A/N: Hey everybody! So I'm currently working on the other fanfiction book and when it's ready, I'll make sure to inform you guys! Other than that, happy reading! By the way, I'm sorry for the very late update, history is a horrible subject and I'll leave it at that lmao. One final exam (and project) to go and I'll be free starting August!
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, I simply only own the plots.
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"And so for our next exam, all you'll have to do is read a passage out of our Shakespeare lesson unit and answer some questions related to it..." Mr. Lancer carefully explained, going up to the chalkboard and writing some important stuff for the students to write down in their notebooks.
It was almost exam week, the one taking place after winter break and Danny wasn't doing so bad, but not great either. He still had to fight the occasional ghosts whilst doing his homework and coming up with excuses to his parents and teachers. They thought he lived a second life, which wasn't entirely false. It was more like 'afterlife'.
Skulker still hadn't stopped hunting him down, seeing that he was still a 'worthy prey'. His parents never wasted the chance to chase after him either, the latest using another failed invention. Danny didn't know whether to be relieved or upset; though that didn't mean he couldn't use their inventions differently to hunt ghosts.
Danny let out a sigh and thumped his head on the desk. It reminded him of one of those vines he watched yesterday but that didn't make him feel any better. Instead, he decided to catch up on the sleep he missed last night. Apparently, Skulker didn't have a bedtime. Did his parents ever teach him that sleep was important? Oh wait, did he even have parents?
While Danny tried to sleep using the swarming thoughts in his head, ignoring the fact that he was supposed to take notes for his upcoming class, he felt a sudden sting to the right of his neck. He touched his neck in reaction, rubbing the pain. Before he could come up with the conclusion that maybe Vlad's vampire effect was responsible, he heard snickering a few desks behind him.
He turned to face Dash who was at his right, two seats behind him, grinning like a psycho killer in one of those old horror movies. What was it called again? It was called 'The Shining', right? He rolled his eyes at the childish act but said nothing nevertheless, not wanting to cause more problems than he could handle. Obsessive ghosts were already enough. Instead, he stayed put and tried to focus on what Mr. Lancer was talking about.
Danny felt another tick at the same time and slapped his neck again, rubbing the same spot. When he pulled away, he found there was another beige rubber band. He turned behind his seat again to catch Dash high fiving his friend Kwan to which he glared at. Those two seriously never wasted the chance to annoy him. Weren't they supposed to be taking notes?
The two jocks paid no attention to Danny's angry glowing eyes and instead continued to snicker. Danny saw no use in trying to stop them, so instead, he groaned and let his head rest on the desk again. He really couldn't wait till winter break. Of course, summer vacation was way better, but it was currently winter which meant they weren't that close to freedom yet.
Five minutes hadn't passed yet when he heard an interrupting voice. So much for catching on sleep.
"Mr. Fenton. I would really appreciate it if you didn't sleep in my class, especially if I'm giving the class some important notes to write," the voice stated in front of Danny's desk as the boy quickly lifted his head up. He sat frozen for a bit before blinking and seeming more alert, he turned to face an angry-looking teacher.
"I uh-I had a headache?" Danny replied back, not paying attention to his snickering classmates. Smooth Fenton.
"Yes, I can see. Now please open your binder and write the notes I wrote down on the board. That is, unless you can't see either?" Mr. Lancer said, raising an eyebrow as Danny blushed in embarrassment and shook his head, not wanting to meet the eyes of his classmates. He couldn't believe what he was doing. He fought ghosts on a daily basis and had no trouble beating them up with his sarcastic wits, but when a teacher humiliates him in front of his classmates, he can't say anything to defend himself?
He raised his head up, his face going back to a neutral expression, facing the teacher.
"No, I can see, I'll just write them down," Danny replied, pushing the eraser marks away on the desk and opening a brand-new page in his notebook. Mr. Lancer nodded in satisfaction before going up to the board and continuing on with his lesson. The tired boy just sighed and wrote down the notes. It'd be better if he wrote something down, especially since both Sam and Tucker weren't in his class and they couldn't be there to lend him missed notes. He could just sleep during lunch.
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"You know, it wouldn't hurt to pay attention to us once for a while," Sam dryly spoke out, interrupting the ghost boy from his thoughts.
"Oh... sorry. I'm just a little... spacey today," Danny explained as Tucker grinned.
"Was that an intended pun?" he asked, amused, knowing his half-ghost friend was a fan of astronomy and wanted to become an astronaut. Danny replied with a weak smirk but said nothing, shaking his head 'no'.
"Well, whatever's bothering you, tell us if you need anything. We wouldn't want you overworking yourself, especially since school's over for now," Sam sternly stated and Danny nodded.
"Yeah, you looked like the living dead today. Although that isn't technically false," Tucker commented jokingly as Sam rolled her eyes.
"One more bad joke and I'll have Dash stuff you into a locker," she warned seriously, as he held up his hands in surrender, knowing the goth wasn't joking.
"Damn, chill. What's wrong with both of you today?" Tucker asked annoyed as the two friends only sighed and continued to make their way down the school hallways.
"We're already chill, Tuck. It's winter, remember?" Danny grinned as well while Sam shot him a warning glance.
"That goes for you too."
"Fine, fine. No more puns or jokes, happy?"
"Yes."
Danny pushed the heavy school doors open, eager to get out of the stuffed place but signaled his two friends to exit first.
"What a gentleman," Sam joked as Danny frowned a bit but said nothing.
The rest of the walk home was quiet, but calm. The snowflakes were gently making their way slowly to the ground, occasionally landing on the trio's clothes and their exposed blushed cheeks. The weather was also getting quite chilly and there were already kids outside building snowmen in their backyards, boosting the Christmas spirit. Danny looked up at the sky in deep thought, the icy weather not really bothering him as he was used to his ghostly ice powers by now.
Every once in a while, a person in the trio would comment something interesting about their day, whether it was a big rumor or some annoying teacher. The others would then reply back with something similar, letting themselves get carried on with the light conversation. And although the mention of ghosts was mentioned, it didn't stick to the conversation and wasn't something of greater interest. After all, they wanted to feel like normal teenagers for once, at least for a day.
"So you guys ready for the exams?" Sam asked, taking out her fluffy black mittens from the pocket of her jacket to protect her freezing hands. Considering it was almost the end of December, everybody was most likely wearing winter gear and having hot chocolate by the fireplace.
"Not really, though you should've expected that by now," Danny replied casually. "But we have the entire break to study for exams so it shouldn't be a problem."
Tucker snorted at Danny's response to which he raised his eyebrows at. "Yeah, like you'll actually do something school related during break. Which reminds me, I'm getting the new Doomed 3 early for Christmas this year, probably tomorrow. Wanna come over and play? It doesn't work on computer so you can't access your dad's lab for it."
"Okay, first of all, I'll actually be productive this year," Danny replied back as Sam snorted, adding a 'that's-what-they-all-say' comment. She chuckled but instantly stopped when she saw the glowing green eyes directed at her.
"As I was saying, most ghosts won't be here a lot during the winter break because it's the holidays and they're probably making a New Year's Resolution of what they want to achieve this year aka exterminate the 'ghost boy'. Plus, there's a truce going on in the ghost zone and I might actually go to the party hosted there if my parents are busy with the whole Santa argument they seem to have every year," Danny added as his two friends shook their head in amusement.
"I don't know man, you don't sound genuine to studying, especially in the break even when ghosts won't be pestering you," Tucker smirked as Sam nodded, shuffling snow between her thick black combat boots.
"Yeah, I agree. Tucker, you're a bad influence, maybe I should be the one keeping an eye on Danny to make sure he has at least some notes memorized," she said.
"I would love to continue this conversation on who's the most responsible parent here, but in case you guys forgot, winter break just started," Danny stated dryly.
"Technically, winter break hasn't started yet-"
"And that means no more pencils, no more books and especially, no more ghosts to suck into the Fenton thermos. I'd very much like it if I didn't get ripped out molecule by molecule during the break with my parents," Danny continued, unbuttoning his red and white jacket.
"Yeah yeah, keep telling yourself that. You said that last year during our summer vacation and look where that got us," Tucker replied, raising a brow.
"I'll make sure that doesn't happen again," he said back, taking off his hat and stuffing it into one of the empty pockets of his jacket.
"Hey, aren't you feeling cold right now? It's literally under -20 degrees outside!" Sam exclaimed.
"No, not really. I guess I got used to it by now," Danny shrugged casually.
"Like, at all? I mean we get you're a half ghost with ice powers and all, but it's quite cold today, colder than the other winter days actually," Tucker stated, shivering slightly when a gentle snowy breeze hit his face.
"Nah, I get to control anything under 0 degrees that's considered cold in my body by pushing it out. Frostbite taught me many things, one of them being how to control even cold atmospheres. That doesn't mean I can control weather though," Danny explained, letting his hands form an icicle before crushing it, breaking the thick piece of ice like it was plastic.
"Well, can you make us 'un-cold'? We're literally on the verge of turning into ice," Tucker asked, holding onto his shaking arms tightly.
"I'm not a weather boy," Danny said rolling his eyes as he held one hand up to prevent Tucker from reciting a vine reference. "But... I can try to absorb the low temperature surrounding the inside and outside of your body, I think."
The two friends nodded as they stopped walking and let Danny hold onto both of their shoulders. He closed his eyes, searching for the raw energy in their bodies. When he finally managed to locate it, he gently let himself absorb it, so that they don't feel a sudden drain of energy being taken away. He let the cold air run into his body system and when he finally finished, he opened his eyes and let go of both their shoulders.
"So... How do you guys feel?" he asked hesitantly, hoping it didn't cause any damage to them.
"Well, aside from that weird feeling of someone dragging out my soul and something warm incasing my body the whole time until you let go, I'm back to feeling frosty," Sam stated as Danny turned to face his other friend, noticing that Tucker was nodding in agreement.
"It was worth a try. I think I can only warm you guys up if I continue to take out the cold atmosphere surrounding you. I'll have to ask Frostbite how to do it without me having to touch you the whole time. For now, just hold onto me," Danny ordered as Sam looked at him worryingly.
"But doesn't that affect you? I mean, you are continuing to absorb the cold energy, and like, what if you get too much of it and get cold like the first time? Won't you be overwhelmed? Aren't there side-effects?" Sam asked nervously as Danny rolled his eyes and gave her a warm smile.
"No, don't worry. I got this. I can still control ice powers, remember? The worst that can happen is a minor headache or some squeamish feeling in the stomach, nothing more. Plus, it's only for a short time, now hold onto me," Danny assured her as the two friends complied hesitantly, taking his cold hands.
"But if you start feeling a bit lightheaded, tell us. We know how heroic you can be," Tucker joked though he was a bit nervous inside.
"Of course, I'll be fine," Danny waved it off, grinning. For the rest of the walk home, the techno-geek and goth could now talk properly without their lips quivering from the frosty breezes. A couple of minutes later, they were at Tucker's street. Just as they were about to drop off Tucker at his house, Danny felt a cold mist escape his mouth. He knew for sure it wasn't his mouth breathing out hot hair from the cold weather because he learned to control it months ago.
"Guys, ghost nearby," Danny told them as they both stopped whatever they were doing and nodded, unzipping their heavy backpacks to pull out a simple ghost weapon. Danny looked around, making sure no one was nearby and said his battle cry. He let the white circles wash over him, turning him into his alter half. He then unzipped his own backpack and took out the Fenton Thermos.
"Help! There's a scary ghost chasing me! What the f -- Oh shit, it's actually a ghost dog, help!"
Danny whipped his head to where the sound was coming from before taking a stance and flying over to the designated spot. He already knew who this 'ghost dog' was, and he didn't seem to mind the sudden intrusion this time.
"Cujo! Here buddy!" Danny exclaimed as soon as he noticed the green tail wagging near the traffic light. The huge green dog stopped what he was going to do and looked over at Danny for a second, tilting his head to the side before realizing who it was. The ghost dog jumped up and down, the ground shaking slightly.
"No, no! Cujo sit," Danny commanded as the dog happily listened, shrinking to the size of a cute puppy. The man that was previously running away from the dog dropped a small ball out of fear and took this chance to run away. Danny looked at the ball on the ground before realizing it was the same one at Axion's lab.
"Is that what you were looking for?" Danny asked amused, picking up the light ball as the puppy yipped. Before Danny could comprehend what was happening, the dog jumped on the teenage ghost, licking him with invisible dog saliva. That reminded Danny to take a long bath after. The boy chuckled and suddenly heard a loud cough to the right. He looked over his shoulder and noticed his two best friends, staring at him with a look of amusement.
"Look at who's having all the fun," Tucker commented with a grin as Sam shook her head wearing the same look.
"I thought you were a hamster type of person?" Sam said with slight surprise before going over to the puppy. She tried picking Cujo up, though was feeling a bit hesitant from the last time the dog ran loose and got them almost killed.
"And I thought you were a cat person," Danny retorted back, getting the dog off of him so that he can clean himself. He handed over the dog to Sam, who was still hesitant, and went intangible to slide off all the dog saliva still hanging on him.
"He won't bite."
"I know he won't."
"Then why are you holding him up like he's contagious?"
"... Shut up please."
Danny chuckled amusingly, wiping off his fake tears before looking over at Tucker who was also grinning. Sam had a look of distrust directed at the dog, not even caring that her two friends were making fun of her.
"Okay, look. We can-"
Before Danny could continue what he was going to suggest, he heard a familiar voice that stopped him dead. (Pun not intended). He turned around and face his parents, looking at him with disgust.
"Ghost! Maddie, get the Fenton Foamer here, quickly!" Jack ordered, holding out a simple ghost weapon. The man looked at the ghost in disgust before aiming it at him and shooting it. Danny moved over just in time the green substance made its way and instead landed on a random civilian walking by the streets. The startled man was then thrown on the ground and glared daggers at the person responsible, trying to take off the substance. Jack frowned, shaking the weapon closer to his ear.
"Sorry for that!" Maddie yelled out at the captured man and turned to face Sam and Tucker. "You two, get out of here, it's dangerous. And where's Danny?"
"What? No! We-"
"Guys, get out. I can handle this," Danny hissed back at them, cutting Sam from whatever she was going to say.
"Dude, they are about to fry you like meat! You can't just expect us-"
"Tucker, I'm not a pig that'll be hunted down for bacon. Now get out before they start suspecting things," Danny demanded, gritting his teeth at his two friends, gesturing them to get out in case they get hurt. Sam and Tucker compiled but before they left, Sam gave him one nervous look.
"Be careful."
The half-ghost nodded and turned to see his mother handling the weapon that was supposed to cover him with green anti-ghost glue. He quickly dodged another quick shot coming at him. did they ever get bored with hunting the same ghost or was that a ghost hunter thing? Maybe he should watch the movie 'Ghostbusters' again.
"I still don't understand, why do you guys keep hunting me down? I was literally doing nothing but petting a dog! When are you going to get that, I'm. Not. Evil!" Danny yelled out, annoyed as Maddie frowned, still looking for the desired gadget in their ghost vehicle.
"We don't trust ghosts like you, Spook! Now stop moving so that I can send you back to where you came from!" Jack said, running closer to the ghost and steadying his aim.
"Um, no? You see, I prefer to remain in one piece, thank you very much," Danny dryly said, firing a shot at the weapon his dad was holding. Sure he couldn't hurt them, but he had to make sure they wouldn't either. Jack was taken aback by the sudden interference and Danny grinned. He brushed off his hands on his jumpsuit and was about to comment a pun when he felt a sudden pain in his right cheek. Too bad it wasn't just Dash's silly elastic bands.
Danny was thrown at a nearby wall, coming in contact with the painful concrete street ground. He felt his head go blank before regaining consciousness and rubbing his temple, hissing in pain. If he didn't have quick healing abilities, he would've probably lost consciousness from the great impact.
"Ow," he muttered to himself, groaning when he felt pain in his right cheek. He moved his hand to touch the sore bruised spot before wincing, regretting his decision. Whatever that was, it felt like a whole old brick. He then started to feel a metallic liquid going through his teeth. He wiped his mouth and looked at his hand, noticing a deep shade of red. Blood. And some ectoplasm.
He felt like he was at the dentist all over again from the time they had to remove his cavities. Although this was much worse, his teeth felt immense pain, his cheeks were now numb and he could feel the taste of blood dripping at the edge of his lips. He wiped some of it away but noticed he was currently in a tight situation and could take care of it later.
He looked forward and noticed his parents come after him, his father holding the Fenton Foamer while his mother holding the Fenton Anti-Creep stick. He turned invisible, preferring not to deal with this right now. After all, it was cold, his body was sore and he could really use some hot chocolate right now.
As soon as the half-ghost disappeared, the two ghosthunters grumbled, placing their weapons in defeat.
"As much damage that creep stick has done, why didn't you just use the same weapon as me?" Jack asked, eyeing the regular bat his wife was holding.
"I couldn't find it, the vehicle is a mess! Jack, did you eat fudge in the backseat?" Maddie replied back dryly, dropping her bat and crossing her arms, eyebrows raised.
"Uh heh. Um, no?" he said nervously, scratching his raven hair as Maddie rolled her eyes.
Danny scolded himself for letting a normal bat cause this much damage to him. It wasn't even a ghost weapon! He shouldn't have let his guard down, especially since his mother was present. She did have good aim though and he's confused as to whether he should be angry or impressed.
He shook his head and sighed. His mind must be really off today. Sam and Tucker were right. He should probably take the winter break to rest and try to not involve himself with ghosts and school stuff. Who knows? Maybe this winter might be good after all...
Danny decided to just leave and return back home before they notice their son has yet to return back from school. With some energy left, he lifted himself off the ground and slowly descended over the buildings, looking over to where his home was located. Shouldn't be too hard to find, the last name logo was visible across town.
At the same time, Maddie noticed something strange soaked on her wooden bat. It wasn't too large, likely the size of her hand. The certain spot seemed to be covered in some sort of red liquid. If her suspicions were correct, that must be...
"Hey Jack? Was... was there blood on this the last time you used it?" she asked confused as her husband shook his head 'no'.
"No. Why are you asking?" Jack replied back, walking over to where the bat was sitting. He knelt down, inspecting it further and was about to touch it when his wife quickly pushed his hand back.
"Wait! Don't touch it! I- I just wanna see something..." she said, kneeling down at the same height, her masked eyes focusing on the spot. She slowly, and carefully, went to touch the liquid with the tip of her latex fingers. When she drew it back, it had formed on her finger.
"It's fresh..." she said hesitantly, shaking her head in confusion and surprise. Was that.... from the ghost she had just hit? But how? No way, that was impossible!
She ran over to the spot where Danny had been thrown, the wall of a music store. She inspected the wall and noticed there was blood on there too, still fresh but not a lot. Looked like a painful, but not too serious hit. Her boots crunched on the snow and she looked down to notice that there was something there too. She peered down, the white snow making the substance visible and noticed there was a tooth! It was a second molar baby tooth! She didn't know whether to be shocked or scared.
"J-Jack. Ghosts don't have teeth, right?" Maddie stuttered as her husband looked at her with a bizarre expression, walking over to her. He was now downright confused by her weird questions.
"Of course not Mads! Ghosts aren't humans, and even if they were in the past, they'd probably have none-" Jack stopped talking as soon as he noticed the visible substance on the dirty snow along with the small tooth. He too, had a wide expression.
"W-wait, that's blood!" Jack exclaimed, backing away a bit as Maddie nodded a bit, still frozen.
"Do you know what that means?" she asked hesitantly as Jack nodded vigorously.
"Yes! We just abused a child! Child abuse! Oh my god, we're going to jail, I can't go to jail! There's still stuff I need to do-"
"No! Well, that's true, but not the main reason. Jack, that's blood. In case you didn't know, ghosts don't bleed blood, they have ectoplasm in their bodies. We were just dealing with a kid, maybe teenager. That's human, most likely with a family and attends a school," she said seriously.
"B-but, but.. How? I mean, he's a ghost! He has all the features of a ghost! He can fly, he has powers, turn invisible, all those! How is that even possible? I've never dealt with a ghost that can bleed blood!" he cried out.
"That's because he isn't fully ghost! A human! Well, at least I think so. I'm not 100% sure, we'll have to do some tests on this blood sample to conclude our theory," she explained, gesturing him to get the petri dish, scoopula and lab plastic bag.
"But even if it turns out to be real human blood, how are we certain that it's his?" he asked after bringing the desired items as Maddie took them and began inserting them on the plate and into the Ziploc bag.
"Because this," she said, holding up the bag. "Is also mixed with ectoplasm. We can examine the blood and see how it got merged into his body system in the first place."
"Plus, he saw me hit him with the bat, remember? And this is the place in which he landed. The layer of ectoplasm covering it is just the final proof," she added, getting up and walking over to the vehicle. Jack nodded, a grin forming.
"I don't know why but I'm really excited," he said as Maddie smiled at her husband.
"Me too. But I'm afraid of the answers we might get," she said sadly, sighing before getting into the passenger seat.
Some things are better left unsaid.
~~~
"And so that's basically it, the usual," Danny explained tiredly, as his sister, Jazz inspected his lips with a grim look on her face.
"Something tells me there's more to the story. What the hell happened to your lips, they're so bruised up as if you were chewing on them all day," she said worryingly, pushing her brother's chin up so she can take a better look. She frowned, noticing the blood was still fresh and went to open Danny's mouth but he wouldn't budge.
"Danny. Open up," she ordered as he shook his head in protest.
"I said, do it. Don't make me force you," she threatened, her eyes narrowing. Danny tried to scoot away but she kept a firm grip.
"Admit it, you're not escaping. So if you know what's good for you, you better let me take a look," she said with a smug look as Danny's face lit up and he returned the same expression. Before she can understand what was happening, the weight was lifted off her hand and Danny was nowhere to be seen. Jazz frowned, standing back up and looking around the room.
"Danny, I know you're here. Come out this instance!" she yelled but was left with silence. And a soft chuckle. That made Jazz's eyes roll in annoyance
"This is not funny! Seriously, just come back. You know this isn't fair!" she pouted, crossing her arms but still nothing. She sighed, seeing it was no use and left the room. When Danny was sure she had left he turned himself visible once again and dropped himself onto his desk chair.
Two minutes later, without warning, he felt something shove him to the bedroom wall. He looked down to see he was tied down with some type of goo, preventing him from escaping. He tried pulling it off using his ghost powers and even turning intangible but it didn't work. Whatever he did, had the same result.
"It's no use so you can stop struggling now," the voice of a girl said as Danny looked up and was met with his amused sister. What was with his family members pining him to walls with ghost weapons? Wasn't once enough for one day?
He glared at her, but said nothing, not wanting her to look at his bruised mouth. It was getting hard to prevent himself from talking more and more, and his sister noticed that too.
"Oh come on, it can't be that bad. I promise I'll let you out after you show me, deal?" she asked with hope but Danny shook his head, indicating a 'No'. She walked closer to him which caused him to squeeze his lips tighter.
"It must be pretty serious if you can't even add those sarcastic comments," she said, raising an eyebrow as he frowned and looked to the side.
"What? Not even gonna threaten me? That's new-"
"Will you please just shut up?! I'm tired of all this! I just wanted a normal break, what do I have to do to get one-"before Danny could continue on with his rant, his sister grabbed his face and used her other hand to keep him from closing his mouth. He then started choking which she after took out, but she had enough time to see what was wrong.
"Seriously? This is what you have been hiding away from me? Why? I get it's pretty bruised and I'll have to patch you up but you've been through much worse-" She then took a look at his gum and teeth. "Oh. I guess it is pretty bad, what the hell were you doing?"
When she received no answer from her brother, she continued to rant about responsibility and how to take care of one's health. Danny just half-listened, not really buying the words in knowing he would forget it in anyway.
"-look okay. Whoever must've done this had pretty good aim? Ghost-X, right? No? Not Skulker? Well then, don't keep me waiting, who did this to you?" she asked, bandaging his bruised up cheek as he tried to protest but gave up.
"Oh, erm. I, bumped into a wall?" he said, rubbing his shoulder out of nervousness.
"Well, duh. That had to be a part of it. But who shoved you on the wall?" she asked, still adding rubbing alcohol to his injury as he hissed quietly but said nothing.
"So?" she asked, impatiently.
"...Mom..and dad, I guess," he mumbled as Jazz instantly froze.
"WHAT?!"
"No! I mean- Sam, Tucker and I were walking back from school and I thought there was a ghost attack somewhere so I transformed but it was just Cujo. Apparently, my parents saw me and they started to attack. My mind was kind of off today and so I wasn't expecting the Fenton bat to bruise my face," he quickly added as Jazz gaped at him in shock but then sighed and rubbed her head, closing her eyes.
"I don't know whether to worry or laugh right now. That bat isn't even anti-ghost, what were you busy thinking about? You know what, don't answer that. Anyway, come closer. I'm not done with you," she said as Danny rolled his eyes but complied. When Jazz saw her brother hiss again in pain, she stood up with a frown.
"Okay, that's it. I'm going to have a talk with our parents," she firmly said as Danny's eyes widened, he too getting up from his seat.
"W-wait! What're you going to tell them?" he asked quickly.
"What they should know. Danny, you can't let them keep on hurting you like that, especially since you're a kid. What are people going to think? This counts as child abuse, do you know that? Sooner or later, someone will notice and report mom and dad for abusing you, well, abusing the half of you. Plus, we can't let them continue to hurt you. How do you think they'll react when they realize they've been abusing their own son for a long time? We need to tell them," she sternly said as Danny shook his head.
"No! Jazz, you can't tell them! Not yet, at least. I'll tell them when I'm ready, just don't... Please?" he softly said, giving her the baby eyes as she sighed looking away.
"Danny... I don't know, we can't keep lying to them forever," she replied back hesitantly.
"And we won't. Just- Just let me handle it, okay? I'll tell them someday, just not now. Maybe after they realize they got the wrong enemy," he pleaded as his sister sighed but nodded, telling him she won't do anything yet.
"Fine, but promise me you'll tell them soon. Okay?" she finally said as he nodded in relief.
"I promise. Now get out of my room," he said in a teasing manner as she crossed her arms.
"I'm not moving, I still need to fix those cuts-"
"Come on Jazz! I'm not a baby, I can do it myself. Honestly, I've been through much worse," he said rolling his eyes.
"And I shouldn't be hearing that. Also promise me you won't get hurt a lot anymore, especially during this break. You need a rest," she said, standing by the door.
"Yeah, yeah, I will. Now get out," he waved it off and she frowned at his response.
"You need to promise me-"
Before she can say another word, Danny shut off the door in front of her face and sat in front of it in case his sister decided to barge in again. When he heard muffling sounds of disbelieve and footsteps walking away, he sighed and got up, walking over to his laptop.
Not five minutes had passed when he heard loud knocks on the door. He mentally jumped, turning to face the door in confusion.
"Danny! Open up!" Jazz yelled out as Danny rolled his eyes.
"Go away, Jazz. I told you I'm fine-"
"No! There's something I want to show you! Now get down to the kitchen," his sister said in a panicked voice as he raised an eyebrow at the voice but complied. When he was sure Jazz had left the hallway, he opened the door, peeking out to check if she was playing a prank on him or something. When he noticed no one was there, he opened the door further and stepped out, scratching his head in confusion.
Why was she so worried?
He walked downstairs, a little uneasy. He was still confused by his sister's expression. She usually acted more calmly in situations and was the one to always come up with solutions. What had her brain so messed up? Was she proven wrong again?
Danny entered the kitchen door and noticed his sister sitting on one of the kitchen chairs, her fingers tapping uneasily on the wooden table. She was staring at the television in worry and discomfort, glancing at the hallway ever so often. So when she noticed Danny leaning against the doorway, she quickly motioned him to take a seat beside her.
Before he can ask her what's wrong, he heard the home phone ring and when he realized Jazz wasn't going to pick it up, he decided to instead.
"Hello?"
"Danny! Oh my god, it's you. Okay man, just listen carefully and don't panic," a familiar voice of a boy answered.
"Tucker? What's wrong? Wait, why didn't you just call me on my own phone instead?" he asked, concerned as to why his friend was worried.
"Oh, um, you weren't there so I thought maybe you didn't hear it. Anyway, I just want you to not panic when-"
"Jeez, Tucker. Why are you so nervous? Don't tell me you're going to the hospital again, I'm not coming with you this time," Danny said in a joking manner.
"Dude, this isn't my problem. It's yours. I just want to let you know that everything's fine, we'll handle it," Tucker said, a bit calmer.
"What? Tucker, I don't understand what you're-"
"Danny! Come on, where are you?" his sister's voice rang from the other room as Danny rolled his eyes and put the phone up close, interrupting his friend from whatever he was going to say.
"Look Tuck, I gotta go. Jazz won't stop pestering me from whatever she wants to show me. We'll talk about this tomorrow at Sam's place for movie night, okay?" he said and hung up, closing the line. He had a very uneasy feeling, but didn't know how to explain it. It was winter break, why was he so stressed?
"Danny! Where are you?!" his sister frantically yelled as Danny rolled his eyes.
"Coming! I told you, I'm here. Just got a call from Tucker..." he rambled on, walking over to where his sister was solidly seated, taking the one next to her.
"So what do you want from me?" he asked curiously as she motioned to the working television. He turned to face the device and was at first confused when he saw both his parents gabbling on, their voices lit with excitement. Everybody looked really buoyant, the faces smiling at the camera. He was even more confused when he saw a picture of himself on the screen, specifically his ghost half.
What were his parents doing there? And why? Did it have something to do with ghosts? Of course it did, what type of question was that?
He gave his sister another confused look, asking her why it was important. His sister gave him an annoyed look in return and turned up the volume.
"... It seems that you've really outdone yourselves this time! This is rather shocking news, I'm guessing no one was expecting this during winter break, huh?" the female news reporter chuckled as the male reporter grinned in response.
"Yes. Sure we've had our suspicions, but Phantom being a half-ghost was a very small theory. We merely thought of him just being a good ghost that pitied humans," he replied back.
"I'm as shocked as you are. Phantom being half human is a surprise to me as well. And a kid in fact, according to the blood test we examined in the lab today," Maddie said, leaning back on the chair as Danny stared shocked at the T.V.
Okay, what?!
"Since he's still a kid, he must have a family, am I right? Perhaps he lives somewhere in Amity Park and even attends school," Jack also added as the news reporters nodded in agreement with the theory.
"I was thinking Casper High, being the only high school in Amity Park," Maddie explained knowingly, confident in her theory.
"Hmm, I suppose that's true. What were you two thinking of doing now? Taking blood samples of every student?" the black-haired female asked, intrigued.
"Well, we were going to narrow it down. So far, we only know that he's a teenage boy, and now we are figuring out his blood type. Then, we can just use that to test only the boys with similar blood type," Jack said, thinking out loud.
"I have a feeling this might be easy though. The boy's blood sample will be easy to spot with the ectoplasm merged with it," Maddie grinned.
"Wow, you guys got this all covered. May I ask, why are you so eager to find out Phantom's identity? I mean, I know some people might want to hang out with him personally or perhaps get to know the celebrity, but what's your reason? We are aware that you guys seemed to dislike the halfa?" the male reporter asked, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.
"Well, that's true. However, knowing he's one of us was a great shocker and we get to know why he does good for us. At first, me and husband were suspicious of him being evil and just tricking the townsfolk, but him being human shows that he was just protecting us since he's technically half of us, you know what I mean?" Maddie said sincerely, smiling.
"Exactly. We also want to give a formal apology to him. We've put him through a lot, especially since he's just a kid in school. His parents must be very concerned, probably not knowing his secret too," Jack exclaimed, flashing a toothy grin, mixed with a bit of sadness. There was a bit of regret in both of their voices.
"Well, that's certainly pleasant. I'm sure he feels better now knowing that even ghost hunters will stop hunting him. Do you have any suspicions on who it might be?" the same blonde male reporter asked.
"Honestly, no. Whoever he is, must be great at keeping secrets," Maddie said as Jazz snorted which earned a glare from Danny.
"I was reading from his fan page just recently, and some people imagined him as a very popular jock," Jack added absentmindedly. It was now Danny's turn to snort. Not even close.
"We think he'll have the same look; white-haired and green eyes. Maybe wear a black hoodie and jeans to school? He must be good at P.E too from his fighting techniques," Maddie explained as Jazz chuckled but Danny only rolled his eyes in annoyance. He was starting to think they might never figure out his identity.
"I have a feeling that might not be as easy as it sounds, am I correct?" the male reporter asked as Maddie nodded. "However, I wish you the best of luck. Who knows, you might be lucky and he's closer to you thank you think."
At this, Danny didn't stop himself from snorting. Oh, much closer than they thought. The nervousness he was feeling before was starting to fade but not completely.
"Well, whoever he is, and if he's watching this right now, I look forward to meeting you," Maddie warmly smiled at the camera to which Danny smiled back, though he was still uneasy. Did they really mean what they said back there? It wasn't some scheme or joke, right? Only one wait to find out.
Danny spent the rest of the evening, waiting for his parents to come back. Every minute that passed, he felt his stomach squirm to which he responded with looking through ironic stuff on the internet. He couldn't believe the stuff that was said about him.
A blonde green-eyed jock that would paint his hair every time there was a ghost? Who came up with that stuff?
And why did people think that Wes Weston was him? Especially after he admitted that wasn't him time after time. He was even starting to think that maybe Wes hated him. That guy was crazy, no comment there.
And let's not forget the many fangirls he had stalking him every ghost fight. He didn't even know where they got these pictures from. He should probably start to pay attention to his surroundings, one of them may seem him transforming into his human half. Especially now since everybody knows he's only half ghost.
When his parents hadn't shown up yet, Danny decided to just go to sleep. He was tired, today was a very 'exciting' day and he wanted to catch up on the sleep he missed for months. Plus, it was cold, and his warm bed was seeming very comfortable and inviting right now.
"Why were you so worried? I thought you wanted them to find out my identity?" Danny asked jokingly to help him ease the nervousness. Jazz simply rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Not like this. I wasn't worried about them finding out your identity, they haven't been able to find out even when you were living under the same roof. And even if they somehow did, I wouldn't be too frustrated. It's just that, you don't want them to find out, correction, anyone to find out, even me. I was just worried about your reaction, and I made you watch it with me so that I can calm you down, especially when you over exaggerate," Jazz explained as Danny glared at her.
"Hey! I'm sorry my parents might hunt me down if they figure out who I actually am," Danny argued defensively as Jazz shot him a grin.
"Good point, but I doubt they will. You heard what they said," she said, taking a bite of homemade pasta she made.
"And what if it's just an act? What if they're waiting for the right time to strike when Phantom reveals his identity?" Danny frowned, looking down on his plate.
"Well, I guess you'll just have to find out tomorrow," she said, picking up her own plate and placing it in the sink. Danny sighed, getting up and doing the same.
He decided to call it a night and take a shower before going to sleep. He let his mind wander, and forced himself to stay positive but it was hard to do so. He finally finished and brushed his teeth before sliding into a new pair of pink striped pajamas, slipping inside the covers. He fell asleep instantly, not realizing how tired he actually was.
~~~
"So how was it?" Sam asked, as the trio walked out of the theater after a horror movie. Although they felt better after the movie (except Tucker), their minds were still off.
"Pretty good. Where do you find these?" Danny asked, smirking in process. Tucker glared at Sam, crossing his arms in anger.
"That's the last time I ever hang out with you guys! I can't believe I'm even friends with you Sam," Tucker growled as Sam flashed a toothy grin.
"How was I supposed to know they would be putting on that movie. It was a complete coincidence," she said innocently, putting her hands behind her back and walking farther away from them. The two boys quickly caught up beside her, not wanting to stay behind in the cold.
"You knew! You did it on purpose, didn't you?" Tucker snarled, not wanting to face his two friends.
"No, but I'm serious though. I actually didn't know they were going to do one about a haunted hospital, I swear. It was supposed to be a movie about a zombie apocalypse and deceased plants. They must have rescheduled it last minute or something," she said with a serious look.
"That doesn't sound any better though. Plants? Seriously Sam?" Danny said, grinning as Tucker snorted but refused to meet their gazes.
"Look Tucker, I'm actually sorry. I really didn't know they were going to put that movie on, and when I booked the tickets last minute in the line, I completely forgot about your paranoia," Sam apologized.
"That's not gonna stop me from having nightmares for a week," Tucker dryly said but finally gave up and nodded. "Next time, just warn me when you're about to watch something like that."
"I promise, now lets speed walk to my house, I'm freezing!" Sam stated, rubbing her arms in indication. The two boys nodded in agreement.
"I'm just asking, but why didn't you just leave and wait for us or something?" Danny asked confused.
"I didn't want to seem like a wimp leaving in the beginning of the movie," Tucker said annoyed as Danny chuckled but said nothing afterwards.
"Speaking of, how did you sleep yesterday Danny?" Sam asked concerned.
"Okay. I'm still worried about... you know," he said as his two friends nodded, knowing what he was talking about. The trio agreed to not talk about what happened when they were on their way to the theater. It would cause too much stress, and they wanted to avoid any kind of stress for the entire break.
"Did you talk to your parents about it yet?" Tucker asked as Sam sought out her keys and opened the door to her house. The two quickly got in, met with the warmth of the fireplace not far away.
"No, I'll talk to them after I get back home. They were pretty busy in the morning, I guess trying to figure out who Phantom is," Danny shrugged, taking off his red jacket and hanging it on one of the hooks.
"Aren't you like, worried?" Sam asked curiously, not buying the calm demeanor of her friend.
"Of course I am! I'm really worried actually, although I'm pretty sure they won't figure out, at least not yet," he exclaimed as Sam led the two boys downstairs to the game room where snacks were provided along with a big screen and red comfy chairs placed in front. Tucker was quick to pick the best spot, jumping on it.
"Ah, it never gets old," he quietly said to himself, letting the texture of the furniture soak him in. The two gave him unimpressed stares but ignored him otherwise.
"Well, you look really calm. I was expecting you to like, freak out or something," Sam explained, going over to the snacks table and filling a big bowl with popcorn.
"Trust me, I'm freaking out like crazy in the inside. One little poke and I'll crack," he said jokingly, poorly masking his nervousness.
"Well, maybe this can help?" she said grinning, handing him the bowl as he smiled thankfully grabbing a handful and popping it in his mouth.
"You didn't eat breakfast, didn't you?" Sam asked unimpressed as her ghost friend shook his head to which she sighed at.
"What? I told you, I was nervous. I can't eat properly when I'm at that state of mind," he argued defensively, throwing more popcorn into his mouth.
"Wait here, I'll go get you something that's actually healthy for lunch," she said, walking out the door.
"Hey! No wait, Sam. I'm not actually hungry-"
"No. You need to eat something, now stay there or else I'm kicking you out," she threatened from outside as Danny sighed in defeat, walking over to the seat beside Tucker. He plopped on it, about to turn the screen on when he heard his ringtone vibrating from his pocket. He flipped over his phone and noticed his mom's ID in the front.
"Hello?" he responded.
"Danny! Sweetie, we need to talk to you. Think you can stop by the house in ten minutes?" she asked, her voice sounding unusually calm.
"Um, sure. What do you want to talk to me about? If it's the pancakes on the wall, I'm sorry, I tried getting it off but it was-"
A chuckle interrupted him from the other line. He raised an eyebrow, confused. "No, not the pancakes, though you have to promise me you'll clean it up after. It has something to do with the ghost boy, I'll tell you there, okay?"
Before Danny could reply, she had already hung up. He muttered under his breath, holding his head out of frustration. Tucker noticed this and raised an eyebrow out of confusion and worry.
"Hey man, are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I need to go. Mom needs to talk to me about something," he explained getting up, and walking back upstairs.
"That doesn't sound good," Tucker said, following after his friend. Sam gave the two a confused look to which Tucker responded. "His parents want to talk to him."
"Yeah, and it doesn't have anything to do with the pancakes," he grumbled as Sam chuckled but handed him a cheese sandwich.
"What?" she said. "You still need to eat."
Danny rolled his eyes but gave her a thankful smile and when to grab his coat. His two friends followed, doing the same.
"Hey, what're you guys doing? She only needs me?" he asked.
"Well, we can't let you go alone. What if something happens and we aren't unaware?" Tucker replied back.
"Are you guys gonna stand in here the whole time. Sure it's cold outside, but we have somewhere to go to," Sam said, opening the door as the cold air blew in. Both boys shivered but complied, putting on their winter equipment and walking out the door.
For the rest of the walk, nobody really said anything. They just wanted to get it over with to finally get rid of the uncomfortable feeling.
When they arrived at the doorsteps, Danny hesitantly knocked on the door since he forgot his keys.
Of all days to forget the key, it had to be today, Danny thought to himself as he gave his two friends apologetic glances. They were freezing outside and the wind wasn't helping. They were surely taking their time.
"Danny!" his father's voice boomed, as Danny turned to face the door and was greeted by a tight hug. At first, Danny couldn't breathe but then confusion overwhelmed him and his friends.
"Uh, dad? Y-you're choking me," Danny tried to speak up as his father loosened his grip and set the confused boy on the ground.
"Why didn't you tell us?" he asked.
"Um, tell you what?" Danny asked, hoping it wasn't what he thought they knew.
"That you're bestfriends with the ghost boy in school, duh!" his mother exclaimed from behind. Danny looked at his friends, asking them if he heard them right as they shrugged, also confused.
"Uh, what?" he asked, raising a brow in confusion as his mother smiled warmly at him.
"Don't worry, we know everything sweetie. It's okay if you don't want to tell us, that's what friends are for," she chuckled, messing with his hair as he stood their shocked. Before he can deny whatever they were talking about, Jazz came from behind with a nervous smile.
"Hey, mom and dad? Danny looks hungry, why don't you cook dinner while I explain to him everything?" Jazz quickly added as the two parents nodded, smiling at their two children and then looking at the visitors.
"Of course. And both of you are welcome to stay for lunch," Maddie said.
"Actually-" Sam was about to interject that they already ate when Tucker elbowed her.
"Actually Mrs. Fenton, we'd love to stay," Tucker added as Sam shot him a glare but said nothing. If Danny wasn't in shock, he would've chuckled at his friend's behavior. The two adults nodded happily and left, leaving the group still confused.
"Let's go up, and I'll explain everything," Jazz said with a serious look as the trio nodded, ushering upstairs to Danny's room.
~~~
"So, what you're trying to say is," Tucker continued, twirling in the chair. "That in order to stop them, you made this horrible excuse."
"Well, what was I supposed to say? I had to say something last minute before they can put two and two together. They were this close to finding out Danny's identity, and if it weren't for me, they would've completed the final blood test and already showed the whole world. Then, it wouldn't have been long since people figured out who the mystery person is," Jazz explained, walking around the room, hands behind her back. "And as much as I want our parents to know his identity, I can't do it if Danny's not okay with it."
"And how is saying Danny is friends with the ghostboy and knows his identity, supposed to stop them?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow as she rummaged through her spider backpack, looking for something to calm her nerves.
"Well, they would do everything for Danny," she said, turning to look at her brother who was lying on his bed, eyes closed. "Even if it may not seem like it, but they care for you a lot."
"Really?" he said, opening his eyes for a brief second and sitting up to face his sister.
"Yeah. I told him that your friend doesn't want anyone to know his identity and they accepted it. On one condition..." she said, as the trio looked over at Jazz, urging her to continue on.
"That they at least know who it is and get to meet him. They promised to not inform media and have even cancelled the meeting that was scheduled today evening," Jazz explained as Danny groaned, landing full down on the bed. Of course there was a catch.
"And, the solution?" he asked hopeful but already knew the answer when he was met with total silence from his sister.
"Well, I guess we don't have a choice. I have to go, my parents called and they want me to come back home before the snowstorm," Sam said, rolling her eyes.
"There's a snowstorm? I gotta go too! Hey Danny, my place tomorrow?" Tucker asked, referring to the new video game as Danny nodded, walking over to the door and holding it open for them to exit. The two gave him encouraging looks before walking out.
"Tell me how it goes," Sam said as Danny nodded and closed the door behind him, leaning against it.
"Danny, I'm sorry. I tried to-"
"No, it's not your fault. If anything, I should be thanking you for stopping them from continuing their research and revealing it to the whole world," Danny sighed, burying his head in his hands.
"Well, look on the bright side. You have two less ghost hunters hunting you now," Jazz joked as Danny nodded, giving a half-hearted smile before standing up and opening the door.
"Guess I should tell them now, huh?" he said as his sister nodded. "But first, I wanna check something."
Jazz gave him a confused glance but nodded encouragingly. "Okay, I'll wait for you downstairs. They won't pressure you into telling them now but seem pretty eager."
She gave him one last look before exiting the boy's room, leaving him alone. He rubbed his neck and stared at the floor, hoping to come with any excuse but each one led to a dead end. He didn't want to lie to them, knowing they'll find out anyway and become furious with him. And he couldn't figure out an excuse to prevent them from knowing. That led him to think that he'll just have to tell them the truth.
However, he still had a bit of doubt. What if it was still an act? What if they still didn't trust the halfa? Would they ever forgive him? Would they try to experiment on him? After all, they're ghosthunters and inventors; correction, anti-ghost inventors.
"Danny! Lunch is ready!" his mother yelled from downstairs. "Coming!"
When he received no response, he assumed she had heard him and went to change into something more comfortable. He was still wearing his jacket and felt really warm since his body temperature is cold all the time.
After he was done, he forced himself to leave his room and dragged his legs downstairs, to where his parents were waiting for him. As soon as he entered the kitchen, he was met with a nice smell of meat and- burnt toast? Why did it smell like burnt toast in here?
He peaked in and noticed his mother frantically trying to cool down the now crisp toasts. He entered the kitchen and sat on an empty chair. The first person to notice was his sister, who shot him an encouraging smile. Then, after the toast was taken care of, his mother looked at him and smiled warmly.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention to-"
"Wait! Is that Fenton toast?" his father asked, peering in sadness at the burnt toast. Maddie rolled her eyes but nodded, about to throw it away when Jack suddenly stood up, quickly stopping her from doing so. "No, wait! I'll eat it!"
Maddie gave him a confused look but shrugged, not really caring and took a seat at the table. For the first couple of minutes, the family ate quietly, sometimes exchanging thoughts and joking around though Danny had a hard time eating. Either the cheese sandwich did it's job, or his stomach was in knots.
"Danny? Are you okay?" his mother asked worryingly, noticing not much was eaten from her son's plate. Danny set the utensils on the plate and turned to face his parents.
"Why do you guys want to know Phantom's identity?" he asked in seriousness, avoiding to use the full name of the hero. His parents gave him surprised glances while his sister just stared soberly at her psychological book.
"Well," his mother responded, placing her own fork down slowly. "For starters, we want to ask him questions about how it happened, if his parents are like that too, his powers, etc. All that type of stuff. We also want to get to meet him and be able to apologize for previously hunting him."
"And you guys won't... y'know, take him in for experiments or hurt him or anything, right?" Danny hesitantly asked to which his parents had stopped eating and stared at him with a disappointed and sad look on their faces.
"Danny... Is that what you think of us? Crazy people who would hunt every ghost down for the thrill of it?" Maddie asked, trying to mask the hurt in her voice.
"What? No-"
"Son, we would never hurt a kid, anyone, to begin with. That's not who we are. Sure we're ghosthunters, but we have a reason for what we do-"
"But you had no trouble hurting him before you knew he was half human, right?! Say, where did you get the blood sample anyway? Did you maybe hurt him? Didn't you know-"
"Danny," his mother interrupted, soft yet demanding. Danny stopped but frowned, looking away. Forget ever telling them his secret half. They would reject him for sure! What was Jazz thinking about telling them the truth? They are ghost hunters. Danny was about to get up from the table and call it a night when his father placed a hand on his own.
"Danny, please listen to us for a minute," Jack pleaded as Danny stopped before sighing and sitting back down. "We're extremely sorry for hurting your friend. He must be really hurt right now, and his family must be worried about him too. We don't want to make you feel guilty for being the son of the ghost hunters who hurt the ghost boy. Just, listen to us."
"Your father is right. The reason we ever hunted ghosts was because didn't trust them. Don't forget the time Phantom threatened the mayor and ruined Christmas. We had our doubts even when he started doing good for the city and were suspicious. After all, why would a ghost fight it's entire race just to save some humans he doesn't even know? When the truth was revealed to us, we then understood why Phantom did the things he did and all our suspicious vanished," Maddie explained as Danny's gaze softened but refused to meet their eyes.
"This boy is like any other teenage boy, except he's more unique. We can't imagine the amount of stress he's been put into, both school and fighting ghosts. Although we can't undo the mistakes we have done in the past, we would like to change that. If you don't want to tell us who it is, that's okay. But we can't have you stay mad at us like that," Jack continued on as Danny smiled, feeling a lot better. Somehow, hearing it from both his parents made him feel better. He opened his mouth to say something but couldn't.
"I- Mom. Dad, I need to tell you something," he whispered, words barely coming out of his mouth. Both his parents looked at him with a weird expression while his sister sighed, getting up and walking upstairs to her room. She knew he needed the space and it was going to get really dramatic.
"What is it, sweetie? Are you okay? You don't look good, maybe you should-"
"No. It's fine- I'm fine. It's just that I've been meaning to tell you this from the beginning but I was too scared to," he stuttered out, holding onto the bottom of the chair for comfort. "I'm... Danny Phantom. I'm the ghost boy you were searching for."
His parents looked at him wide-eyed, not knowing how to respond to such an answer. That was not what they were expecting. After all this time, their son was a ghost?
Danny was starting to think he made a mistake when both his parents engulfed him in a warm hug.
"Oh Danny, I'm so sorry! You must have been terrified, especially those past few days. I-I don't know how to react," his mother stuttered as his dad nodded in agreement.
"Son, we hurt you a lot. If I were you, I would've been scared for my life, especially after the last encounter," his dad added as Danny let them hug them, sighing in relief. They pulled back, staring at him with love and guilt.
"And I appreciate that a lot more than you think," Danny said after a while, composing himself. His parents nodded, giving him another hug.
"We're glad. We're sorry if we forced you into this," Maddie said.
"Nah, it's fine. You would've found out sooner or later anyway."
[[[ [[[ [[[
A/N: Okay, okay, this is a week after I started this chapter and I'm finally done! Hooray! I'm very, very sorry for the late update (I'm not dead) and I promise you I'll be updating more frequently. (After I get actual sleep) I had to restart this chapter because I didn't feel satisfied which also took me a long time. I'm still not satisfied though but it's still better than what I had before.
Published: July, 2019