Neutral (Danny Fenton/Phantom x Reader)

Chapter 7 - Fabrication

Indeed, this damaged house that looks like it has been through every kind of storm imaginable (and then some) was going to be my temporary home, I could tell from the red and white wooden 'sold' sign in the yard. I'm not sure what strings Clockwork had to pull to make this house mind legally, and I highly doubted that whatever way he had gotten it was less than admirably civil, it's still my home.

At least it's still standing, that's a plus.

I walked up the porch steps, the wood creaking every with step, I had opened the door and walked in.

Right off the bat, the stench of mothballs and dust hit my nose hard enough to make me sneeze as soon as the door opened, its rusted bolts squeaking almost painfully.

It was cramped on the inside, as I expected, a small hallway, dust covered white sheets that were placed over furniture so heavily that the sheets looked as though they'd turned gray. Peering into the kitchen, the stove looked old but still usable, and the refrigerator didn't look in bad shape at all, a mini calendar hung on the freezer door by a single magnet. The first day of school was circled a week and a half from now.

"Not too bad." My voice echoed down the hall when I looked in the single bedroom off the left-hand side, directly across from the one and only bathroom. It was in a similar shape as the rest of the place, the smell of old books accompanied the mothballs in this room however. A bronze key laid on the mattress, the light that was coming through the thin white curtains hanging over the windows.

This isn't that horrible, it's fine, I'll be okay.

~★☆★~

As much as I love receiving and eating free casseroles and pies from kind neighbors, I couldn't keep living off it as my only food source. I can last for a few more days, until school starts, but after that I'm going to have to come up with a plan for making money. As of ghost activity, it had been tame, just the Box Ghost here and there, and the occasional ghost octopus. Honestly, I'm not sure how I'm surprised to get close enough to Danny to insert myself into his life, especially to get him to trust me enough to tell his secret. If you can even call it that, the similarities to him and his alter ego are so obvious I question everyone's IQs in this town.

I haven't been getting much sleep either, I miss the sounds of clocks and gears turning from Clockwork's tower more than I thought I would.

The first night here, I was unpacking my things, choking on dust, and driving myself mad trying to find those damn mothballs to throw them out. I woke up slumped over the couch, being blinded through my closed eyelids by the sun.

I've been spending most of my time outside, I just can't get over how amazing the sun feels, and how warm. And a good thing I've found near me is a cute little pet store on the corner a few streets down, a ten-minute walk from my house at most. I'm sure I made a lovely impression on the employees by trying to phase through the doors rather than opening it. What I thought was the best part is that there was a pen on the floor where they'd let you play with, pet, or hold any of the animals in the store. Except for the birds, of course. They're surprisingly noisy and active to be such little things. But, I'm thinking that I'll apply for a job there when food starts to get low.

Being responsible sucks but I love it, I love the freedom, I think I love all of this. It's worth being a little homesick.

My nights have been quiet and nice, I don't leave the house after nightfall, I may be beginning to like it here but I'm not stupid enough to go out alone at night with ghosts roaming around. Curled up on the couch, re-reading The Body, a classic King novella for probably the hundredth time, with Patch tucked safely under my arm. Eating the occasional forkful right out of the casserole dish without bothering to heat it up in the oven first.