny." He added, somewhat rudely.

"I'm sorry, Danny." Lancer corrected good-naturedly. Sam glanced to see Arlene poking her head through the window between the kitchen and the living room. She had a troubled look in her eyes, shrewdly observing the conversation. God, they must be making a horrible impression.

"Well, I totally forgot but I left some paperwork at the school!" Arlene suddenly declared, coming out of the kitchen with a plate of freshly-baked cookies. The heavenly aroma wafted into the living room, making the home smell even cozier.

"Arlene, dear.." Lancer began. "Are you sure it can't wait? It's late." He asked. She shook her head, setting the cookies down on the coffee table. Sam watched out of the corner of her eye as Danny stared at them with ill-disguised hunger. She realized that he probably hadn't had a home-baked cookie since before the accident, and he must have still been hungry after barely touching his dinner.

"No." Arlene answered. "It's important, I need to file some forms before the weekend is over. They're open right now for a debate tournament, someone can let me in. I'll just head up to the school and finish up." She gave them all a warm smile. "You can all get on without me for now." She patted Lancer on his shoulder before leaving for the front door. With her hand on the knob, Arlene turned and locked eyes with Sam.

"Oh and Sam, those cookies are vegan!" With those words, she slipped out the door.

Sam felt guilty, knowing that Arlene had sensed that she was out of place in this conversation and had excused herself to make Danny more comfortable. It was the woman's house and she all but got booted out, right after she had served them a wonderful meal.

Lancer sighed.

"She's too kind for her own good." He said, shaking his head. Sam had to agree, hesitantly picking up a warm, still gooey chocolate chip cookie and taking a bite. Danny had already inhaled two and was on his third.

"Well, now that she is gone," Lancer began. "Would you mind showing me your ghostly form, Danny?"

Danny coughed, choking on the cookie. Sam's eyes widened, swiveling to Lancer while Danny recovered from the shock.

She couldn't believe he actually asked, much less so directly. Sam figured that this was something they would have saved for another time, once Danny was less skittish. But this Lancer in front of them was different from the one they knew as kids, he was braver and clearly not one to delay answers. Sam thought back to their meeting all those months ago, how she had called him a badass.

"Um." Danny swallowed, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "I'm not SO sure how I feel about that." Lancer decided to surprise Sam again, this time by not backing down.

"I promise that there's no need to be scared. I already know your secret and I won't be

frightened by you." He pressed.

Danny was scowling now, shoulders tense and eyes locked on the floor. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the pillow in his lap.

'Oh no'. She thought. After all these weeks of Lancer telling Sam during their calls to let Danny take his time, adjust at his own pace, he was just going to push like this? What on earth was his angle here?

"Fine." Danny muttered, standing up and letting the pillow fall back to the couch. Sam couldn't believe that he was actually agreeing to this. She felt a small pang of jealousy, realizing that this secret was about to not be just between the two of them anymore, even if Lancer already technically knew. Seeing it was something else entirely.

"You might want to cover your eyes." Danny warned irritably. He gave them both one last nervous glance and Sam turned slightly away, both for his benefit and her own. Those rings really were quite bright.

She squinted as a brilliant flash erupted in her peripheral vision. The temperature dropped sharply, and she turned back around to see Danny in his ghost form. The air was full of that familiar static and his glow cast the living room in an unnatural light. His eyes looked especially bright and green against the warm, earthy tones of the Lancers' home.

"It's you." Lancer whispered, voice full of awe. Danny frowned, turning away and refusing to make eye contact with either of them.

"You know Phantom?" Sam asked, bewildered. Lancer had already seen Danny's ghost before? This was a huge shock to her.

"He saved my life." Lancer answered reverently. "I got cornered in the school, but a white haired ghost intervened and saved me. That was you?" Lancer asked, his voice going soft.

Danny slowly turned, his expression unreadable.

"You never told me that," Sam said quietly, Danny looked at her, his green eyes becoming distant.

"I've rescued many humans over the years, I guess I just forgot to mention it." He replied dismissively. "Can I change back now?"

Sam and Lancer both nodded and Danny immediately changed back, this time without a warning. The flash of light left bright spots behind Sam's eyelids, and she tried to blink them away.

"Thank you." Lancer said gratefully. Danny looked more and more uncomfortable by the second, his face burning red. "Daniel, this is truly amazing. Do you know that?" Sam expected Danny to get mad at the use of his full name again, but he just shrugged tiredly.

"Is it?" He asked, voice weary." "Because I feel like a freakshow right now."

"Danny." Sam admonished gently. She had been trying to erase the word 'freak' from his vocabulary for months now. It had been a futile effort so far.

"I think you've grown from a bright, kind student into a heroic young man." Lancer said firmly. "You should be proud of who you are, what you've become despite your circumstances. Neither Sam or I would be sitting in this room right now if it weren't for you."

Danny finally made real eye-contact with his former teacher. He seemed to weigh the words, looking entirely too vulnerable as he did so. Something seemed to change in his demeanor, as if he realized that at this point there was nothing to do other than spill.

"I thought I felt so out of place with all those ghosts." He began. "They didn't like me. They resented me, really. As much as I was stuck like they were, I was different. I changed and aged, I still had a heartbeat and pulse. At least some of the time." A small, bitter smile took hold of his lips. "The funny thing is, I feel so much more out of place now."

"How so?" Lancer asked kindly. Danny hugged himself.

"I don't know, I just..it's like the reality of what I am didn't truly hit me until I left Amity. Of course I felt human and alive when I was surrounded by dead things. But being around living people? Humans? All these things I had forgotten about being human are just thrown in front of my face every day. All the weird, fucked up stuff about my body or my powers are so much more obvious now. Even my thoughts and feelings feel ghostlier somehow." He trailed off momentarily. "I feel tainted. Like Amity ruined me for good. I don't feel like a hero." Danny sat down, abruptly ending his venting. He picked at the tassels on the pillow.

"Danny, you know I don't see you that way." Sam began, desperately needing him to know how much she loved him. "William doesn't see you that way." Lancer nodded in agreement from his armchair.

"I've often thought about the strange and horrifying things I saw in Amity Park when I returned." He looked at Danny meaningfully, "You were never one of them. I would find myself holding my wife's hand, wondering about that mysterious stranger who saved me. And then I would think about how I wouldn't have gotten to hold her hand ever again if he hadn't."

Danny seemed conflicted, unsure of how to respond. Sam wanted to hug him, brush his unruly hair behind his ear and tell him how good and selfless he was. She wanted to be able to comfort him, reassure him of how much he meant to her and how much she loved him, no matter what he was. But some sad, tired part of her knew that she couldn't convince him of these things until he was ready to believe them himself. She had enough experience in self-loathing to know.

"I just- " Danny's voice caught in his throat, "I just wish I wasn't so alone."

"You're not." Sam said immediately, defensively. Lancer shot her a look that said 'Careful, Samantha. Listen.' She couldn't help the reaction though, she was hurt by the statement. Danny stopped messing with the pillow long enough to set a hand on her knee.

"You know what I mean." He said. "I know you love me, I really do. And I love you too. But I wish there was someone who could understand. There's no one who can, no matter how hard they try." The look in his eyes was full of meaning. They weren't unkind, but they were accusatory. 'Try as you might, you'll never understand me. You'll never know me the way I want you to.'

Sam knew that look because she had given it hundreds of times before- to counselors, therapists, parents, teachers, etc. The difference was that she couldn't in good conscience tell Danny otherwise. Because really, who the hell could possibly understand what he had been through? As much as it broke her heart, she knew the truth. There was a fundamental difference between Danny and everyone else on the planet, including her. He must feel that difference constantly, unendingly. He must feel it right now in this room.

"I'm going to bed." Danny announced, breaking the uncomfortable silence. He rose to his full height, already halfway across the spacious living room in just a few strides. He gave Sam a look full of regret, like he had admitted something he wished could take back. But it was too late now. "I'm sorry. Goodnight."' He turned the corner and disappeared down the dark hall.

Sam buried her head in her hands, fighting off tears. She heard Lancer rise from his chair, settling next to her and gently patting her back.

"It's okay, Samantha." He reassured. "He just needs time." Sam's shoulders shook, and she could tell that the tears were gonna come no matter what now. What was wrong with her? She used to never cry.

"I don't-" She gulped, the crying making it hard to speak. She couldn't reign it in any longer. "I don't know how to help him!" She gasped out. "He's been like this for- for weeks." She sucked in a shuddering breath, raising her head towards her former teacher. "I don't know what to do anymore. He's drifting away from me." She admitted. And there it was, the thing she had been trying to deny recently.

"Sam..." Lancer began sadly. "Sometimes people have to get worse before they get better. Think of your darkest moments. They weren't easy or simple to get through, were they?" Sam shook her head, but she wanted to scream at him that this was entirely different.

"I don't understand, I- I thought leaving would be good for him." She said. "I thought we would be happy. It's like he's still there, still gone." Her eyes stung from the tears. God, she hoped Danny couldn't hear any of this. "He was doing so good in the beginning."

It was true, Danny had been excelling in his classes. He had been excited about life, seeing the world around them. And then so slowly that she didn't notice until it was too late, he shrank inside himself. He shied from her touch, stopped speaking as much. He got more ghostly than when he first arrived. Their apartment was colder than ever.

"He lived in a completely different world than us for eight years. And now that world is gone. It's going to take time, but he's strong. You're strong too, Samantha. You will both get through this. But you need to give him time." Sam could hear the unspoken part under that.

"And space too?" She asked bitterly. Lance wasn't her teacher anymore and he was still lecturing her, despite the fact that she was an adult. He nodded, unphased by her anger.

"Yes. I know you want to fix this for him, but you can't. He needs to resolve things for himself. It's not healthy for either of you to just have you do it for him. Nor is it possible."

It went against Sam's nature to be patient and passive. She was a meddler, a problem-solver. She had directed her own brokenness into action, pouring herself into school work and activism. What was she going to do? She could feel the urge to keep pushing, but she was realizing that doing so may cause Danny to break.

"Fine." She finally bit out. She furiously wiped the tears from her eyes, sniffling as she rose from the couch. "I'm going to bed too."

Lancer watched her as she shuffled away from the couch. She hesitated in the doorway, feeling his eyes on her.

"Don't you think that you should start with letting him sleep alone?" Lancer asked gently. "I can get out the air mattress for you." He offered. Sam laughed tiredly, shaking her head. The house was warmer than it had been earlier in the conversation, Danny's familiar chill noticeably absent.

"Lancer, don't you know that he's long gone?" She responded. She left without waiting for an answer, walking down the dim hall and opening the guest bedroom door to find that it was completely empty.

AN: Omg I'm so sorry about the long wait! I've been very busy with a new job position, but nevertheless we shall forge ahead!