You're Still A Fruitloop Though.

16. Dash

A few hunderd meters into the woods, behind the observatory, lies a small clearing. A single gravestone stands in the middle, being warmed up by the golder rays of the setting sun.

Dash had never gone this way. After checking his trail cams he got a little turned around off the beaten path. Knowing better than to be in the woods around Amity park after sunset, he had grabbed his compas and followed the quickest way back to town.

Living in Amity, it has also been drilled into him to know better than to approach potential ghost sites.

Cursing his curiousity, the jock causiously walks around the stone, keeping an eye out for any danger and ways to make a quick escape just in case.

There's an engraving on the stone and Dash steps closer to read it.

in memoriam
to the idiot that gave up the ghost
no rest nor peace for you
perpetually breathing your last breath

No dates or a name.

"Ookkaay..Thats cryptic. And a little disturbing."

"Yeah you can thank my friends for that. They thought I'd be funny."

Dash whirls around so quickly he almost loses balance. Coming to a halt face to face with Amities very own hero ghost hovering in front of him. The rays of the sun shine through him, making the ghost look more trancelucent than Dash is used to. The otherworldy glow breaking the light like waterdrops so rainbow colors shimmer over him. Realising he's staring, Dash mentally shakes himself.

"Phantom?"

"Hi Dash." The ghost waves.

"Holy- This is.. Is this your grave?"

"Mhmm. Just the gravestone though."

"What do you mean just a gravestone? Why is it here and not like at the cemetary?" 'Way to go Dash, you don't ask ghosts questions like that! Shit he looks uncomfortable now!'

Phantom rubs the back of his neck. "I uh.. For reasons, I don't exactly have a body to bury. And one day I was lamenting the fact I'd never gotten a funeral, so my best friends decided to give this to me on my death day."

"Oh. That's.. uhm.. It's a nice spot." Dash cringes inwardly at how awekward he sounds. But what else do you say to your idol whos grave you just stumbled into?!

Phantom smiles. "It is. How'd you find this place anyway?"

"I'm on my way back from hunting. Got a bit turned around."

The half ghost nods.

"Observatory is about half a mile that way." The ghostly teen gestures behind him with his thumb. "I'll walk with you." Phantom lands on the ground next to Dash.

An uncomfortable silence falls over them. Danny isn't entirely sure why he's told his usual bully about his gravestone. He could have just stayed invisible until Dash left on his own.

Not to sound too self congratulatory, because it's not just the fanboying. But there's just something about the jock acting all awekward and bashful whenever he's Phantom. It feels oddly more honest than the macho posturing Dash does at school. As Phantom, he can actually talk to the boy.

"So uh.. I didn't know people hunted in these woods. With everything going on in there, is it, yknow, safe?"

"Yeah if you know what you're doing and don't like, try to stay overnight alone."

Phantom nods accepting that the jock isn't taking any unnecessairy risks. "Gonna be honest, I don't know the first thing about hunting."

So Dash tells him the basics. The trail cams he set up, what gear and hunting rifle he's carrying. Apperantly, he's a pretty good shot. He only boasts a little about it. Soon they make it back to civelisation.