Behind Unknown Eyes

09

The Saturday morning had arisen with the chirps of birds and ruffling of leaves caused by the fall wind. The sun was out, but its heat wasn't at all overwhelming as it was a cool autumn day.

The scruffs of sneakers against the pavement were the only sounds that could be heard as the trio walked away from Danny's house. 

The cool breeze ruffled his charcoal, black hair and sent a cool chill down his spine. Tucker pushed the brim of his glasses up and looked over at Sam. She was uneasy about this plan. It was dangerous.

Vlad and Danny had been fighting all year round and the fights had only escalated. Each tussle earned more bruises from both sides. She crossed her arms and closed her eyes for a mere second. They never knew when Danny would come back looking battered to no mercy. Tucker looked down at his shoes as he walked beside Danny and sighed. No one had spoken up since they had picked him up at his house.

Danny glanced both ways at his friends. He could easily sense the way they felt about the plan. He sighed. 

"Look, I know that this seems to you like a foolish plan, but I've got this. Vlad would never-" Sam threw her hands up and stopped to face the ghost boy. "Danny, this is practically suicide! After each fight, I see that you show up with more brutal scarring-" Danny's blue eyes widened. 

"That's usual, Sam. I just never told you all-" Sam's mouth dropped to the floor. 

"See, Danny? Vlad's concern for your safety has dropped to an all-time low! He won't care that you're in front of everyone in town and everyone who attends Caspar High because he'll make sure that there won't be a 'you' to tell who he really is afterward!"

 Danny's eyes fell to the pavement. Tucker spoke up. "I mean, do what you have to do, but don't ever disregard your safety." Danny's head snapped up. That's all he has ever done. 

"But that's what I've been doing since I got these powers! I put my life on the line every hour of every day for the people of Amity, for you guys! Don't you see that this plan isn't scaring me, that even if it does go south that I don't want you guys to worry about me?"

They both were silent as they stood there, just looking at him. Danny began to walk again, leaving the two to grasp what he had just said to him. They caught up with him a few moments later. 

As they got closer and closer to the center of town, they saw a crowd of people. It was almost all of the population of Amity Park. Danny huffed. They stayed in the back of the crowd, not wanting to draw much attention to themselves.

He no longer wanted any more close encounters with them getting hurt. That would be put to a stop by himself. Danny had made up his mind. No way was his friends going to get hurt because of him, especially if Vlad was going to be in the middle of things. 

He turned around to both of his friends and looked them dead in the eyes. "Don't try to save me if everything goes wrong, I won't let you." They both gasped. What in the world was going through Danny's head? 

"B-but, no we will-" Tucker tried to oblige but was immediately cut off. "You guys can't risk your lives for me anymore. I will face the facts if I can't save everything or even myself." 

Sam became furious. She didn't like what she was hearing. Not one bit. The girl took a step closer to the boy's face, pointing her index finger at his chest. 

"How could you think that we would be okay with this, huh? Cause there's no way in-" Danny grabbed her wrist with a tight hold and narrowed his eyes. "Don't, Sam. Don't you dare do anything." His words were like ice, but his eyes pleaded.

Sam and Danny's stare was broken when a loud sound was heard. The crowd turned their heads to the front and saw the ghost himself: Plasmius. The crowd immediately all coward beneath him, shaking as Vlad hovered in the air.