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Chapter 2 is done!

Of All The Stories In The Stars, Ours Has Yet To Be Told (13344 words) by StarsWhisper Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Danny Phantom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dash Baxter/Danny Fenton Characters: Danny Fenton, Dash Baxter, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, Paulina Sanchez, Kwan (Danny Phantom), Valerie Gray, Pookie (Danny Phantom) Additional Tags: Aged-Up Character(s), on the way to college, mentions of child abuse, Mentions of homophobia, Redemption Arcs, Bisexual Danny Fenton, everyone becoming good friends, learning how to live, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Second Chances, lots of classical literature references, Canon-Typical Violence, Angst, Lots of Crying, Some hurt/comfort, almost everyone has shitty parents, More tags to come as I think of them Summary: It's the end of senior year and Dash and Danny are having the worst time of their lives. Dash's father finds out he's queer and tries to kill him. That lands him in prison with divorce papers. Dash goes to therapy to cope and learn how to change his behaviors while taking some time off from school. He now needs to learn how to navigate the world and figure himself out. Danny fears he'll never figure out what he wants for his future beyond being the hero of Amity Park forever and he's running out of time to figure it out as he watches everyone he knows move on without him. Plus there are always the people hunting him down that he has to worry about on top of that.

~

“You’re sure your parents aren’t going to mind us reversing their bio-engineered poison in their own lab?” Sam asked, squeezing a few drops of the Fenton Venom onto a microscope slide.

Danny was swirling a vial of solvent and venom over on the next table. “They won’t even know we’ve been down here. They’re visiting Vlad in Wisconsin.” Danny scrunched his face up, wanting to vomit.

“Your mom is visiting Vlad?” Tucker quirked his eyebrow, setting up the monitor to receive images from the microscope Sam was working on.

“My dad wanted to show him the progress they’ve made with the Fenton Venom. I think she just went to make sure Vlad doesn’t kill him. Or maybe she’s just putting up with it. My parents rarely go anywhere without each other.” The liquid in the vial turned blue. Danny sighed, placing the vial in the holding rack with all the other blue ones. This was getting him nowhere.

“So that’s why you’re so insistent on finding an antidote for the Fenton venom, you’re worried Vlad is going to steal some from your parents and use it against you.” Sam secured the slide in place, motioning to Tucker to begin capturing the photos.

Danny switched his gloves, careful not to touch the outside of them even the slightest bit, and grabbed a new vial. He only had one solvent left before he was out of options on his end. “Of course, he’s going to steal some. But mostly, I just wanted to get it done while I have full unsupervised access to the lab. That shit hurts. I’d rather not deal with it again. If Dash hadn’t been there, I probably would have lost my arm.”

Tucker saved the images in a folder labeled ‘slide one’ and motioned for Sam to switch slides. “Danny, we know all about your big, brave jock saving your life. You can stop bringing it up at any time.”

Sam filled the next slide up with the venom, this time also adding a bit of Danny’s blood. She slid it under the microscope. “Oh, Sam, Tucker,” She wistfully sighed- Danny frowned at her-, “he was my hero. He’s the Perseus to my Andromeda and I-”

“Whoa!” Tucker interrupted her. “Guys come look at this.”

Sam locked the microscope knobs into place and walked over.

“Hang on. I have to finish-” the vial turned blue, -“okay.” He set the vial down, threw his gloves in the trash, and leaned against the back of Tucker’s chair.

“Okay, so these are the photos from the first slide.” Tucker opened the ‘slide one’ folder, slowly clicking through them. “This is what the structure of the Fenton Venom looks like by itself. Nothing out of the ordinary, right?”

“Hang on,” Danny pointed at a dim little rod shape on one of the photos, “what’s that?”

“It’s the mitochondria,” Sam snickered.

“Ha-ha,” Danny tapped the screen again, “very funny. Can you not see it?”

Tucker zoomed in on where Danny was pointing. He squinted at the monitor. “There’s nothing there dude. But, funny that you say that because of what’s on the second slide.” He minimized the folder and clicked on one labeled ‘slide two’.

“Wow, that’s freaky,” Sam whispered.

“Those!” Danny wildly tapped the screen again, pointing at the shapes. They were brighter now and congregating around the drop of blood. “What are those?!”

“You’re saying you saw these,” Tucker drew a red circle around a few of the creatures, “on that last slide?”

“Yeah, there weren’t as many and it wasn’t showing up as well, but they were definitely there.”

“Interesting.” Tucker pulled up the first file again, aligning the two images side by side. “Sam, can you see them in the first photo?”

Sam leaned in. “Point at it, Danny.”

Danny pointed.

“Nope.” She popped the ‘p’.

“Very interesting,” Tucker added to the notes area on the image. “Can you guys check if it’s the same on the actual microscope?”

Sam peered through the microscope at the second slide, making sure to take her time and really look. “Is this the spectral microscope?”

“It should be.”

“Okay, then no. I don’t see them.”

Danny stepped up, looking in. They were there. But, they were flickering; like ghosts. “I see them. They’re phasing in and out of the blood cells.”

“Very interesting,” more notes were taken, “now look at the first slide.”

Sam switched the slides out and took even longer to study this one, making absolutely sure she wasn’t overlooking anything. “No, I don’t see them.”

Danny took her place. “They’re still here, but they look dead. They’re not moving and they’re kind of shriveled up.”

“Extremely interesting.” More typing, “So they come alive when introduced to ghost energy and then they consume and destroy it and so far only ghosts can see them without the help of the spectral camera.” Tucker placed a hand on his chin, studying his notes. He turned to Danny. “You said you couldn’t use your powers at all while the venom was on you, correct?”

“Correct.”

“Would you say it was almost like the time when Vlad used The Plasmius Maximus to lock your powers away? You know, when he basically kidnapped you and your mom?”

Danny thought for a moment, recalling the memory. “Actually, yeah. It was almost exactly like that!”

“Tucker,” Sam intoned, “are you saying Danny’s parents made an ectoenergy-eating bacteria based off one of Vlad’s inventions?”

“It’s a possibility. We don’t know for sure it’s just ectoenergy that it affects though. Did any of it get on Dash and burn him in any way?”

Danny shook his head. “No, he was really careful about it.”

“So, we just gotta test it.” Sam grabbed her syringe full of Fenton Venom and walked over to the sink.

“What are you doing?” Danny screeched.

“I’m testing it.”

“Are you crazy?! It could literally melt your flesh off!”

Sam rolled her eyes at him. “Calm down, drama queen. It’s one drop and I’m right by a sink. The second it stings, I’ll wash it off. Unlike you, I don’t need a Prince Charming to heroically save my entire arm.” She turned on the sink, moving the faucet to the side so it didn’t immediately splash on her arm.

Danny squeezed his eyes shut, turning away from the sink, queasy at the thought.

“What the hell.” Tucker quipped.

Danny peeked one eye open. Sam’s arm was fine, the poison sliding off her arm with no issues. He breathed out, relaxing.

“Where would your parents even get the technology for a poison that only affects ghosts?” Sam washed her arm off, making sure to clean the sink out as well in case Danny accidentally touched anything.

Danny frowned, looking back at the monitor. “I have no idea. But it can’t be good.”

Tucker pushed off from the counter and wheeled his way over to the microscope. “Well, we can’t really make a vaccine for bacteria, so we’ll just have to stick with cleaning and antibiotics.”

“Ugh,” Danny whined, “no! I don’t want to deal with it again.”

“Then don’t get hit.” Sam teased.

“Well, what about the other ghosts.” Danny gestured to the portal.

“What do you mean ‘what about the other ghosts’?” Tucker asked.

“Will antibiotics work for them?”

“Why would we care if they get hit?” Sam crossed her arms and leaned against the counter.

“Because, it’s- they’re not- they don’t deserve that.” Danny dropped his gaze to the floor, frustrated that he couldn’t find the right words to make them understand. “Not all of them mean harm, and even if they did, they don’t deserve to have every inch of their being eaten away. We don’t even know what happens to the ghosts if they disappear.” His heart twisted as he thought about ghosts like Young-blood getting hit.

“You want us to mass produce ghost-antibiotics so you can distribute them to the entire ghost zone?” Tucker questioned in disbelief.

Danny hugged his arms to his chest, hand rubbing the spot on his shoulder where he’d been hit. He spoke in a voice so soft he wasn’t sure Tucker and Sam would hear him. “Could we?”

Sam and Tucker shared a look. It would be hard and they’d have to steal Danny’s parent’s credit card, but it was technically doable. Sam shrugged. Tucker sighed, swinging his chair back to the monitor. “Let’s get started.”

“All right, I’m gonna need more of your blood for testing, ghost savior.” Sam dug under the cupboards for her phlebotomy kit. “And you owe us some Nasty Burger for all the labor.”

Danny smiled, letting the tension drop out of his body. “Thank you.”

“Careful, Danny,” Tucker giggled, “saying that might make her fall in love with you.”

“I am not in love with Dash!” Danny huffed as he plopped down in the chair Sam was by. He lifted his arm so she could tie the medical band around his upper arm.

“Uh-huh,” Sam snickered, “says the guy who was staring at him for all of Financial Lit.”

Danny’s face burned. “I was not!”

“Okay, Danny,” Tucker spun around, arms playfully crossed over his chest, “then tell me how the stock market works.”

Danny flinched at the cold wipe Sam moved over his arm. “I wouldn’t know that even if I wasn’t staring at Dash.”

“Ah-ha!” Tucker cheered, throwing his hands in the air and promptly spinning back to his computer.

“You sure walked right into that one.” Sam laughed, pushing the needle into his skin.

“Ow, warn a guy!” Danny slumped in his seat, admitting defeat. “Okay, fine. I was staring. But not because I like him. He just looked so sad and I was trying to figure out a way to invite him to our graduation party without sounding desperate.”

“You are desperate, Danny. You’re acting just like you did with Valerie.” Sam took the needle out, covering the wound with a cotton ball. She walked the blood vial over to the storage fridge and washed her hands. Danny didn’t need bandages since his smaller wounds healed quickly.

“That was different! I’m not trying to date Dash, he just needs some friends right now-”

“Yeah and what happens when he inevitably falls back into his old habits and tries to string you up from a flag pole again?” Sam scolded.

Danny scowled, throwing the cotton ball in the trash. “What’s going on with you? You’re usually extremely pro-change.”

Sam rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah, but come on, Danny, people like him don’t change.”

“And what people can change, Sam? Or do you really think people are defined by the mistakes they’ve made?” Danny halted his lab activities, crossing his arms.

Tucker glanced between the two of them, trying to decide if he wanted to step in and calm them down, or just let them hash it out. He decided on the latter and got up to grab a drink from upstairs.

“I’m not talking about you, Danny. You don’t need to take this so personally. Your scary eyes are showing.” Sam leaned against the sink, gazing directly into Danny’s glowing green eyes.

“He’s my friend now, Sam.” He ignored her comment, too mad to care. “I am going to take it personally. Look at how hard he’s trying. He checked himself into therapy, you know? That was his idea. He wanted to get better.”

Sam scoffed. “Great! Let’s applaud the bare minimum!” She clapped her hands, hard, the sound echoing around the lab.

“You should when it’s a step up from what they were doing before. People can’t change without encouragement.” Danny closed his eyes, counting to ten. He needed to calm down. Or scream. “What happened to trusting me on this?”

“I do trust you! I always trust you!”

“No, you don’t!” Danny lost it, the anger exploding out of him, fingernails digging into his arms. “Unless it’s something you’ve directly asked me to do, you question every decision I make!”

“Name one time I’ve ever told you not to do something you wanted to do.”

“Danny you can’t like Valerie, she’s literally hunting you for sport!”

“Well that was-”

“Danny, you can’t go to the museum tonight, I need you to sneak me into the administrative office so I can cancel the order of frogs to the biology lab! Don’t you care about the lives of these amphibians?!”

“The protest-”

Danny didn’t care that he was cutting Sam off at this point. He’d been bottling this up and going along with it every time because that’s what friends did, but he’s reached his breaking point. “Danny, you can’t pull pranks on Dash, that’s using your powers for evil! Danny, don’t use your powers to make yourself look cooler in front of the cute waiter! Danny, you’re overthinking that fight, just forget about it! Danny, I wish we’d never met! Danny, calm down, this could be the thing that turns you evil! Danny, don’t-”

“Okay!” Sam stomped her foot and threw her hands in front of her. “I fucking get it! What do you want me to do? I can’t go back and change any of that?”

“Start trusting me!” Danny’s lungs were heaving in air by the gallon, trying to reclaim every ounce he’d just spat into the air. “You’re one of my best friends! Why can’t you trust me and just give Dash a chance!”

“Why do you need him to have a chance!? Why is it so important that he change?!” Sam was raving now, unwilling to back down no matter what point Danny made. She was doing all of this- fighting ghosts, making antibiotics, playing sidekick- for him, wasn’t she?! Why couldn’t he be grateful!?

“Because it proves people can! And if he can, then I know I can too and won’t end up evil!”

“With the way you’re acting maybe you can’t!”

Danny froze like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on him. The anger faded, replaced by a chilling numbness as he stared at Sam, her hair falling out of her buns, cheeks flaming red, and venom on her tongue.

“Jesus Christ,” Tucker uttered, stopping on the last stair.

“Glad to know you believe in me, Sam.” Danny changed into his ghost form. “I’m gonna get some air.” He flew up through the ceiling and out into the sky, speeding away from his house. He didn’t really care where he ended up, as long as it was away from there.

Tucker stared at Sam as she heaved in lungfuls of air and pulled at her hair, screaming under her breath. Yeah, he should have intervened. “That was frigid, Sam.”

“Oh, fuck off, Tucker!” She stormed over to her lab station and started throwing everything back into its spot. She was done. Forget making the stupid fucking antibiotic.

“So, you’re not gonna go after, Danny?” Tucker sat back down at the computer, sipping on his juice.

“Why should I?” She slammed a drawer closed, letting the stuff inside rattle around. “He just thinks I’m some smothering, controlling monster.”

“Would he be wrong if he did?”

Sam whirled on him. “You think so too?!”

“I didn’t say that. I’m just saying you should think about it. Using his ghost powers for personal gain is only okay when the gain is yours. Whenever you have some agenda or some point you want to prove, you expect him to drop everything and be at your beck and call. But if he wants to push something, it’s suddenly wrong and evil because it doesn’t align with what you want.” He leaned back in his chair, not surprised when Sam’s anger turned toward him.

“Like you’re the model version of a perfect friend.” She spat.

“I’m not trying to attack you, Sam.” He circled around to the computer, saving all his files. It didn’t look like they were getting any more work done tonight. “And, no, I’m not. I’ve had my fair share of arguments with Danny, where I’ve snapped at him or asked something unfair of him. Nobody’s perfect.”

Sam didn’t respond. She threw herself down into one of the chairs. She glared at the floor like it existed solely to offend her.

Tucker took a deep breath. “You wanna know a secret?”

Sam shook her head.

Tucker continued anyway. “I’m absolutely terrified of the things I’m capable of. Every single time I have a chance at even a fraction of the power Danny has, I become this power-addicted version of myself that I hate. And it’s not just whatever power the ghosts use, it’s these intrusive thoughts I have all the time, and power just makes me act on them without thinking of the consequences. The part of me that wants to take advantage of Danny and his powers is always gnawing at the back of my mind and that scares the shit out of me.”

He paused, taking a deep breath to steady his voice that was on the verge of shaking. He wiped his palms on his pants. “Apologizing doesn’t make you weak, but doing the same shit over and over again and refusing to look at yourself does.”

Sam let the room fall into silence. She sat deep in thought, going over every incident Danny had mentioned, replaying the look of anguish on Danny’s face. He hadn’t been blaming her; he had been pleading with her.

And she’d been too blind with rage to see it. She dropped her head into her hands. “Oh my god, I suck.”

“No, you don’t. You’re learning.”

“He’s never going to forgive me, Tucker.”

Tucker laughed. “We’re talking about the same Danny, right? You know, the same one who forgave Dash just because he put a band-aid on his boo-boo? The same one who just asked us to make ghost medicine for the same guys who have been beating the shit out of him for the last 5 years? That’s the Danny we’re talking about?”

“Well yeah, but I basically just told him I thought he’d grow up to be evil no matter what. That’s so fucked up of me.”

“Do you believe that?” Tucker sighed, stood, and grabbed a broom to busy his hands with.

Sam took a deep breath, wiping away the tears she knew were forming. “No. At least, I don’t think so.” She took a moment and a few breaths before continuing. “I think I just get jealous of the new people in our group because they change the dynamic. I like it when it’s just the three of us.”

“Is that the truth?” Tucker hummed, looking around for the dustpan. “Or is it just an excuse you’re using?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, even if it is an excuse, I can tell you it’s bullshit. After the last time I got possessed, you know the one with the Nordic amulet junior year, I thought Danny was going to boot me to the curb for sure. I mean, how many times can a friend get power and try to force you to do things for them before you get tired of it? But he didn’t. He asked if I was okay and I broke down crying. I told him he should just toss me into the ghost zone for being such a hypocrite and for every other awful thing I’ve done. You know what he did?”

Sam shook her head.

Tucker dumped the dust in the trash can, putting the broom back where it belonged. “He started crying and hugged me. He couldn’t believe he’d missed how upset his friend had been. He reassured me that he wasn’t going anywhere and that people learn from their mistakes, but that he did appreciate the apology. And that was that. As long as you apologize, you’re not losing Danny anytime soon.”

“You’re right.” Sam stood up and gave Tucker a hug. “Thanks Tuck. Sorry, for being a big idiot.”

“It’s chill. Now go find Danny, he’s the one you need to apologize to. I’m gonna take this opportunity to play some games on the high-processing computer.”

“Classic. I’ll be back.” Sam hurried up the stairs and out of the house.

Danny set his feet on solid ground and slid down the nearest wall, hugging his knees to his chest. He was too tired to keep flying around aimlessly. He just wanted to sit here and cry.

The wall behind him and the sidewalk he was sitting on were cold to the touch; it was comforting, easing some of the ache in his muscles. His shoulders shook as the tears fell silently. Maybe Sam was right? Really, who was he to think he could change anything about Fate? It was only by Clockwork's will that he wasn’t destroying everything he knew and loved.

He was starting to think he should have died in that portal. Maybe everyone would have been safer that way.

Manic barking startled him. He looked up just in time to see a little rat dog charging at him. He had just enough time to throw up a ghost shield before the dog could start chewing on his ankles.

“Hey! Go away!” Danny yelped. The dog’s leash was rattling as it scratched away at the shield. It must have run away from whoever was walking it. Lucky for them. “Down!”

“Pookie! Get back here!”

Danny looked over to the voice to see Dash sprinting in their direction.

“Get down!” Dash picked the dog up, struggling to keep it in his arms. “Quiet, Pookie. Sorry about that, I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”

Danny dropped his shield. He wiped the tears away from his eyes. “Your dog’s name is Pookie?”

“My mom named him,” Dash lied, still breathing hard. He looked Danny up and down. “Was there a ghost attack around here or something?”

Danny frowned, confused. “Uh, no, I don’t think there was.”

“Oh,” Dash shuffled, adjusting his hold on the dog, “it’s just that no one really sees you around unless you’re fighting off an attacking ghost.”

Right, Danny glanced down at his jumpsuit, he was Phantom right now, not Danny. “Uh, yeah. I was just-” he looked around for an excuse, “patrolling?”

“Right,” Dash drawled. “Are you okay?”

Danny pressed back against the wall, dropping eye contact. Dash’s voice was incredibly genuine, but there was no way he could tell him anything. He pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes. “I’m just trying to get some air is all.”

Dash smirked at him. “Not crying?”

“Not anymore.”

Dash’s smirk fell. “I have some cake inside. I mean, I’m not really sure if ghosts can eat or if you even personally like cake, but maybe it could help cheer you up?” Heat flooded his cheeks as he held his breath and Pookie for dear life.

Danny squashed the urge he had to accept immediately. Cake sounded sick right now. And being alone wasn’t doing him any favors. He shook his head. Bad idea, Fenton. “How far is your house?”

Dash pointed to the building Danny was leaning against.

“Oh.” Danny really should have realized where he was sooner.

“It really wouldn’t be any trouble.” Dash rushed. “You could consider it your official thank you.”

Alarm bells blared in Danny’s head. Getting close to Dash as Phantom was a dangerous game. Especially now that Dash was hanging out with Danny Fenton; it would be easy for him to start to notice the similarities. “I shouldn’t, your parents might not appreciate a ghost in the house. Especially this late at night.”

Dash drew in a breath. “Actually, it’s just me and my mom. And she happens to be at work right now. But, if it makes you feel more comfortable, I have a balcony out back.”

Absolutely not, Fenton. You should go home to your probably empty house and deal with your emotions in a more constructive way, like blowing shit up in the ghost zone. He made eye contact; Dash was bouncing on his toes like a toddler who’d just asked for his favorite chocolate bar. Sam would be so mad at him.

He caved. “Okay.”

“Really?” Dash blurted, coughing to cover his eagerness. “Yeah, okay. Uh, I’ll go grab that and meet you out back.” Dash practically sprinted for the door, taking one last glance at Danny like he didn’t believe he was even there before closing the door behind him and Pookie.

Danny took a deep breath. Okay, he could be so chill about this. He flew around to the back, immediately spotting the balcony Dash was talking about. It must be new, he didn’t remember it being here the last time he’d been to a party here. It was a simple sitting balcony with low rails. He dragged one of the chairs over to the edge so his feet could dangle between the bars while he sat.

He sighed, laying his head over his crossed arms on the railing. Dash had a surprisingly good view of the stars from here; very little light pollution reached this far into the rich kids’ neighborhood. Andromeda glittered overhead, mocking him. He stuck his tongue out at her.

The glass door behind him slid open, Dash slowly stepped outside, two plates of cake in hand. He visibly relaxed when he saw that Danny was in fact sitting there. “I was sure you weren’t actually going to be out here.”

Danny smiled up at him, accepting the plate being handed to him. “How could I not be? You bribed me with cake after all.”

Dash dragged a chair over next to him, chuckling. “If I knew that was all it took to get the town hero to hang out with me, I would have done it sooner.”

Danny let out a sad chuckle, taking a bite of cake. It was delicious. “Wow, is this homemade?”

“Yeah, I made it with my mom last night.”

A rueful smile crossed Danny’s face. He used to bake with his mom too. “You talk about your mom a lot. You must really love her.”

Dash shrugged his shoulders, embarrassment creeping up on him. “I mean, yeah. She’s the only good parent I have. She stood up for me against my dad and was my biggest supporter when it came to therapy. She went with me to my first appointment cause I was so nervous. I think I got pretty lucky in the mom department.”

Danny felt a twinge of jealousy creep over him. He squashed it down. “That’s really cool, Dash. I’m happy you have her. And your baking skills cause this is amazing. I might have to get you to make me cake more often.”

Dash’s heart leapt right into his throat. “Thanks,” he wheezed. Real smooth, Baxter.

Phantom took a deep breath, oozing melancholy, and took another bite of cake. His gaze was fixed on the stars, eyes not glowing as much as they usually do. His eyelashes were still wet with the tears he’d been crying before Pookie had found him.

Dash twiddled his thumbs, sweating like crazy. What did one even do in this situation? Should he ask what’s bothering him? Did he not want to talk about it? How long had he been crying there? Dash exhaled, setting his plate on the table behind him. “Can I ask what’s wrong?”

Phantom closed his eyes, letting his shoulders slump forward. His fingers were shaking where they held onto the plate. He didn’t say anything for a long time.

Dash panicked. Had he overstepped? He wasn’t leaving so maybe he was just hoping Dash would get the hint and ask something else.

“I got into a fight with a friend of mine. She said some things and I snapped at her then stormed off.”

“What kind of things?” Dash gripped the edges of his chair, leaning forward to try to catch a glimpse of Phantom’s face.

Phantom was silent again for a moment. He sighed, placing his plate down and dropping his head into his arms again. “She thinks I’m inherently evil and no matter what I do I’m gonna end up destroying everything I love because apparently, people can’t change.”

Okay, so not at all what Dash was expecting. He blinked. “Didn’t you just fly into a burning building to save some kids last week?” Dash asked, stupidly.

Phantom shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe she’s right. I am a ghost after all. It could only be a matter of time before I lose control of myself and make some stupid mistake I can’t fix.”

“I don’t think so,” Dash spoke way too quickly and confidently for someone who by all intents and purposes should not be having this conversation. “I don’t know a whole lot about ghosts and I sure as hell don’t know more about you than your friend does, but I’m pretty sure I’m looking at someone that doesn’t have an evil bone in his body. Seriously, you’ve been protecting this town, mostly on your own, for over five years now. You’ve beaten back ghost kings and ancient plant ghosts bent on devouring the world and you still make time to save people from a literal burning building. And no one had even stopped to thank you! Everyone can make bad decisions, but not everyone can selflessly save the world day after-” Dash yelped as Phantom pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. Holy fuck he was cold!

He hugged the hero back, mourning the loss of his body heat as it was sapped out of him.

Phantom was crying again, this time directly into Dash’s shoulder. “Thanks,” he whimpered.

Dash tightened his hold, determined to not let go until Phantom did; his grip was tight enough that Dash was worried he’d come out of this with bruises and he wondered when the last time Phantom had been comforted was. “No problem,” he whispered.

“Twice actually. I forgot to thank you for patching me up the other day.” Phantom’s voice cracked and shook. He wasn’t even trying to conceal the tears this time.

“It’s no big deal.” Dash’s heart was pounding. He had entirely expected the hero to let go by now. His shoulders were shaking under Dash’s hands and all Dash could focus on was how toned the hero’s back was.

He was the worst.

Danny was honestly scared to let go and see what expression Dash had. Really, what kind of hero just falls apart in front of the first person they see like that? But, Dash was shivering now so Danny pulled back.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to completely break down on you.”

Dash shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Anytime, really.” Dash looked like he wanted to throw himself off the balcony, pink dusting his cheeks as he avoided eye contact.

Danny thought it was a good look for him; it softened the hard edges of worry on his face. Looking closer he discovered that Dash had freckles. It made sense with how much time he spent outside, but it was amazing how he’d never noticed them before.

He let his eyes roam over the guy in front of him. His hair, which Danny had thought was a buzz cut was actually just really short and gelled back. He kind of wanted to mess it up to distract from the fact that he’d been crying. His eyes fell back to Dash’s, who was not looking at his eyes but rather somewhere on his chin.

Oh.

Oh.

Dash had a crush on Phantom. And he certainly was not helping to make that seem like an impossibility.

Danny cleared his throat and backed away entirely, picking up his piece of cake again to keep his hands busy. “Have you ever thought of becoming a baker?”

Dash startled, scooting back in his chair and keeping his gaze firmly fixed anywhere but on Danny. “Uh, no. I’m not nearly good enough for that.”

“I wouldn’t sell yourself short.” Danny shoved the last bit of cake in his mouth and set the plate down on the table. “I should get going. There could be ghosts about. Thanks again.” Danny stood and stretched.

“Yeah, anytime.”

“Careful,” Danny teased, “if you keep saying that, I might take you up on it. Goodnight.” Danny waved and flew off, feeling a lot better and calmer than he had before.

Dash was so screwed. Oh, where was Paulina when he needed her?

Sam was sitting on the stairs in front of his house when he returned. She looked like a mess; her hair was down, makeup smudged, and her shoes were sitting on the stair next to her.

She was crying.

Danny ducked into an alleyway to change back and take a few deep breaths before walking over to her. “Hi.”

“I was looking for you,” she muttered weakly.

“Oh.” There was an awkward pause. Danny opened his mouth, “I’m-”

“Don’t you dare apologize to me, Daniel Fenton.”

Danny snapped his mouth shut. He sat down next to her, pulling one of the hair ties off his wrist and holding it out to her. She took it wordlessly, pulling her hair back into her famous half-up ponytail, exposing the purple half. He could see smudges of purple on her coffin earrings; she must have re-dyed it recently.

Sam took a deep breath, the cold air stinging her lungs. “I’m sorry.” She finally spoke. “You’re right. I’ve been incredibly overbearing, hypocritical, and judgmental. I haven’t been fair to you and I’m sorry for even bringing up the idea of you being evil. I’ve done a lot of thinking while I was out looking for you. I think, deep down, I’ve been trying to live vicariously through you. For so, so long, I have been trying to prove to my parents, to myself, that I am my own, unique individual. I’ve taken control of every little niche thing I can get my hands on just to say ‘look, I can control things too, you’re not special.’ And where has that gotten me?”

She threw her hands in the air, standing up from the stairs and kicking a rock down the road. She took a few deep breaths before continuing.

“When you got your ghost powers, I think some part of me saw it as another way to prove to my parents that I had control over something they didn’t. Well, my fucked up proof has turned me into someone who can’t even give her best friend the most basic respect. I’m sorry.”

If Danny wasn’t dehydrated, he would have started crying again. He tried speaking again.

“I’m not done. As for how I’ve acted with Dash and to an extent Valerie, I think I’ve always just been afraid that you’d stop being my friend if you found someone cooler. People who have it more together than I do. So, I thought, if Dash couldn’t change, you couldn’t leave. And that wasn’t fair of me either. I’m really, really sorry.”

There was a bout of silence.

“I’m done now.”

Danny stood, opening his arms for a hug. Sam didn’t hesitate to fall into it. “I didn’t know all of that stuff with your parents was affecting you that badly. You’ve been carrying that all by yourself?”

Sam cackled into his shoulder. “I didn’t know until today when you called me out on my shit and I had to do some reflecting. I should probably take a page out of Dash’s book and talk to a professional about that huh?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner. You can always talk to me, Sam. I’m not going anywhere and I’m sorry I ever made you feel that way.”

“I said not to apologize to me.” She squeezed him tighter, just because she could.

“I’m so terrified all the time.” He whispered, feeling the tears start to well up in his eyes again despite the lack of water in his system. “Because you were also right. If cheating on a test was all it took in that timeline, what other little mistakes could lead to me destroying everything? Logically, I know I’ll do everything in my power to never, ever end up like that. But, sometimes, I start to think that if it happened once, it can happen twice. I would rather be obliterated than ever end up hurting anyone. That’s why I kind of clung onto the idea of people like Valerie and Dash changing for the better because it proves to me that I don’t always need to be that scared, I just need to trust myself to make the right choices. I’m sorry I blew up at you- and for using the scary eyes on you.”

“God, Danny, I’m so sorry I’ve been contributing to that. I forget just how much you have to carry because you never share it with us.” She pulled away from him, looking him in the eye. “From here on out, I’ll tell you when I’m feeling like shit and you tell me, and we can drag Tucker into it, and that way we don’t all bottle up our emotions and explode on each other. Deal?”

Danny let out a deep, hearty laugh. “Okay, deal.”

“And if you really want to indoctrinate Dash into our group, I’m okay with that. You’re right, he is trying really hard and is almost an entirely different person than he was freshman year. I’ll do my best to stop shoving people into little boxes.”

Danny sighed, relieving tension in his body. “And I’ll do better at talking with you guys before jumping the gun on decisions that affect the group.”

Sam ruffled his hair and bent to pick up her boots. “Alright, nerd. Let’s go kick Tucker’s ass at some games.”

“Tucker’s still here?”

“Yeah, he’s really capitalizing on free high-speed computer time. Race you and loser has to clean up the lab?”

“You’re on.”

Guys, I'm so sorry. This chapter is a beast. I'm only on the first scene on my second draft and it's already over 4,000 words. My bad. Hope long chapters don't bother anyone!

Chapters: 3/? Fandom: Danny Phantom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dash Baxter/Danny Fenton Characters: Danny Fenton, Dash Baxter, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, Paulina Sanchez, Kwan (Danny Phantom), Valerie Gray, Pookie (Danny Phantom) Additional Tags: Aged-Up Character(s), on the way to college, mentions of child abuse, Mentions of homophobia, Redemption Arcs, Bisexual Danny Fenton, everyone becoming good friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Second Chances, lots of classical literature references, Canon-Typical Violence, Angst, Lots of Crying, Some hurt/comfort, almost everyone has shitty parents, More tags to come as I think of them, Suicidal Thoughts, This is heavily inspired by marichat, stealing lots of headcanons from tumblr, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, not entirely canon compliant, I stole the pieces I like and combined them with fanon to get what I wanted, this was supposed to be a slow burn, Dialogue Heavy, some spooky shit will be snuck in here, Mutual Pining Summary:

It's the end of senior year and Dash and Danny are having the worst time of their lives. Dash's father finds out he's queer and tries to kill him. That lands him in prison with divorce papers. Dash goes to therapy to cope and learn how to change his behaviors while taking some time off from school. He now needs to learn how to navigate the world and figure himself out. Danny fears he'll never figure out what he wants for his future beyond being the hero of Amity Park forever and he's running out of time to figure it out as he watches everyone he knows move on without him. Plus there are always the people hunting him down that he has to worry about on top of that.

~

Dash shifted his car into park in front of Fenton Works. He picked up his phone and shot off a quick text.

Dash: I’m here.

Nerd: Thank god! We’ll be right out!

Dash snorted, playfully rolling his eyes and setting his phone down. He never would have thought that if he’d already decided on ditching senior ditch day, a single text from Danny Fenton of all people, requesting an emergency ride, would make him change his mind in under a minute. Of course, he never thought he’d ever have Danny’s phone number in the first place. It used to take bribes to get him to be in the same room as Fenton without wanting to pick on the guy.

Now, he was just glad he actually had friends to hang out with. He hadn’t wanted to go and see Paulina and Kwan having fun without him. It would be like rubbing salt in the wound. But, now that he’d been invited to go with another group, he was more than a little excited.

He glanced at the clock on his dashboard and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. Should he go knock? Should he just keep waiting? Did he mean a different house? God, Dash wished he still had a lot of his confidence from before. It was easy to make decisions when you were an asshole and didn’t care about how the consequences affected other people.

He was just about to send another text when a crash came from inside the house. He startled as the three of them came barreling out the front door looking like they’d just come back from war. Danny shouted something over his shoulder and slammed the front door. He ran up to Dash’s van and clambered into the front seat- which Dash will not admit made him feel just a little special. Sam and Tucker scrambled into the back.

“Thanks for the save!” Danny smiled at him, still breathing hard from his frantic exit. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to tame the mess it was in.

Tucker leaned forward, head between the seats, and spoke right into Dash’s ear. “You’re gonna wanna go straight to the park. If we’re lucky, we’ll get there right as the busses do.”

Dash shoved him, gently, back into his seat. “This car isn’t moving until seat belts are on.” Tucker and Sam rolled their eyes but complied. “No Valerie?” Dash started driving.

Sam shook her head. “She’s gonna be at the library all day applying for scholarships, like some ultra-responsible person or something.”

“We have a plan to make,” Danny interrupted, turning in his seat to face the whole car. “Tucker, what’s the best way to maximize our time at the amusement park?”

“We should figure out everyone’s favorite rides and then find the best connecting path between all of them. Then stick to our planned route so as not to miss anything.” Tucker already had his PDA out and ready. “I’ve already got the bumper cars, the roller coaster that takes off three years of your life, and the space launcher. Dash, what’s your favorite?”

Dash shrugged, clicking on his blinker and slowing down for the turn. “I don’t really have a favorite.”

“What!?” Tucker screeched.

“It’s okay to be like other girls, Dash.” Sam snickered at him. “Everyone has a favorite.”

“I really don’t. They’re all kind of the same.”

“It doesn’t have to be a ride,” Danny offered, “it could be a game or something. Tucker’s is the bumper cars and that’s not technically a ride.”

Dash hummed, thinking back to the last time he’d gone to the amusement park. Kwan had talked them into going on the Zipper and ended up being the only one to throw up. His heart fell as he remembered the photo Paulina had taken as he dropped his ice cream cause of how dizzy he’d still been. It was pinned on his wall by his computer. “I guess The Zipper is pretty cool.”

“That’s hardcore,” Sam nodded approvingly.

“We also have to make sure to hit the games we didn’t get to last time,” Tucker added the zipper to the schedule.

“We should do the rides before lunch and games after if we can help it,” Danny suggested as he rearranged how he was sitting. “We don’t want Tucker to lose his stomach over some poor kid again.”

“That was one time! Why are you making me look uncool in front of Dash?!”

“Why do you care if Dash thinks you’re cool?” Sam teased.

“Look,” Dash interrupted before the three of them could get into it and pointing down the road, “we’re going to beat the buses.”

Danny gave his shoulder a friendly punch. “Awesome! Way to drive, Dash!”

Dash smirked as he pulled into the parking lot. He pushed the button on the ticket machine for all day. Sam tapped him on the shoulder and passed him a crisp twenty. He raised his eyebrow at her.

“What?” She huffed, face mildly red. “We’re not making you pay for parking when we forced you to be here. Just take it.”

“Uh, thanks.”Dash took the bill from her and slid it into the machine. It spat back out a ticket that he passed to Danny to secure to his rear-view mirror. He found a parking spot close by where the buses were and shifted the car to park.

“Step one is to find Mr. Lancer.” Danny chattered, basically flying out of Dash’s car. “Step two, have fun and forget the crushing realities we all have to face next week.”

“Slow down!” Sam called after him.

Dash took the time to put a sun protector up in his windshield so the seats wouldn’t scorch his skin off when they got back. He had to jog to catch up with the others at the buses. Danny was bouncing on his toes while they waited for the bus doors to open.

Mr. Lancer stepped down, clipboard hanging from his neck and box full of day passes on his hip. He rolled his eyes when he saw the group. “There’s our missing students.”

“Sorry, Lancer,” Danny’s tone was just as casual with their teacher as it was with them and it threw Dash off, “I overslept.”

“As usual, Mr. Fenton. Don’t think I’ll play favorites though. You’ll have to wait.” He started handing passes out to the students climbing off the bus.

“No problem!” Danny cheered.

Dash saw the other students climbing off the other two buses and couldn’t stop himself from looking for Kwan and Paulina. He saw them with the group at the last bus; Star wasn’t with them. They looked kind of sad. Dash’s heart tugged and he desperately wanted to go comfort them.

“You okay?” Danny whispered, looking over to where he was staring.

Dash glanced up at him, taking a deep breath. He ripped his eyes away from the reasons he hadn’t wanted to come today. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“We could try talking to them, if you’d like?” Danny placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“No. I tried that already when I gave my hall pass bingo card back. Paulina sent her dad to the door to avoid me. I don’t blame them. I probably would have done the same thing if I hadn’t changed my way of thinking.”

Danny was about to reply but Mr. Lancer turned back to them. “Alright, you three-” He cut himself off when he spotted Dash. He glanced between them and Danny shrugged, a playful grin making its way onto his face. “Interesting. Alright you four, missed the speech on the bus so here’s the short version. Follow the rules, don’t act like idiots because until tomorrow when you actually graduate you still represent the school, and be back at the gates by four.” He handed them their passes, pausing when he got to Danny. “And Daniel, try not to break anything.”

“No promises!” Danny sang back, taking the pass. Mr. Lancer sighed, a small smile on his face, and left to join the other teachers. “Okay, let’s-”

“Dash! Can we talk?”

Dash turned around to see Paulina and Kwan walking up to them. Paulina was chewing her lip and Kwan was slouched over. Dash tried to squash the flutter of hope rising in his stomach. He glanced back at Danny, Sam, and Tucker. Sam rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything. Tucker looked to Danny.

“We can wait,” Danny reassured.

Dash mouthed a ‘thank you’ to him and nodded at Paulina and Kwan. “Yeah, we can talk.”

Kwan released his breath in one big whoosh, already on the verge of tears. “We’re so sorry!”

Dash blinked, completely unprepared for that right out of the gate.

“Super sorry!” Paulina barreled ahead. “Our rules are so stupid! And we miss you! You’re our best friend and we really should have thrown those rules out forever ago.” Tears started pouring down her cheeks.

“We don’t care if it’s seen as uncool or if our parents don’t approve. It’s not the same without you, bro!”

“The club won’t even matter tomorrow! We should have never pushed you away! We’re so so so sorry!”

Dash felt tears pricking at his eyes. A small, tiny part of him wanted to tell them just how bad they had hurt him. How had it been that easy to throw away four years of friendship over some stupid rules their parents had made up when they were in school like twenty years ago?! But the tiny prick of anger was nothing compared to the sadness he felt without them and one thought of how easily Danny had forgiven him had him crumbling into their arms. “I’ve missed you guys too!”

Paulina nearly squeezed his lungs out of him and Kwan wasn’t far behind.

“I’m sorry about missing the movies,” Kwan sobbed. “I should have been braver sooner.”

“That’s okay.” Dash sniffled, pulling away from them. “It took my dad almost killing me for me to get my shit together.”

Paulina dabbed at her eyes, trying not to mess up her make-up. “And we weren’t even there for you. We’re the worst.”

“You’re like, okay, right?” Kwan asked, patting him down for broken bones.

“Kwan, it’s been months.” Dash chuckled. “I’m fine, physically at least. Therapist’s still out on mentally.”

“Oh brother,” Sam mumbled.

Dash stilled, completely forgetting they were back there. “Uh, so…”

Paulina pushed past him, grabbing Sam and Danny’s hands and looking at Tucker. “And I should apologize to you three as well. I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you over the years. And thank you, for being there for Dash when I wasn’t.”

“Me too,” Kwan pushed forward, sweeping Sam into a hug. “I’m sorry for getting you banned from goth poetry.”

“I’m not banned anymore. You can put me down,” Sam grumbled not very angrily. Once her feet were on the ground, she sighed and looked at Danny who was giving her a hopeful look. Dash held his breath as they seemed to have a whole conversation without saying anything. They looked over at Tucker who shrugged, unbothered.

Danny pivoted toward Paulina and Kwan. “You guys want to join us for the day?”

Dash released his breath. Really, he should have known Danny would be chill, but a part of him was still worried Danny was just waiting for the perfect chance to get him back. Of course, looking at Danny now, he wasn’t sure how he ever thought such a thing.

Paulina glanced at Sam. “Are you sure that’s okay? I’d understand if you really wanted nothing to do with us. I was particularly nasty to you. Sorry.” She squeaked.

Sam’s face dropped in surprise. She floundered for a minute, caught off guard by the genuine tone Paulina held. She searched Paulina’s face looking for any lingering trace of malice or deceit. She must not have found any because she dropped her defensive attitude. “Yeah, I’m sure. Thank you, for the apology. Guess you turned out okay.”

Paulina squealed and threw her arms around Sam. “You won’t regret it, I promise!”

“Wow, you guys sure are huggers!” Sam squirmed.

“Group hug!” Kwan cheered, yanking Dash and Tucker over to the girls; Danny getting pushed along into the center.

“I’m gonna vomit,” Sam protested.

Danny was the first one to start laughing uncontrollably but everyone else followed suit right after. Dash felt a huge weight fall from his shoulders despite the awkward and giggly tangle of limbs he found himself willingly trapped in.

“Wait,” Kwan chirped once he was free from laughter, “where’s Val?”

“She was busy today, but don’t worry,” Danny said, wiggling free of the group and effectively breaking everyone apart- Sam breathing a sigh of relief-, “she’ll be around some time and you guys can make up with her too.”

“What’s your guys’ favorite rides?” Tucker asked already tapping the edit button on his mock map/schedule. “I’ve got to add them to the route.”

“I like the swings! They make you feel like you’re flying!” Paulina cheered, looking over Tucker’s shoulder at the map. “Oh! He’s got the zipper on here Kwan!”

“Yes!” Kwan threw a festive fist in the air.

“That was Dash’s pick,” Danny added, also looking over Tucker’s shoulder.

“Bro,” Kwan turned to Dash with watery eyes.

Dash playfully rolled his eyes. “Keep it together buddy.”

Kwan threw his arm around Dash’s shoulder and leaned into him, resting his head on Dash’s shoulder. “How I’ve missed my bro. My light of all lights.”

“Is that a quote from Dracula?” Danny asked, eyes lighting up.

“Bro, you know Dracula?” Kwan left Dash’s side and slung his arm around Danny’s shoulders instead. “We should have been friends sooner.”

“No offense, Kwan,” Danny chuckled, “But, I did not take you for a reader.”

“Well, after Sam took me to that poetry thing freshman year, I started really getting into it. Turns out it’s exactly my jam. I’m gonna be an English major.”

“Really? How do-”

“Hey!” Tucker interrupted, throwing everyone off him. “It’s ditch day. If you get Danny started on literature or space we’ll never be able to ditch schoolwork today. Now let’s get going!”

Danny bowed low with a dramatic flourish. “Of course, my liege. Lead the way.”

Tucker rolled his eyes and took off across the parking lot, leading everyone to the quickly moving lines. They filed into separate ones to get in quicker. Dash caught Danny’s eye from the line over and sent him a grateful look. Danny gave him a thumbs up before handing his pass to the worker so she could stamp it.

“Here’s the plan,” Tucker said once everyone was in the park proper, “we start on the left side of the park where all the rides are. We’ll hit the furthest one first and make our way back here to the center where we’ll get lunch then hit the games on the right before we leave. Any questions?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“Then let’s march, people!” Tucker took the lead, walking faster than everyone and carving a path through the crowd.

“Goth poetry really changed your life, huh?” Sam asked, effectively locking Kwan into a conversation with her.

Danny fell into step beside Dash as they headed down the path. He looked like he wanted to say something but Paulina spoke up first.

“I have some Phantom related news!” She cheered.

Dash glanced at Danny as if to apologize but it seemed Paulina had his attention as well.

“He’s definitely not dating Ember. I saw her and Skulker the other day and it totally seemed like they were a couple. So, we can cross her off the list.”

Danny’s nose crinkled in disgust. “Why the hell would he be dating Ember?”

Dash shrugged his shoulders, slightly embarrassed about Danny finding out about their Phantom talks. “It could have been like an enemies-to-lovers thing, you know?”

“By that logic, next you’ll tell me you suspect him and The Box Ghost.”

Dash averted his eyes.

“No, we crossed him off a long time ago,” Paulina waved Danny off. “Besides, he and Ember could have been like a hallmark movie!” She sighed wistfully.

“Yuck,” Danny looked violently ill as he mimicked throwing up.

“Oh, come on, Danny,” Paulina huffed. “Don’t you have a romantic bone in your body?”

“Yeah, but Hallmark movies are awful. I’ll take Pride and Prejudice any day.”

Dash was about to agree with him when Tucker stopped walking. “Okay, our first stop is the Roller Coaster That Takes Three Years Off Your Life.”

“Yes!” Sam cheered.

Dash did not care for this coaster, but he saw how easily everyone else got in line and he did not want to be the only coward in the group.

A choice he came to regret.

Sam was still laughing at him as they walked to the next ride. “I’m gonna die!” She mocked.

“Laugh it up, Manson.” He scoffed, face burning and heart in his stomach. “I’ll remember this.”

“Oh, so scary~!” She cackled, following Tucker and Kwan down the path.

“I don’t like that ride either.” Danny’s words didn’t feel like much of a comfort at the moment.

“I’ll believe you when I see you scream like a baby.” Dash chided.

Paulina tapped Danny on the shoulder. “So, if you had to pick between The Notebook and The Titanic, what would you pick?”

Danny chuckled. “Do you only watch tragic romance movies?”

“Of course. It’s more worth it that way. It’s an easy decision. Watch. Hey, Kwan!” She called up to the rest of the group. He turned. “The Notebook or The Titanic?”

“The Notebook!” He called back.

Sam wrinkled her nose. “Okay. Now, I’m questioning your taste. It’s The Titanic.”

“You’re both wrong,” Tucker added. “It’s Beauty and the Beast.”

“Oh, look!” Danny motioned to the swings, successfully derailing the argument that was about to break out. “The next ride.”

Paulina was right about the swings making you feel like you’re flying. His stomach sank into his toes the entire time. Ever since Phantom had flown him around the Fenton house as they tried to outrun Skulker, he’d preferred his feet on the ground. At least here he wasn’t being hunted for sport.

“Okay, spill.” Paulina cornered him as they walked to the next ride. “You’ve been wanting to tell me something all week, I can tell.”

“What? You can’t tell.” Dash sputtered.

“I can, you’ve been looking at me like I kicked a puppy. Is it related to Phantom? Oh, it is! Tell me right now.”

“What’s related to Phantom?” Danny dropped back to walk with them after hearing the hero’s name. Dash figured Danny might have a crush on the hero too, with how intently he was listening.

“Uh, well, there’s not really a lot to tell.” Dash was a little hesitant to gush in front of Danny. He wasn’t quite sure why, but he did not want Danny to think anything less of him than he probably did.

“Tell it anyway!” Paulina grabbed his arm and shook him. “Tell me right now, Baxter, or I might just explode!”

“I’ve, uh, talked to him a few times.”

“Ah! Shut up! Explain, right now!”

Danny’s expression was carefully kept neutral as he asked, “You’ve talked with Phantom and haven’t told anyone?”

“I mean, yeah. Not everyone needs to know everything about him.”

“I do! You’re not telling me, Dash!” Paulina was on the verge of hysterical now.

“Okay, Paulie, calm down! I was walking home from therapy a few weeks ago and saw him get hit by the Fentons.” He nervously eyed Danny’s expression.

Danny held up his hands in peaceful surrender. “Don’t worry. I love my parents but I do not support their hunting of the town’s protector. So, what happened? They didn’t kill him did they?”

Dash relaxed. “No, I distracted them while he hid. But whatever they hit him with blocked his powers. I had my first aid kit on me so I was able to help patch him up. And, uh, maybe, I got to hold his hand for a moment.”

Paulina screeched, drawing a lot of attention from the parkgoers. “Shut the fuck up! That is quite literally my dream! When’s the wedding?”

“Shh!” Dash hushed her, playfully slapping her hand off him.

“Who’s wedding?” Sam asked, dropping back to walk with them as well.

“Dash and Phantom apparently.” Danny chuckled.

“It’s not like that!” Dash whined, hands over his face. “Having a crush on someone does not mean you have to get married.”

“Oh, so you do have a crush on Phantom?” Sam teased.

“Who doesn’t?” Paulina asked seriously.

“I don’t.” Kwan and Tucker said at the same time.

Tucker giggled. “Sam, you didn’t-”

“I don’t!” Sam nearly cursed at him. “I didn’t feel like it needed to be said!”

“It’s okay to admit it, Sam.” Paulina giggled. “He’s so dreamy.”

“He’s dead though, right?” Kwan interjected.

“Hence why having a crush won’t go anywhere.” Dash hissed. “Besides, unlike someone, I’m not crazy enough to invite the guy to my birthday party.”

“It was one time and he didn’t even show up!” Paulina defended, crossing her arms. “Wait! Why are we turning this on me? You said you spoke a few times! What were the others?”

“A few times?” Tucker raised his eyebrow at Danny. Danny avoided eye contact.

Dash remembered Phantom bawling his eyes out on Dash’s shoulder and thought he’d probably prefer if Dash kept that one to himself. “Uh, people can have their secrets.”

For reasons unknown to him, Sam and Tucker started laughing like crazy and Danny covered his face.

“No fair!” Paulina whined, going back to tugging on his jacket.

“Yeah, come on, bro!” Kwan added. “I may not have a crush on the guy but I want the gossip.”

“Oh look!” Dash wheezed, stealing Danny’s tactic from earlier. “The bumper cars!”

“You’re not getting out of this!” Paulina jeered. “I’ll get it out of you one way or another.”

She definitely aimed for Dash more than everyone else on the bumper cars. Dash couldn’t help but laugh every time; it really was great to have all his friends together. Especially when Tucker and Kwan teamed up with Paulina and they started an all-out war. Needless to say, they were asked to leave the ride shortly after.

“Kwan, buddy,” Tucker guffawed, swinging an arm around Kwan’s shoulders, “you’re on my team forever now. Where have you been all my life?”

“Right in front of you, Foley.” Kwan chuckled back, jokingly swooning back into his arms.

After a trip to the Space Launcher, the scariest and most awful ride so far- which Dash would never ever say in front of Danny- they were stood in the line for The Zipper. Danny was watching it nervously as it flung its current passengers around.

“Scared Fenton?” Dash couldn’t stop some of his old teasing no matter how much therapy he got it seemed.

Danny laughed nervously in his direction. “What? Me? Scared? Nah, I’m totally normal about this.”

“Dude,” Tucker joked, “you picked the scariest ride here and this is what scares you?”

“I’m not scared! That just looks like a migraine inducer.” Danny was clutching his forearms to his stomach. “Just watching it makes me want to hurl.”

“How about a bet?” Dash challenged.

Danny grinned at him, a spark seemingly lighting his eyes. “I’m listening.”

“Here we go,” Sam breathed.

“First one to scream buys lunch for the other. Double if they also throw up.”

“Says the guy who just screamed the entire time on a roller coaster.”

“Yeah, it’s all out of my system now. Don’t think you can handle it?” Dash held out his hand.

“Oh, you’re on!” Danny, tone very teasing, shook his hand and pulled Dash in closer to whisper, “Better hope your system can handle it.”

Dash’s face grew warm. Danny’s eyes were brilliant up close. He was at a loss for a good comeback but was saved as the ride attendant called them forward.

“Ugh, I’m so dizzy,” Danny whined, collapsing in the shade of a nearby tree since all the tables were taken. The rest of the group sat their bags down near him.

“Shouldn’t have bit off more than you could chew,” Sam gently chided.

“Fuck off. Leave me to my misery.”

“I didn’t know you were such a pushover.” Dash prodded. “What happened to all that confidence you had?”

“It’s in the trash can over there if you want it.” Danny pressed his hands over his eyes, blocking out the sun. This is what he gets for trying to cheat by making his stomach intangible and then forgetting where it’s supposed to go while they were upside down. “My wallet’s in the small pocket of my backpack.”

Dash only felt slightly bad taking Danny’s money. A bet was a bet after all. “You want me to get you something too?”

“That’d be super.” He wheezed.

“Does the guardian of the bags want funnel cake too?” Tucker asked.

“You’d be an angel.” Danny really hoped everything was back where it was supposed to be. It didn’t feel like it, but maybe that’s cause his brain was practically mush at the moment.

“Thank you for your sacrifice, bag guardian.” Kwan patted him on the shoulder before following Sam and Tucker. Danny just gave him a thumbs up.

“What do you want?” Dash asked, leaning over him. Danny relished in the extra shadow blocking the sun from touching his skin.

“Whatever you get. I’m not picky. It was double or nothing so don’t feel bad for whatever you get.”

“Oh, trust me. I plan on capitalizing on this.” Dash hesitated for a moment, then shrugged his jacket off and laid it over Danny. “Don’t die before we get back.”

“No promises.” Danny sighed in relief, clutching the fabric to his face and cursing at the sun. He was definitely fighting a migraine right now and he would be hating himself later when it hit its peak. He wished he could block out the sounds of the park, it was loud as shit here. Honestly, what did Dash and Kwan see in The Zipper? That thing was practically an embodiment of hell itself and Dash hadn’t even uttered a sound. He would rather be stuffed in the Fenton Thermos and shaken around than go on that thing again.

“Taken on more than you could handle, Danny?”

Danny pulled Dash’s jacket down off his eyes and glared at Mr. Lancer as he set up a chair next to him. “Don’t go on The Zipper, Lancer. I promise you, no matter what Dash or Kwan say, it is not worth it.”

Mr. Lancer chuckled, pulling a sandwich out of his tote bag. “It is interesting to see you listening to Dash Baxter of all people in the first place.”

Danny resisted the urge to roll his eyes, knowing it would only bring more pain. “You’re always fishing for gossip, huh? What are you going to do without me or Jazz to provide it?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll find some poor unsuspecting freshmen struggling with their English test and start the process again. Although, I will say Jazz didn’t withhold as much gossip as you do. Tell her I miss her, will you?”

Danny sighed dramatically, pulling himself up from the ground to lean on the tree behind him. He rubbed circles into his temples hoping it would stop the ground from spinning. “He’s actually a pretty decent person now. So are Kwan and Paulina. You say something to them?”

Mr. Lancer shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

“I’m the one that withholds information, huh? There’s something else you came over here to talk about, isn’t there?”

“Unusually perceptive of you.” Mr. Lancer took a bite of his sandwich before continuing. “You left the future career section of your graduation papers empty.”

Danny pulled his legs up to his chest, resting his chin on them. He resisted the urge to hide from the sun under Dash’s jacket again. “Yeah.”

Mr. Lancer hummed at the lack of response. “Do you not want to tell people or do you just not know?”

Danny shrugged, pulling at the blades of grass at his feet. Really, what was he supposed to say? Sorry Lancer, but I’m kind of trapped in town because I died here, and even if I could leave, I would leave everyone practically defenseless against stronger ghosts. And there’s not a whole lot of careers that will accept ‘sorry I’m a part-time superhero so I won’t be coming in today’ as a good enough excuse to constantly be missing work. He’d gotten let go from a few of his part-time jobs because of his attendance. Honestly, it’s a wonder it didn’t make him fail high school. All of his friends had it figured out and he was getting left behind. He didn’t need his favorite teacher pointing that out to him. “I don’t know.”

Lancer let the silence hang between them for a moment, before reaching into his bag and handing Danny a sheet of paper. “Have you considered teaching?”

Danny took the paper, glancing over its contents. It was an ad for Amity Park’s Community College’s teaching program. He chuckled. “With my attendance? I don’t really think I’d be cut out for it.”

“Why not? The only things you really need are patience and compassion. And considering that you’re hanging out with Baxter now, I’d say you have plenty of both. If you really wanted, you could go for being a professor and make your own schedule. Fixes any issues with attendance, don’t you think?”

Danny glanced at the paper again. “What would I even teach? No offense, I like English and all but I don’t think I’d be any good at teaching it.”

“I have it on good authority that starting next year, the Planetarium is going to be building a new hall for the science department. They’ll probably need an astronomy teacher.”

“Astronomy?” Danny perked up, staring at the paper in his hands. Him, a teacher? His parents were inventors and his sister was on track to become a famous Yale psychologist; would they be disappointed that he didn’t choose something as grand? Or would they be more disappointed if he chose nothing at all? “I do like astronomy.”

Mr. Lancer, now done eating his sandwich, smiled and started packing up. “Just something to think about. You might not think so, but you have the potential to be great at anything you choose, Danny. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I’ll see you on stage tomorrow.” Lancer waved as he walked away.

Danny safely tucked the paper away in his bag and slid back down, pulling Dash’s jacket back over his eyes. His muscles ached, his head was swimming, and his stomach was cramping. What he wouldn’t give to exist as Phantom right now to shake this pain away. Being dead had some privileges.

Astronomy teacher, huh? It did sound kind of neat. And it would mean he had a justification to go to college. It wasn’t like he was worried about being left behind physically; Sam and Tucker were both attending colleges in the area. They didn’t want to deal with the problems that came with leaving town.

Amity Park had this weird effect on people ever since it came back from the ghost zone; it didn’t like people leaving. It was possible to leave, but once you crossed the town lines, something under your skin just itched and clawed to go back. Vacations were nice mentally, but it always felt better coming back physically. Immediate relief hit as soon as you were back, days of aching sloughing off like it was never there in the first place. How Jazz had spent two years on the other side of the country was beyond him.

It was worse for him, he could leave but his ghost half squirmed under his skin, repulsed at the air anywhere else. Something about unfinished business or whatever kept him anchored there. It’s why Vlad stayed in Wisconsin. Clockwork had tried to explain it to him once a few years ago, but he hadn’t been paying as much attention as he should have. He could at most, last two weeks outside Amity Park before he drove himself crazy.

He was worried about being left behind emotionally. Once his friends were busy with college, they’d have an experience he couldn’t hope to understand without being there with them. He would be left out of jokes and conversations and study groups and parties and everything. It wouldn’t be on purpose, but it would happen and he dreaded it; he just hadn’t had the willpower to go for a general ed degree that didn’t really mean anything. It felt like a waste of time to him. But, astronomy teacher? That might not be the most horrible idea, he’d ever heard.

“Aw, look, Tucker,” Sam’s voice came from somewhere to his right, “he’s got his boyfriend’s jacket to protect him from the sun.”

“Not my boyfriend,” Danny grumbled, not quite ready to leave the safety of the darkness.

“Dude,” Tucker whispered, ignoring Sam’s jokes for once, “are you freezing the grass on purpose?”

“What?” Danny sat up entirely too fast, clutching at his head. Beneath him, the grass was frozen solid; like a crisp January morning frozen. “Shit.” He swapped places with everyone’s bags, hoping they’d be enough to hide the frost.

“What’s got you in a mood?” Sam sat next to him, passing him a plate of funnel cake.

He draped Dash’s jacket over his head, using it as a makeshift visor. “Just trying to put my insides back where they go. Nothing major.”

“Shouldn’t have tried to cheat, dude.” Tucker shrugged, digging into his sugary treat.

“I thought I had it! Not my fault gravity is stupid.”

“Ever thought of acting like a normal person and leaving your organs alone?” Sam suggested all snark and no help.

“Yeah well, normal people aren’t dead, Sam.” He said it a bit harsher than he’d meant it.

“You’re not dead, Danny.” Sam was pretty firm in her opinion that Danny wasn’t a walking corpse. He wished she’d just accept it. He could feel it in his bones. He knew what he was. He also didn’t blame her for it. But, he knew she blamed herself.

“Not yet he isn’t,” Paulina giggled sitting down next to Sam, a bowl of ramen in her hands, “but if he goes on one more ride like that he might be.”

“I’m over rides,” Danny groaned. “Where’s Dash and Kwan?”

“Kwan went to find Dash,” Tucker said absentmindedly.

“They’re over there.” Paulina pointed to the two struggling to carry food and drinks back over to the group.

“Wow, he really took advantage of winning that bet, didn’t he?” Sam sang.

“I did tell him too.” Danny took advantage of everyone eating their food to send a quick text to their group chat.

Danny: As part of my promise to consult the group on decisions, can I invite Kwan and Paulina to our graduation party?

Tucker giggled from his spot before typing a reply.

Tuck: You sure Sam will survive that?

Sam: Kwan’s actually grown on me a lot. Paulina’s fine I guess. You’re taking responsibility for them though.

“You guys having a secret conversation?” Paulina asked, drinking some of her soup.

“Sorry,” Danny gave her a small smile. “I-”

“Danny, please take this burger from me before I quite literally drop it on you,” Dash interrupted.

Danny took the plate from him and steadied him as he sat down. Kwan handed him a drink before taking his seat. “Thank you.”

“Your dollar man.” Kwan beamed.

“So, Kwan, Paulina,” Danny started, “would the two of you like to come to our graduation party next Saturday?”

“Danny Fenton inviting us to a party?” Paulina gasped. “Toto we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

“It’s not a party like you’re used to. It’ll just be us here and Val. But we’re meeting at Sam’s house to have a movie night. Interested?”

“I’m so down!” Kwan cheered.

“That sounds nice, actually.” Paulina pulled out her phone. “What’s your number so you can send me the details?”

“Paulina Sanchez asking me for my number? We’re nowhere near Kansas!” Danny typed his number into her phone.

“Hand it here,” Sam demanded, also typing her number into Paulina’s phone.

“Don’t leave me out of this.” Tucker joined.

“Wait, I want your numbers too,” Kwan pouted.

Dash leaned over and whispered into his ear as Kwan’s phone got passed around. “You didn’t have to do that. But thank you.”

“What,” Danny whispered back, “think you can hog Kwan and Paulina all to yourself now? Sam’s about ready to steal Kwan for another poetry night. You guys are stuck with us now.”

Dash smiled at him, all tension finally leaving his body. “Not a bad thing to be stuck with I guess. Eat your food before it gets cold.”

Danny felt something squirm in the pit of his stomach as he thought about how nice Dash’s smile was. It was probably just the nausea. Yeah, let’s go with that.

Dash closed his front door behind him. He was completely exhausted and probably sunburnt. They’d forgotten to put sunscreen on after they ate. He regretted that so much.

“Dash, I forgot to get some things for dinner!” His mom called, walking out of the living room. “Is it okay if I steal the van from you?”

“Yeah, sorry I was gone for so long.”

“No worries. If I’d get the truck fixed we wouldn’t have to worry about who has the car. I’ll be right back. Did you need anything special for the chicken or just the same as last time?”

“The same. Thanks, Mom.”

“Be back in a bit.” She gave him a quick hug on her way out the door.

Pookie stumbled out of his mom’s room, blinking his eyes as he rushed over to Dash. He bent down to pet the dog. “Sleepy, Pookie? Do you need to go potty?”

Pookie yipped at him and ran for the back door. Dash trailed behind, dragging his sore muscles as fast as he could. He closed the door behind Pookie and toed his shoes off, having forgotten to at the front door. He walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

There was a knock at the front door. He eyed the clock as he passed it to peer out the peephole. It was probably a door-to-door salesman this late.

It was not. Danny sat there on his porch, rocking on his feet nervously. He opened the door.

“Fenton, didn’t I just drop you off at your house like half an hour ago?”

Danny smiled at him, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah. Sorry, I forgot my bag in your car.” He coughed to clear his throat and pulled his other hand out from behind his back. “And I forgot to give you your jacket back.”

“Oh,” Dash gingerly took the jacket from him. He hadn’t even noticed its absence. “Um, my mom just took the car to the store, but you’re welcome to wait here for her to get back.” He stood to the side, so Danny could come in.

“Oh, okay.” Danny took his shoes off the second he was inside. “Sorry, you’re probably tired of me by now.”

“Not really.” Dash hung his jacket up, trying to ignore how he sounded. “How’d you get over here so fast?”

Danny shrugged. “I walk pretty fast. Sam says it doesn’t match my P.E. performance.”

“Huh,” Dash was too exhausted to try and do that math so he just took him at his word. Pookie scratched at the back door. “Hang on, gotta let Pookie in.”

Danny froze as he made eye contact with Pookie. The dog narrowed his eyes, drawing a growl from deep in his tiny throat.

Danny tensed.

“Pookie, calm down,” Dash commanded a bit too late. Pookie was already charging at Danny, howling and barking faster than should be physically possible for such a small dog. Danny shouted, stepping to the side as Pookie slipped on the tile and slid past him.

“Down, Pookie! Down!” Dash cried chasing after the dog. Danny was desperately trying to keep Pookie from sinking his teeth into his ankles without accidentally stepping on him. Barking and shouting rang off the walls.

Danny yelped as he slipped on the rug and went tumbling to the ground. He threw his hands up to protect his face as Pookie scrambled over him. Pookie sank his teeth into the tender flesh of Danny’s forearm. “Dash, help!” Danny cried, pushing at the dog.

Dash finally grabbed him, prying Pookie’s jaw apart and releasing Danny’s arm. “I’m so sorry,” Dash huffed, wrangling Pookie into what looked like a toddler pen in the living room. Danny cradled his wounded arm to his chest, scooting up to lean against the wall. “I swear he’s never like this! The only other time he’s been like this is with Ph-” Dash coughed, cutting himself off. “With my aunt. I promise he’s a good boy.”

“I don’t believe you,” Danny wheezed, holding his wound as blood started oozing out. He knew some animals were extremely sensitive to the dead, but this was frankly ridiculous.

“Oh god, are you okay? How bad is it?” Dash yanked Danny to his feet, making his dizziness slightly worse. Gosh, Danny was never going to want to come over again. This sucked.

Danny cursed, covering more of the wound so Dash wouldn’t look too closely and see it already healing. “I’m fine. How much damage can little Pookie do anyway?”

Dash didn’t laugh at Danny’s attempt at a joke. Instead, he dragged him over to the stools at the kitchen table and forced him to sit down. “It’s a dog bite. We need to at least disinfect it.”

“Dash, it’s fine re-”

“You’re bleeding, Danny!” Dash snapped, immediately taking a deep breath to calm his panic and grabbing the first aid kit from under the sink. “Sorry. It’s not fine! Now sit there and shut up while I fix this.”

Danny closed his mouth, fighting every urge to tell Dash he’s had worse and this was practically nothing. He glared at Pookie still barking across the hall.

Dash grabbed a cotton ball and drenched it in cleaning alcohol. He motioned for Danny’s arm and Danny reluctantly held it out for him. Dash dabbed over the puncture wounds, relieved they didn’t seem to be as deep as he first thought. “I don’t know why he jumped you like that. He’s usually so well-behaved.” Dash muttered, throwing the cotton balls away and grabbing some antibiotic ointment to dab on his skin.

“You’re really good at this, you know.” Danny switched the topic as Dash placed some gauze over the wound and then wrapped it in bandages to keep it in place.

Dash ducked his head, securing the bandages in place with medical tape. “It’s just basic first aid.”

“Still,” Danny poked at the bandages, “it looks like a professional did it.”

“My mom’s the professional.” Dash took a deep, hesitating breath, “I’ve had a lot of practice.”

“Had to patch Phantom up a lot?”

Dash could tell Danny was joking, but he shrugged it off. He knew he was bringing the mood down, but it was hard to shake off the bad vibes once they tainted his memory.

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. Forget I said anything.” Danny straightened his back, pulling his arm away.

Dash sat- more like collapsed- on the stool next to him. He pushed all the air out of his lungs and stared up at the ceiling for a while. He could tell Danny was tense and he gently bumped his knee to disturb the air. “Are you in a place to hear some potentially triggering shit?”

Dash knew he looked like he was about to cry as he met Danny’s eyes. He must look so pathetic. But the emotions were just welling up and he was having a hard time shoving them back down. Especially with Danny looking at him like that.

Danny nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

“I-” Dash started and stopped. He took a deep breath. He hadn’t told anyone but his therapist what he was about to tell Danny. “I-.. it got bad with my dad way before I told my mom. It was actually why I asked her to teach me first aid. So, I could hide what he was doing. It was part of the reason I started leaving you alone during sophomore year.”

Dash glanced at Danny, gauging his reaction. He couldn’t quite decipher what he found, Danny looked sad and angry at the same time. He placed a comforting hand on Dash’s knee.

Dash trudged on. “He always told me that people who were weaker or appeared weaker deserved it. When he started hitting me, I felt like I had done something to deserve it. And that’s why I hid it from my mom. And it’s why I was so angry. People don’t really look too closely at anger and it kept them from finding out I was weaker than the people I was picking on.”

Danny squeezed his knee, wanting to say something to make him feel better, but also not wanting to interrupt.

Dash looked away. “But it didn’t really do anything, did it? All I did was hurt people; my mom, you, and everyone else at school. All that anger and hiding just turned me into what I hated most.” He was crying now, voice breaking. “And it’s so, so hard to forgive myself for not understanding what I was doing. I should have seen it. How could I have not seen it?”

Danny placed his other hand on Dash’s other knee, squeezing and ducking his head to catch Dash’s eyes again. “Dash,” he spoke slowly, like Dash was something fragile about to break. Dash hated that coming from Danny. He didn’t want Danny to see him as someone who could fall apart so easily. “I’m not a therapist or anyone who has an education on how to talk you through this, but you were a kid. It wasn’t your fault that your parents weren’t the safe place they were supposed to be. Sure, you made some bad choices, but what kid hasn’t? You’ve got to let that go or life is going to be hell. We don’t hate you for it. I like being around you now. And hey, even if it was for shitty reasons, your first-aid skills have come in handy a few times, right?”

Dash sniffled, a little embarrassed at having broken down over something so simple. He rubbed the tears out of his eyes like he could erase that they were even there to begin with. “Sorry.”

Danny chuckled, shaking some of the tension from Dash’s knees. “For what?”

“I didn’t mean to unload on you like that. Ugh, I’m a mess.” Danny’s hands were still on his knees and he didn’t really know how to feel about that. But it was kind of nice, other than the fact that they were chilly as hell.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s what friends are for.”

“Dude, your hands are fucking freezing.” Dash grabbed Danny’s wrists and held his hands up to inspect them. “Are you having an allergic reaction or something?”

Danny yanked his hands away, face burning red, and dodging Dash’s raised brow. “Uh, yeah, sorry. It just kind of happens. We don’t know why.”

Dash was saved from having to respond by the front door opening. His mom walked in and Pookie started barking again. “They didn’t have any cashews! So, I got almonds.” She walked by the living room and into the kitchen, two big paper bags in her hands. “Why’s Pookie in time out?”

Dash stood and took one of the bags from her, going to set it on the counter so he could start putting it away. “It’s the strangest thing, mom. He bit Danny.”

She looked around the room and startled when she finally noticed Danny sitting on the stool. A look of shocked horror twisted across her face as she stared at him. Danny was tall and had broad shoulders that should have made him easily visible in a room, but sometimes it was like your eyes just drifted over him without his presence even registering in your brain. And when you did see him, something was horrifyingly wrong. Like he was human, but the longer you stared the longer he wasn’t. It was hard to tell what was off but it unsettled something in your bones. But it was only for a moment, once you knew it was Danny you were looking at, the feeling almost vanished. Dash could pinpoint the moment the fear left his mother.

“Hi, Mrs. Baxter,” Danny waved almost shyly, like he was apologizing for scaring her.

“Oh, hi!” His mother placed a hand on her chest. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there, dear.” Then she seemed to remember just what it was Dash had said. “Pookie bit you!? Are you okay? What happened?” Her last question was directed at Dash as she dropped her bag on the counter and rushed around to look at the bandage on his arm.

“I don’t know. I just let him in from outside and he went crazy the second he saw Danny. I had to pry him off of him.”

“That’s so strange,” she muttered. She nodded at the bandages approvingly and gently grasped Danny’s hand between her own. “I’m so sorry, I promise he’s usually a very good boy.”

“So, I’ve been told.” Danny smiled at her. “It’s okay, he didn’t get me that bad. And Dash has already taken good care of me.”

She dropped his hand and sat on the stool next to him. “I’m glad. Would you like to stay for dinner so we can make it up to you?”

“Oh, uh,” Danny glanced pitifully in Dash’s direction, completely unprepared.

Dash just shrugged at him. He didn’t mind if he stayed but it was up to Danny, he didn’t want to force him into accepting his mom’s invitation out of politeness.

“That’s okay,” Danny settled, “I wouldn’t want to intrude.” He shrunk in on himself, clearly undecided and uncomfortable.

“You wouldn’t be intruding at all, dear. Dash hasn’t had any friends over in ages. He’s making his famous asparagus stuffed chicken~.” His mom was a master manipulator.

“Mom,” Dash whined, turning to wash his hands in the sink.

Danny was staring at him now, without looking uncomfortable in the slightest. He looked like he was remembering something and making a decision.

“Look at him, he’s all skin and bones!” His mother defended.

“He is not skin and bones, Mom.”

Danny’s face turned red at the comment which made Dash a little flustered. He really needed to think before speaking.

“I didn’t know you could cook,” Danny smoothed.

Dash shrugged, gathering all the ingredients onto the counter. “It’s just something my therapist suggested I pick up last year. It’s not a big deal.”

“Well, for something that’s not a big deal, I already know you’re baking is amazing so your cooking must be on a whole other level.”

Dash looked up at him. “How do you know I bake?”

Danny panicked, grin dropping from his face, and he picked at the hem of his shirt. “Oh, uh, Paulina told me about it earlier at the park.”

“Paulina?” His mother questioned, giving Dash a side-eye.

“Oh, yeah.” Dash threw away the extra plastic around the vegetables, glad for the distraction. “I was going to tell you, she and Kwan apologized and we’re all friends again.” Dash looked at her, pleading with her to understand that they could talk about this later.

She seemed to understand and turned back to Danny. “Well, that settles it. If Paulina was talking up Dash’s skills, then you’ll be able to tell her if she was right or not after tonight. I’ll get started on the rice.”

Danny stood from his seat as well, hands now picking at his fingernails as they hung at his sides. “How can I help?”

His mom waved him off. “You’re a guest, Danny. Don’t worry about helping.”

Danny shuffled his feet, gaze turning to Dash. “I’d feel bad if I didn’t help with something. I mean, if you’re feeding me I shouldn’t just sit here and freeload.”

Dash chuckled at him and gestured to the sink. “You can start by washing your hands and getting a pot to boil water.”

Danny instantly relaxed and moved over to the sink, completely focused on his task.

Dash was surprised by how easy it was to have Danny in his kitchen. Usually, he hated when anyone other than his mom tried to help because they were either overbearing or it was just easier for him to complete the task without trying to explain it. The worst was when they tried to give advice or change his recipes because they did it a different way at their house.

But Danny didn’t do any of that. He was comfortable around kitchen knives so dicing wasn’t a hard task for him and if he had any, he kept his opinions to himself. He was quick to help his mom when she asked for help too. And he waited patiently for another task to be given to him, without trying to jump in where Dash didn’t want him. It was actually very nice to have his help and Dash wouldn’t mind cooking with him again.

“What’s this plate for?” Danny asked, motioning to the plate of unseasoned, fatty chicken on the edge of the counter.

“Oh, that’s for Pookie,” Dash answered, stacking the dirty cooking utensils in the dishwasher.

“Can he have some now?” Danny glanced at the dog in the living room. “Like, can I give him some? Maybe then he’ll understand that I’m not a threat and won’t attack me on sight.”

Dash handed him the plate. “Sure, just don’t lose a finger.”

“No promises.” Danny took the plate and headed into the living room.

“I like him,” his mom whispered, setting a timer on the oven and rinsing a rag to wipe the counter with. “He might be my favorite of your friends. You should bring him over more often.”

“Careful,” Dash chuckled, “he’ll get a big head if he hears you.” He leaned around the wall to check and make sure Pookie wasn’t going on the rampage again.

“Do you like him?” There was a teasing tone to his mom’s voice that he refused to acknowledge.

“Of course, he’s my friend now after all.” Dash grabbed the plates out of the cupboard and began to set the table.

“Okay, I’ll let you get away with that,” she raised her hands in defeat. “So, you and Paulina and Kwan are okay?”

“Yeah.”

“They actually apologized? You’re not just letting them back in because you miss them, right?”

Dash sighed. “Yes, mom. They felt really bad. There were tears involved.”

Dash’s mom gave him a look, like she was about to press the issue further but Danny came back into the kitchen.

“Look who’s changed his mind,” Danny chuckled, holding a very calm Pookie in one hand and a clean plate in the other.

“Glad to know Pookie can be bribed.” Dash laughed.

“We should watch an episode of The Bachelorette while the chicken’s in the oven.” His mom clapped her hands cheerily.

Danny raised an eyebrow at him.

Dash covered his face with his hands. “Mom, please. You’re ruining my street cred here.”

“What?” She looked between the two of them and then blinked like maybe she understood something. “Oh, we can watch The Bachelor while Danny’s here.”

Danny laughed, setting Pookie on the ground. “Either one is fine, Mrs. Baxter. I swing both ways.”

“Oh.” Realization dawned on her face. “Oh! Perfect!” She ushered them back into the living room. “Then you can help me convince Dash that he’s wrong about Adam.”

Dash wanted to die. He wanted to curl into a ball and combust and have his ashes swept away into the garbage disposal and buried in the Arctic where no one would even know he existed. Danny was never going to let him live this down.

Danny watched Dash say something to his mother from the side of the van. Dash had insisted on driving him home because it was so late and what if there were ghosts out?”

Dash unlocked the car and Danny slid in, immediately seeing the bag he had left in there. He clicked his seat belt into place, waving goodbye to Dash’s mom.

“Your mom is super cool.” He muttered as Dash backed out of the driveway.

“You’re not allowed to tell anyone about The Bachelorette.” Dash hissed back, no real fight in his words.

“Don’t worry, my lips are sealed.” Danny picked at his nails, looking out the window. “And again, thank you for dinner. You’re seriously a really good cook. You should bribe people with food more often.”

Dash had his gaze fixed firmly ahead, red still dusting his cheeks. “I didn’t really bribe you. My mother kidnapped you.”

“And I’m glad she did. I wish I had half the cooking skills you do. I was getting kind of tired of french toast.” Danny had meant it as a joke, but he watched as Dash’s eyebrows furrowed. He was apparently really bad at jokes today.

“Your parents only make french toast?”

“Uh, no. I only make french toast. It’s easy and fast.” He hoped Dash would just drop it. It wasn’t a huge deal and he shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.

“They don’t cook for you? Is that some, you’re nineteen you’d better learn how to do this on your own thing?”

Danny shifted, dropping his gaze to the stereo clock. “Uh, they used to cook when I was little. But, mostly Jazz and I had to learn how to make dinner 'cause they would be down in the lab so late they’d forget what time it was.” Danny barreled ahead. “But you know, sometimes that was better than having them cook. They’re kind of bad at it. Once when I was four, they accidentally animated the Christmas turkey and it tried to kill us.”

“That-” Dash glanced at him, quickly returning his eyes to the road, “That’s really fucked up, dude.”

Danny shrugged. “Eh, it could be worse. It’s not really a big deal.” The air in the car turned heavy. Danny wanted to disappear. Even if Dash wasn’t looking at him, he could feel his attention sinking into him, and not in a way he wanted. He didn’t like when people started looking too closely at his parents. A neighbor had called CPS once and that had not gone well. Danny loved his parents despite their quirkiness and he really didn’t like when people insinuated they weren’t the best. He already knew that, but they still loved him. That was enough. It had to be.

They pulled up outside of his house. Danny felt himself hesitating to get out. He didn’t want to leave Dash on such a sour note. But, he wasn’t sure how to fix it now that he’d effectively iced him out. “See you at graduation tomorrow?”

Dash sighed, his shoulders drooping. “Yeah, though honestly I feel like I’ll wake up tomorrow and me actually making graduation will all have been some cruel joke.”

Danny released his hold on the door handle and turned sideways in his seat, facing Dash. “Me too. I thought for sure I wouldn’t graduate with my grades.” He sighed, trying to ignore the way Dash’s eyes were picking him apart.

“You, the kid who comes from a family of geniuses, were worried about not graduating?”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know. But somehow I think the genius gene ended with Jazz. I’m a C-average student at best. If it wasn’t for our study group, I might not even be that.”

“C’s are still passing and good enough for graduation though.” Dash was trying his best to be comforting. He really was.

“Fentons are supposed to get A’s. I tried, I really did. And I could do it if I just had the extra time to study. But, with all the extra help I need…” He trailed off, a familiar ache gripping his heart. “Maybe that’s why they like Jazz better. She doesn’t have to try to be a genius. She’s just cool that way.”

Dash shifted the car into park, turning to face Danny. “I’m sure that’s not-”

“It’s true. They’ve said it a few times. Sometimes I think I like Jazz better than myself so I can’t really blame them.” He met Dash’s eyes. He was fighting some internal battle over what to say. Danny went to apologize but Dash spoke before he could.

“So, would you like my therapist’s number? You might need it more than I do.”

Danny stared, mouth wide open in shock for a moment. Dash squirmed.

Danny broke down laughing, grabbing at his sides to ease the ache it brought to his muscles. He was gasping for breath between his laughs with how hard his shoulders were shaking.

Dash was staring, enraptured. He’d never seen Danny laugh so hard in his life and he thought if he blinked he’d find that he’d imagined it.

“I’m sorry,” Danny heaved, trying to regain control of himself. “I didn’t mean to just trauma dump like that.”

“It’s fine.” Dash smiled shyly. “It’s what friends are for, right?”

Danny felt really lightheaded and warm in that moment. “Right.”

Dash cleared his throat. It was getting pretty late. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Danny snapped out of whatever trance he’d worked himself into. “And at the party, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there.”

“Okay,” Danny nodded, shifting back to the door. “Awesome. Thanks for the ride.” He closed the car door and waved.

Dash waved before pulling back out into the road. Danny watched him as he realized he’d forgotten to grab his bag again.

Danny chased the eel ghost through the trees. Cursing as it bobbed and weaved trying to throw him off. He almost lost it a few times.

It was fast.

It curved toward the lake suddenly, causing Danny to shoot past it. He kicked off a nearby tree so as not to lose too much momentum catching back up to it. He flew parallel to it, regaining his speed and not letting it out of his sight. God he wished Sam or Tucker were awake to help him.

They broke free of the trees just as Danny caught up. He grabbed the eel’s tail and dug his feet into the air, putting on his ghost brakes to halt its speed. It screamed at him, twisting its spine around and headbutting him away.

He crashed into the icy water of the lake, pulling at the plants in a desperate attempt to slow his descent. His lungs heaved for air he didn’t need at the moment. The cold water did feel nice against the inside of his lungs though. He flew forward, breaking out of the water and looking around for the eel.

It flicked a wall of water at him, sending him back down into the lake. Danny swam back up, wiping the water from his eyes.

“Hey, ugly! Over here!”

Danny whipped around to see Dash, of all people, running down the beach and trying to get the eel’s attention. It screeched and adjusted its trajectory straight for him.

Shit!

Danny flew as fast as he could toward the beach, heart pounding. He needed to get to Dash before the eel did. His wet hair whipped into his face, stinging. He strained his muscles to go faster.

The eel opened its gaping maw as it got close to Dash- who for some reason was now frozen and staring right at the thing he’d baited-, prepared to snap him in half the second they made contact.

Danny crashed into him, turning both of them intangible as he fell on top of Dash. The eel plowed into the sand, an enraged howl ripping from its throat. Danny scrambled to sit up, effectively pinning Dash under him, and unhooked the Fenton Thermos from the belt Sam had made him.

The eel pivoted back toward them, ready for another pass just as Danny slammed on the button and sucked it into the Thermos. He secured the cap and hooked it back into his belt before whirling on Dash. He grabbed the collar of his jacket hard in each fist.

“What in the hell were you thinking!? Do you have some sort of death wish?! What is wrong with you, putting yourself in danger like that?! What are you even doing out here this late?”

Dash blinked up at him, face completely red and eyes wide as he stammered. “Sorry, I, you, the fish, thanks!”

Danny huffed, releasing Dash’s jacket and sliding off him to collapse on the sand next to him. He glared at the sky like it was to blame for all this. “Sorry,” he muttered, “are you okay?”

Dash took a few deep breaths, trying to calm both his racing heart and the heat in his face. “Uh, yeah. Thanks for the save.”

Danny waved him off, fighting the exhaustion creeping into his bones. The last thing he needed was to transform back in front of Dash and have him find out that the hero he had a crush on and his new friend were one and the same. He’d probably freak out and never speak to him again and Danny really didn’t want that.

“Sorry, again.” Dash still hadn’t moved. “I was just trying to help.”

“I know. Sorry, for getting mad.” Danny sighed, resting his hands on his stomach. “I’d just prefer you alive over your help.”

Dash didn’t say anything. The two of them just lay there, letting themselves cool off from the attack. The sound of the water against the sand and the birds in the trees was almost enough to put Danny to sleep. If Dash wasn’t radiating an insanely anxious energy, he probably would have.

“You didn’t die, uh, again, did you?” Dash whispered, finally breaking the silence.

Danny shook his head. “No. Just tired. I think I’ve been chasing that thing for the better part of an hour.”

“No offense,” Dash heaved a huge sigh of relief, “but you sleep like the dead. I guess, you are dead so it makes sense, but I thought you were a goner.”

Danny chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t need to breathe like this. So, there’s no movement in my body for you to really see as ‘living’.”

“Right, well, it’s terrifying. You looked like a corpse that’s been frozen in the woods for a few days.”

Danny laughed. “Not going to lie, that sounds like the dream right now. Nothing like good old rigor mortis to reset your sore muscles.” He could practically hear Dash shudder. He grinned wildly at that.

“How does that even work? You’re dead but you still experience exhaustion? The other ghosts don’t seem to have that issue.”

“Tragic isn’t it? I’m not like other ghosts.” Danny giggled at his own joke. Sam would have loved that one.

“Is that why you don’t feel as scary as the other ghosts?”

Danny stretched, feeling every bone in his body crack. “What do you mean? You just said I was terrifying.”

Dash turned on his side, facing him and busying himself with drawing little shapes in the sand. “Well, yeah, you look terrifying, but you don’t feel that way. The other ghosts have this our- ou- oura-”

“Aura?”

“Yeah that, about them that just screams danger and sends your whole body into a panic and nowhere feels safe until they’re gone because you can feel their energy in the air. With some of them, it’s bigger and scary than others but it’s the same bone-chilling fear.”

Danny shifted onto his side as well, watching Dash’s face as he grimaced at the memory of the feeling he was describing. He had no idea the ghosts had that huge of an impact on people. “And you’re saying I don’t make people scared?”

“Not really. Sometimes looking at you feels wrong or off or you look scary, but you don’t have that same aura. Instead, you kind of give off this protective vibe. Once you show up, it kind of pushes the scary feeling away. It’s still there but it’s not as strong because whatever you’ve got going on is stronger.”

“Huh, I had no idea.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, usually people find me off-putting like you said. I am dead and that makes people uncomfortable, whether I just saved their lives or not.”

“Is that why the Fentons don’t like you? Because you make them uncomfortable?”

Danny drew in a deep breath, flopping back over onto his back. “They’re a bit more complicated.”

He could tell Dash was brimming with more questions. He was practically begging him for an explanation with the way he looked at him. But he stayed quiet. Maybe that’s why Danny kept going. For once, answers weren’t being demanded out of him, so he was more willing to give them.

“I think they mean well. I am a ghost and to them, all ghosts are inherently evil, so why should I be different? And their inventions are actually pretty helpful sometimes.” He pointed to the thermos still attached to his belt. “Wouldn’t be able to do my job without this, so that’s a point in their favor. But, I admit, it would be a lot easier to do my job if they worked with me instead of trying to catch me so they could rip me apart molecule by molecule.”

He sighed, sitting up and shaking the sand out of his hair. Dash followed suit.

“That’s also a part of the reason I don’t leave the ghost hunting to them and the Guys in White. To protect the ghosts from them.”

Dash’s voice was incredibly soft as he spoke. “Why do you want to protect the ghosts?”

“They’re just people who’ve died. Yeah some of them cause chaos over here, but it’s usually the ones who have unfinished business or died violently. Ember, for example, died in a house fire before she even graduated high school. Why should she deserve to be strapped to a lab table and experimented on just because she wanted people to love her?

“Death isn’t pretty or peaceful a lot of the time. It can be ugly and violent and lonely and it leaves a scar on people’s souls. It’s hard to find peace or let go of life after something like that happens. They’re not all evil, they’re just sad, angry people. We don’t even know what happens to ghosts if they disappear. No, they don’t deserve that.”

Dash sighed heavily, slumping his shoulders. “Wow, your job sucks ass.”

Danny chuckled. “Only a little. It’s not all bad. Sometimes it can be fun. And really, I’ve been able to learn so many things about how the ghostzone and ghosts work and how that affects this side of things. Pros and cons.”

They sat in silence a moment more; Dash not sure how to respond and Danny having said all he needed to. Dash stood, brushing the sand from his clothes and offering a hand. “You wanna see something cool?”

Danny, finding zero hesitation in his body, took his hand. Dash pulled him to his feet. “This way. It’s in the tide pools over there.”

Dash picked their way across the sand and over the craggy rocks at the edge of the beach with practiced ease. Danny slipped a few times and eventually just decided on flying next to Dash.

“Show-off,” Dash teased.

“Why struggle when I don’t have to? You seem like you know your way around here though.”

Dash nodded. “Yeah, I come out here when I need to think.” He slid down the small hill in front of them, catching himself at the bottom and waving Danny down.

The tide was high; the pools brimming with water and life. Dash sat down on one of the smoother rocks closer to where the lake and tide pools met. He patted the spot next to him.

Danny raised a teasing eyebrow at him. “You’re not gonna push me in are you?”

Dash jokingly rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’m gonna push the guy who just saved my ass for like the twentieth time in my life into the super cold lake.”

Danny chuckled, sitting down and wishing the water was just a bit higher so he could dip his feet in. “Is this the super cool thing you wanted to show me? Tide pools?”

“It’s what’s in the tide pools. Just wait, they’ll show up in a second.”

“They?”

Dash pointed to the opening of the tide pool. Danny squinted into the darkness convinced Dash must be seeing something he wasn’t until a subtle, green glow started to creep out of the deep waters.

He watched as several glowing ghost fish made their way into the tide pools, swimming in happy little circles and occasionally jumping out of the water. Following them were lots of starfish and urchins; they crawled over the rocks and settled into the sand.

“Are those… ghosts?” Danny breathed, leaning over the edge of the rocks to see better. If they didn’t live in Amity Park, Danny would have just assumed they’d found a species of bio-luminescent fish. The living fish didn’t seem to be bothered by their presence.

“I think so,” Dash whispered. “They show up every night, swim around for a few hours, and then disappear before the sun comes up.

“Wow,” Danny leaned back, looking over at Dash. “How long have they been out here?”

Dash shrugged. “Who knows? My best friend Paulina and I found them here about a year and a half ago. But who knows how long they were showing up before that.”

“You’re not here with your friend?” Danny looked around, half expecting to see Paulina launching herself at him.

Dash shook his head. “Paulina doesn’t come out here much anymore. It’s still our spot, but she’s been busy lately.”

Danny bumped their shoulders together and very teasingly said, “You guys come here to make out?”

Dash snorted. “Oh yeah, you know how best friends are. We just make out all the time for fun.”

Danny rolled his shoulders. “It happens sometimes. I’ve kissed my best friends a few times.”

“Are you serious?”

“Hey, don’t question the validity of a fake-out make-out.”

Dash cackled. “A fake-out make-out? Really? That’s what you call it?”

“Yes, really! It’s a real thing!” Danny protested, pushing Dash’s shoulder as the other kept laughing at him.

“Okay, sure. Whatever you say, Phantom.”

They were close enough now that Danny could feel Dash’s warmth radiating into the air. He pressed closer. The cold might not affect him, but being warm was still nice sometimes. And Dash’s warmth was somehow extremely comforting. “Okay, so if you weren’t making out, what were you doing all the way out here?”

Dash cleared his throat, watching a starfish phase through a rock. “It was mostly a quiet place to complain about life and scream where no one could hear us. Or just to sit and think. Once we discovered the fish though, Paulina wanted to see if there were more like them. So, we took to adventuring in the woods.

“There’s some ghost deer up near the base of the mountain. They’re scary as fuck though, would not recommend checking them out. We also found some rabbits and a badger near the old Marlowe place. Eventually, school just got too busy and Paulina stopped coming. So, I just come here when I want some space to think.”

Danny subconsciously leaned in closer, making Dash’s heart rate spike. “I can’t believe I’ve never seen them. You’d think I’d spot a few on my patrols every once in a while. Guess, I need to start paying more attention.” He lifted his head to laugh in Dash’s direction.

“Well, you are kind of busy…” Dash trailed off as he turned to look at him too.

Danny sucked in a breath as their noses bumped together. He hadn’t realized just how close he’d gotten. Dash’s eyes reflected the water and the glowing fish, making it hard for Danny to look away from them.

Dash was pretty. How hadn’t he noticed that before? Despite his better judgment, he let his eyes wander down to Dash’s lips.

A mistake. He bit his lip, willing himself to back away and failing miserably. He was thoroughly entranced by the person in front of him and he wasn’t really upset about it. At least he wasn’t right now. Right now, he kind of wanted to be impulsive.

Dash was frozen still, red painting his face. He curled his fingers closed, nails biting into his palms. Phantom was so close and was getting closer. (He had freckles, Dash noticed. And they were glowing like tiny stars scattered on his skin.)

He desperately wanted to lean forward, but he was a coward. Something about the way Phantom was looking at him had him rooted to the spot. It was like he was really looking at him for the first time. He let out a shaky breath.

Dash’s breath ghosting across his face should have been enough to snap him out of his trance, but it wasn’t until one of the ghost fish splashed in the water did he slam back into reality. He jolted backward, scrambling over the rock. “Sorry, I wasn’t think-” He slipped on the edge of the rock and tumbled backward into the lake.

As embarrassing as it was, Danny was thankful for the cold rush of water. His mind, now clear, was racing a mile a minute and sounding every alarm bell he’d muted before. He was about to kiss Dash! As Phantom! What was wrong with him? God, he was such an idiot. What kind of consequences was he going to have to face from this? There was no way he’d be able to face Dash as Phantom again.

Maybe, he’d just stay down here til Dash went home and forgot he even existed. Then he wouldn’t have to face the consequences of his actions and they could go about their separate ways.

In fact, he’d take it a step further; he was perfectly content to spend the rest of eternity at the bottom of this lake.

A splash above him startled him. Dash was swimming down toward him. Or at least he was trying, it looked like the cold took an immediate toll on him. Danny panicked, shooting up toward him and grabbing him by the shoulders. “Are you crazy?” He warbled.

Dash’s eyes went wide and he looked like a chipmunk with the way he was holding his breath. Danny dragged him up to the surface, Dash coughing and spluttering to get air into his lungs the second he was able to; the chill of the lake making it hard as every blood vessel in his body shrunk.

“You can talk underwater?” Dash clung onto him as they treaded the water- well, Dash treaded and Danny floated, unaffected by gravity.

“I don’t need to breathe, Dash! We established this!” Danny resisted the urge to shake him. “What were you thinking jumping into a freezing cold lake?!”

“I panicked! You were under for a while and I forgot you didn’t need to breathe! I just...” Dash was shivering violently, his eyes roaming Danny’s face.

Danny sighed and scooped him up, one hand on his back and the other under his knees. “Thanks for the concern, but let’s get you out of here before you freeze to death.”

“My car’s in the parking lot. Only one there.” Dash stammered clinging on for dear life as Danny flew them up and out of the lake.

“Yeah, because everyone else is smart enough not to go swimming when the lake is under twenty degrees.”

“Har-har,” Dash muttered. He hissed as the wind blistered across his wet skin and clothes. He wanted to peel his skin off from the sensation.

Danny set Dash on the ground and overshadowed his van. He unlocked the doors and started the heater on full blast. Dash was cradling his arms to his chest when he exited the vehicle.

“I didn’t know you could overshadow cars.”

Danny shrugged, opening the car door for him. “I guess there’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

Dash climbed into his car, flinching away from the air. He turned the vent streams slightly to the side. Danny leaned into the space between the door and the car.

“Are you going to make it home okay?”

Dash nodded, shaking like a leaf. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m not far from here.”

“Okay,” Danny sighed. “Um, sorry, again. I’ll, uh, see you around.” He didn’t wait for Dash to respond before he turned invisible. He waited, watching to make sure Dash was actually okay and not passing out at the wheel. Once he pulled his car out of the parking lot, Danny flew off toward his house.

Oh, he had made bad choices. How was he even going to face Dash as just Danny after this? He was a mess at talking with people once he found them pretty. Valerie said he had a staring problem.

He needed to get this ghost back to the ghost zone and wallow in his room for the next few hours. Then he could decide how much of this he was going to tell Sam and Tucker. And just how he was going to handle this.

I have completed the first draft of chapter 4 after a long moment.

But can someone tell me what the point of having an outline is for if the characters refuse to listen to it? This was supposed to be like super slow burn and these two idiots won't stop flirting.

Like control yourselves. You haven't even admitted to yourself that you like this guy and you already want to kiss him. Slow down, it's only chapter 4.

I worked very hard on my outline Daniel Fenton and I will not have meddling ghosts ruin it.

Chapter 4 is Finally done!

Of All The Stories In The Stars, Ours Has Yet To Be Told (41076 words) by StarsWhisper Chapters: 4/? Fandom: Danny Phantom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Dash Baxter/Danny Fenton Characters: Danny Fenton, Dash Baxter, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, Paulina Sanchez, Kwan (Danny Phantom), Valerie Gray, Pookie (Danny Phantom) Additional Tags: Aged-Up Character(s), on the way to college, mentions of child abuse, Mentions of homophobia, Redemption Arcs, Bisexual Danny Fenton, everyone becoming good friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Second Chances, lots of classical literature references, Canon-Typical Violence, Angst, Lots of Crying, Some hurt/comfort, almost everyone has shitty parents, More tags to come as I think of them, Suicidal Thoughts, This is heavily inspired by marichat, stealing lots of headcanons from tumblr, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, not entirely canon compliant, I stole the pieces I like and combined them with fanon to get what I wanted, this was supposed to be a slow burn, Dialogue Heavy, some spooky shit will be snuck in here, Mutual Pining, Dissection, Bad Parents Jack and Maddie Fenton, lots of astrology references, Inspired by Orpheus and Eurydice (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), horror aspects will be in here, but also cute fluff, Asexual Character Summary: It's the end of senior year and Dash and Danny are having the worst time of their lives. Dash's father finds out he's queer and tries to kill him. That lands him in prison with divorce papers. Dash goes to therapy to cope and learn how to change his behaviors while taking some time off from school. He now needs to learn how to navigate the world and figure himself out. Danny fears he'll never figure out what he wants for his future beyond being the hero of Amity Park forever and he's running out of time to figure it out as he watches everyone he knows move on without him. Plus there are always the people hunting him down that he has to worry about on top of that.

~

Sam slammed her piercing kit down on the counter, her jaw going slack. She stared at Danny with bug eyes. “You kissed Dash!?”

“Almost! I almost kissed Dash.” Danny protested, squirming in his chair. The weight of everyone’s eyes made him want to curl up under a rock and never leave again.

“As Phantom?” Valerie exclaimed. “Are you crazy?!”

“I just got a little distracted!” He denied.

“I told you guys,” Tucker sighed teasingly, “Danny just can’t resist a pretty jock. I mean, remember how hard he crushed on Valerie?”

“Playing tennis does not make me a jock.” Valerie scoffed, scrunching up her nose in disgust.

“No, but tennis and ghost hunting, does.”

Valerie grinned, “So, what you’re saying is, Danny just likes it when mean people are nice to him.”

“Hey!” Danny squeaked.

Sam sighed as she rifled through her kit for the right needles. “Seriously though, Danny, are you trying to get caught?”

“No.” All this questioning was starting to make Danny feel small. He really didn’t like feeling like he’d done something wrong; it made his skin itch. “I just… I don’t know. He’s really…”

“Pretty?” Valerie snickered.

“Yeah, I mean, no! That’s not-”

“Why not just kiss him as Danny Fenton?” Sam huffed.

Danny slumped in the chair, glaring at the floor. “I, I don’t think I like him in a romantic sense.”

“That’s not very convincing coming from the guy who was two seconds away from kissing him.” Tucker chuckled, getting up from his seat to go through Sam’s DVD collection.

“That doesn’t really mean anything, Tucker you and I have kissed!” Danny hissed.

“We all know you’re not above kissing the homies.” Valerie giggled as she started the popcorn machine. “But I don’t think you count Phantom and Dash as homies.”

Danny groaned, running his hands down his face. Sam slapped his hands away.

“Stop touching.” She chided. “You might have crazy healing powers but you still don’t want to deal with an infected piercing.”

“Fine.” Danny busied his hands by picking at the loose threads in his jeans. “Okay, maybe, I am willing to admit that, possibly, I find him, somewhat, physically attractive.”

Valerie snorted, accidentally missing the bucket and spilling popcorn kernels all over the kart. “You think? Nice detective work, Sherlock.”

“But!” Danny continued. “But, I only like him platonically.”

Tucker sighed, setting some DVD cases on the table. “Danny, have you heard of this river in Egypt?”

“I’m not in denial, Tucker.” Danny huffed.

Sam cleaned the skin around his eyebrow. She rolled her eyes. “Sure, you’re not, big guy. Silver or gold?”

“Silver.” Danny pouted.

“You know it’s okay if you like him, right?” Valerie asked, hitting start on the machine and grabbing the broom to sweep up. “Don’t get me wrong, we’ll tease the hell out of you, but no one would be mad about it.”

“Yeah, dude,” Tucker added, still going through the DVDs unable to make a decision. “Dash helped me pass History, so if you wanna tap that then-”

“Good to know, Tucker.” Danny hissed. “But I don’t. Besides, it’s not like it would work out between us anyway. There’s no way he doesn’t have a football scholarship to some fancy university out of state. So, can we just drop it?”

“Are you going to keep hanging out with him as Phantom?” Sam pulled some gloves on and set all her tools on her tray. She grabbed Danny’s face and tilted it to the side, using a marker to mark where the piercing would go.

“No, I wasn’t planning on it. But, he does have a terrible habit of showing up wherever Phantom is.”

“Yeah, because it’s Dash who showed up outside your house.” Tucker cackled.

Danny huffed, crossing his arms, and accidentally turning invisible from the embarrassment.

“Hey!” Sam chided. “I kinda need to see what I’m doing here.”

“Sorry,” Danny muttered, taking a deep breath and reappearing.

“If you keep doing that, he’ll find out before the first movie is over.” Valerie wheezed.

“He would find out if they ever got here. Seriously, they’re like fifteen minutes late. Where are they?” Tucker complained.

“I don’t know.” Danny checked his phone. “I’ll call them as soon as Sam’s done with my eyebrow.”

“You kissed Phantom!?” Paulina screeched.

“Almost!” Dash protested, gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were going numb. “Almost kissed Phantom.”

“What was stopping you!” Paulina turned in her seat, fighting against the seat belt as her nails dug into the armrest. “You had the dreamiest guy in the whole town an inch away from you and you didn’t kiss him?! Are you sure you’re even gay?”

“Yes, I’m sure!” Dash pulled over in front of Kwan’s house, honking to announce their presence. “He was just looking at me like-”

“Like he wanted to kiss you? Duh! That’s what you do when you’re trying to kiss someone!”

Dash ran his hands through his hair. “I know! It’s just that his eyes were so-”

“Whose eyes? What are we talking about?” Kwan asked, sliding into the back seat.

Paulina whirled around, propping herself up on her knees to see over the headrests. “Dash had a chance to make out with Phantom and didn’t!”

“What?!” Kwan shot forward, pushing Paulina back into her seat, and craned his neck between the front seats to stare at Dash. “Dude, are you sure you’re gay?!”

“Guys,” Dash groaned. He wanted to scream. “I’m a coward, I get it. It’s just that his eyes looked so familiar and I-”

“Oh, you guys were getting familiar, huh?” Kwan laughed, raising a teasing eyebrow at his friend.

“Kwan, please.” Dash sighed.

“What do you mean, familiar?” Paulina huffed. “Like someone you know? Or like the ‘this is what home feels like’ hallmark romance familiar?”

“Uh, not that. I don’t know, really. He was just really intense and it seemed like I’d seen that look somewhere before.”

“Oh shit,” Kwan muttered, a giggle just beneath his tone, “You weren’t thinking about Fenton as you were about to kiss Phantom were you?”

“What?!” Dash screeched, choking on air as he whipped around to stare at Kwan. “No!”

Paulina covered her mouth with her hands, gasping dramatically. “No way. I knew it.”

“No! Knew what?! I wasn’t!” Dash sputtered, knowing full well he was not doing a good job of looking like he was telling the truth. “Why would I be thinking about Danny?”

“Oh, please.” Paulina jokingly rolled her eyes. She shifted in her seat again, too much excitement coursing through her to sit still. “Like you don’t have the biggest crush on him.”

“I do not!”

“Bro,” Kwan leaned forward again, putting a hand on Dash’s shoulder, his eyes serious, “he literally left the amusement park wearing your jacket.”

Dash swatted Kwan’s hand away, ears burning. “That doesn’t mean anything! Paulina steals my jacket all the time!”

“Yeah, platonically.” She waved him off.

“And I platonically gave it to Danny. You saw how the sun was making him feel after The Zipper!”

“You mean, the ride you challenged him to go on with your totally platonic flirting?”

“I was not flirting! I was trying to make him feel better about the ride!”

“Aw, you’re in denial,” Paulina cooed.

“I’m not-” The sound of his phone ringing cut him off. Danny’s name flashed on the screen.

Paulina leaned over to look. “You don’t have a profile picture set for him? Maybe you don’t have a crush.” She said it like it was the most tragic thing to happen in history.

He ignored her. He cleared his throat and answered, hoping Danny wouldn’t notice how embarrassed he was. “Heyyyy, what’s up?”

He also ignored Kwan and Paulina’s laughter.

“Hey, yourself.” Danny chuckled on the other end of the line. “Where are you guys? You’re like half an hour late.”

“Oh, uh, we’re outside Kwan’s house. He’s talking to his mom, you know how moms are.” Dash chuckled, clearing his throat.

“Ask them if they’ll pick up the pizza since they’re late.” Sam’s voice called from somewhere behind Danny.

“Can you, uh-”

“Yeah, we can do that, no problem, none whatsoever.” Dash slapped a hand over his eyes. “Tony’s?”

“Yeah,” Danny laughed, “Tony’s. It should be under Sam’s name.”

“Okay, yeah, we’ll head there now.”

“Try not to take forever, yeah?” He couldn’t see him, but he could feel Danny grinning at him through the phone.

“No promises.” He chuckled, hanging up the phone. Paulina and Kwan were smiling at him like a pair of Cheshire cats. “What?”

“Yeah, we can do that, no problem, none whatsoever.” Kwan mocked.

“No promises.” Paulina dramatically swooned, her hand pressed to her forehead.

“Shut up,” Dash muttered, earning more hyena cackling. He pulled away from the curb, changing direction to Tony’s.

“Wait, so have you seen Phantom since?” Paulina asked once he had acquired the pizza and was back in the car on their way to Sam’s.

Dash sighed. “No. And honestly, I probably fucked that up. He freaked out so bad that he fell into the lake.”

“Well,” Kwan drawled solemnly, “you can always kiss Fenton to make up for it.”

“Oh my god,” Dash huffed. “I do not have a crush on Danny.”

“Whatever you have to say to make yourself feel better.” Paulina giggled.

“Does anyone know what Sam’s house looks like?” Dash asked, changing the topic.

“No, but it looks like your boyfriend is waiting for you.” Kwan joked.

Danny was sitting on the curb outside a huge mansion-looking house. He stood and waved them into a parking spot in the driveway. Dash turned to Paulina and Kwan. “Not a word,” he hissed.

They stepped out of the car. Danny helped Kwan with the pizza. “You guys actually made it in a reasonable time.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Kwan explained, side-eyeing Dash. “You know how moms can be, ha-ha.”

Dash barely heard the exchange. His eyes were glued to the shiny piece of jewelry in Danny’s eyebrow. “Is that new?”

Danny gingerly touched the piercing, holding the pizza boxes in one hand. “Oh, yeah. Sam just did it.”

“Sam did?” Paulina chirped, eyeing the jewelry. “It looks like a professional did it!”

“She did all her own piercings. She practically is a professional by now.” Danny turned and ushered them up the stairs. They followed him.

“Sam actually lives here?” Kwan asked, gaping at the building.

“It’s a bit of a sore spot for her. She’s not the biggest fan of her parents' money, so try not to say anything about it.” They followed Danny through a huge kitchen.

“Wow,” Paulina whispered, “it’s bigger than mine.”

“What made you decide to get an eyebrow piercing?” Dash asked as they left the kitchen and traveled down an expansive hallway.

“I figured I could use a new look as a present for graduating. What do you think, am I cool yet?” Danny quirked said eyebrow.

Dash felt his ears start burning. “Sure, nerd, keep dreaming.”

Danny laughed. Dash’s stomach fluttered. He might throw up.

“I dig it,” Kwan said as they stepped down a staircase. “Matches the whole emo thing you’ve got going on.” The stairs ended in a huge theater room.

“He’s actually got more of a grunge thing going on.” Sam corrected. “It’s as goth as I could get him to go.”

“You brought the food! My saviors!” Tucker cried, grabbing the pizzas from Kwan.

“Thank god,” Valerie huffed, salting the popcorn buckets she’d just filled, “now we can finally pick a movie.”

“Ooh, Valerie!” Paulina squealed. “I love your makeup.”

Valerie looked her up and down for a moment. They’d talked on the phone for a while on Senior Ditch Day, but this was the first time they’d talked in person without Paulina throwing a poor joke at her in a few years. Valerie ultimately decided Paulina really meant no ill will and smiled at her. “Thanks! I love your belly button ring. Is the butterfly for your sister?”

Paulina gasped. “You remembered?”

“Of course. We were best friends once. I also remembered to use low-fat butter, just for you.”

Paulina looked like she was about to cry. “You really are the best of us.”

“Uh-oh,” Kwan teased, “We’d better start a movie before Paulina loses it.”

“Okay, well, we’ve narrowed it down to five choices.” Danny set the pizza he was holding on the coffee table next to the two liters and red solo cups. “American Psycho, The Creature From The Black Lake, 50 First Dates, Nightmerica The Return, and Legally Blonde.”

Lots of arguing ensued but Sam eventually conceded her vote in exchange for the best chair in the room. Because Kwan and Tucker had never seen it, they picked American Psycho first and 50 First Dates second due to Paulina's insistence.

Dash picked a seat on one edge of the couch, Tucker taking the other end of the couch. Sam and Paulina took the big, fluffy chairs and Valerie and Kwan took the bean bags. Danny put the disc in the player and sat between him and Tucker.

Dash pressed himself against the armrest as much as possible. It wasn’t because he was nervous, absolutely not, it was just that Danny was cold again and Dash preferred to stay warm. Paulina waggled her eyebrows at him. He glared (pouted) back.

Once everyone was settled with popcorn, pizza, and soda in hand, Sam hit play on the remote.

Dash found it hard to focus on the movie. For one, it just wasn’t a movie that he would enjoy. And for two, it was hard to focus on anything other than how Danny kept leaning into him. Every time Dash shifted to put space between them, Danny was taking it up again and pressing against him.

He’d stolen a few glances at him to see if he was doing it on purpose. Danny seemed just as bored and uninterested in the film as he was. But he didn’t seem to be paying attention to Dash or messing with him.

Dash shifted again, pressed as far up against the edge of the couch as he could. It was only about two minutes before he felt the icy chill of Danny’s skin against his again. It was like an ice cube was melting and oozing cold directly into his cells. Dash briefly wondered if he had chronically low iron or something.

Dash tried to return his attention to the movie, but the next scene happened to be a sex scene and he diverted his attention again. It was making him really uncomfortable. He supposed that was the point in this movie but he hated it in just about every movie and he usually turned them off the second it was even implied one was coming.

Sam scoffed. “Was this directed by a man?”

Danny leaned forward- brushing against Dash- and grabbed the DVD case off the table. He flipped it over and read the back. “This says it was directed by one Mary Harron.”

“Ain’t no way,” Valerie said.

“And she’s also credited as the writer.”

“I find that hard to believe, but whatever,” Sam grumbled.

“Does anyone even actually like sex scenes? They’re always so uncomfortable and unnecessary.” Dash huffed.

Danny turned to look at him but didn’t say anything. It was like he was trying to analyze something about him and it made him nervous.

“In horror movies, they tend to be,” Valerie muttered.

“But in romance movies,” Paulina sighed, wistfully. “It’s the best part. When the couple finally admits their feelings for each other and lose themselves in the throws of passion, it’s so romantic.”

Dash cringed, his nose wrinkling so hard it hurt. “Really? It seems so tedious and messy and uncomfortable for the actors.” Danny was still looking at him; he shifted again, letting the armrest dig into his ribs, but it did nothing to ease his anxiety.

“I wouldn’t think so.” Paulina continued. “I’d love to be in a romance movie with either Jensen Ackles or Penelope Cruz.”

“Ew,” Dash shuddered. “Wait, what?”

“Ooh,” Valerie chittered. “Way to come out, Paulie.”

“Thank you. I’ve been waiting for the best moment.”

“See, Dash, I told you we weren’t homophobic,” Kwan smirked.

“Thanks, Kwan.”

“So, we have another bi person in our midst.” Sam teased, smirking playfully.

“Another one?” Paulina twisted around to survey the group.

Danny sighed, finally tearing his eyes away from Dash. “One day I’ll get to do my own coming out.”

Paulina squealed. “I knew it! I knew you were queer! Bi fist bump!”

Danny leaned over Dash to bump Paulina’s fist. Dash took a deep breath. A mistake. Danny was wearing some kind of warm-smelling cologne and Dash just wanted to take another breath. But he controlled himself.

"What gave me away?"

Paulina gestured at him. "Lok at you."

"Fair," Danny laughed. He turned back to Dash. “Have you ever heard the term ‘asexual’?”

“Like in biology? One cell splitting or something?”

“As in the sexuality.” Danny shifted to face Dash and their knees touched. Hurt crossed Danny’s face when Dash yanked his away. “Someone who identifies as asexual feels little to no sexual attraction.”

“You’re saying there’s like some kind of spectrum? People actually feel a lot of attraction?”

Danny laughed. “Have you seen how Tucker talks to women?”

“Hey, not my fault I appreciate the better things in life.” Tucker defended. “And I am totally with Paulina on the romance movie thing. Why else would you watch them?”

“For the story?” Dash cringed. “We should talk about something else. I don’t wanna think about what Tucker’s talking about.”

“We can talk about the fact that Paulina and Star were totally dating,” Sam said.

Paulina’s face fell. “We actually broke up.”

“You were dating star?” Dash gasped.

“Yeah, I was. But, recently, we just didn’t see eye to eye on some things. So I called it off.” Paulina sighed.

Star was the only one of his previously close friends who hadn’t reached out to him. He really hoped it wasn’t him that caused them to have an argument.

“I’m sorry, Paulie,” Kwan muttered. “I had no idea you guys broke up.”

“It’s okay. It’s for the best. How did you know, Sam?”

Sam shrugged. “You two were always together and shared a bunch of clothes. I thought it was obvious.”

A woman on screen screamed. Everyone snapped their attention back to the movie they forgot they were watching.

“Is anyone even enjoying this movie?” Tucker asked. A chorus of no’s answered him. He got up and ejected the DVD. Sam took it from him and chucked it in the trash.

“Anyone want more popcorn?” Valerie asked, standing up and heading for the machine.

“Absolutely,” Tucker chimed, heading over to help her. “Can I get extra salt on mine?”

Paulina gave a long, heavy sigh and sank from her chair to the floor. She dramatically flopped onto her side, throwing her phone across the room.

“What’s wrong?” Kwan asked, dumping an obscenely large amount of butter on his popcorn.

“My boss just texted saying he needs a new look for the magazine with a new model. By tomorrow. How in the world am I supposed to do that? It’s like 11 pm.”

“Where do you work?” Danny asked.

“I’m a make-up artist for a high-end fashion magazine.”

“Hey, just like you’ve always wanted!” Valerie cheered. “But, isn’t that a little bit of an unreasonable ask?”

“It’s the beauty industry.” Sam scoffed. “Of course it’s unreasonable.”

“She’s not wrong.” Paulina agreed. “It’s why I want to start my own brand, to change the industry. I don’t suppose either of you would help me out?” She batted her eyelashes at Sam and Valerie.

They shook their heads.

“Sorry, Paulie, but I don’t want my face all over a magazine. I have to have control over my image for my scholarships.” Valerie explained.

“And I don’t want to be seen in anything other than my signature look. It might give my parents ideas.”

Paulina deflated, looking miserable.

Danny frowned. “Does it have to be a woman model?”

Paulina looked up at him, hope shining in her eyes. “No, just someone I haven’t showcased before.”

“I’ll do it.”

“Really?!” Paulina scrambled up from the floor, bouncing excitedly on her toes. “You mean it?”

“Yeah. If it helps you keep your job, what’s the harm?”

Paulina clapped, doing a happy little jig. “Dash! Keys! I have to go get my bag!”

Dash dug into his pocket- not fast enough for Paulina’s liking- and tossed her his keys. She caught them and ran excitedly up the stairs.

“Oh, so I can’t do your makeup, but Paulina can? Does someone still have a lingering crush?” Sam teased.

“Yeah, Sam, because helping a friend not get fired counts as a lingering crush.” Danny's frown deepened.

“You should go cleanse your face then. It’ll save her a lot of time.” Valerie suggested.

“I have aloe vera in there,” Sam added as Danny headed for the bathroom. “It’s a nice primer!”

“Why’s he need to do that?” Dash asked, eyeing Valerie and Sam’s makeup and trying to imagine it on Danny.

“Makes the makeup go on smoother and helps it not to clog pores.” Sam shrugged.

“Man, you guys have to do so much every day. I respect it.” Kwan said.

“I’m totally getting pictures to use as blackmail for later.” Tucker chuckled.

Valerie rolled her eyes. “I think blackmail only works if someone is ashamed of it. Danny seems pretty comfortable with himself.”

Danny returned to the theater room at the same time as Paulina. She was glowing like a golden retriever who’d just gotten their favorite snack.

“Okay, sit in my chair while I get things set up.”

Danny sat.

“You guys wanna play Mario Kart while we wait?” Sam asked, already walking over to set up the Wii.

“Duh!” Tucker cheered.

Sam handed everyone but Kwan a controller. “We’ll have to take turns. It only allows four players at a time.”

“No problem,” Kwan said. “It’ll give me time to learn your weaknesses.”

Paulina pulled a little square folding table from her bag and pulled the legs out to the right height. She locked them in place and began putting products on it very meticulously. “He said something bold and fierce.” She muttered to herself.

“I don’t know if I could be considered ‘fierce’,” Danny mumbled.

“Nonsense.” Paulina turned and grabbed Danny’s face, tilting it from side to side and analyzing the planes and curves. “You totally have the cheekbones for it. I’m gonna have to mix a custom foundation though, you’re really pale.”

“His undertone is orange,” Sam called, selecting Bowser on the screen.

“No fair,” Valerie shouted. “You always get Bowser.”

“You snooze, you lose.”

“Thanks, Sam!” Paulina turned to her makeup setup, grabbing a disc and squeezing product onto it, mixing it with a brush.

“This is why I choose Luigi.” Tucker boasted. “No one ever takes Luigi from me.”

“Dash, pick Yoshi,” Kwan whispered, still loud enough for everyone to hear him.

“Why?” Dash loudly whispered back.

“Just trust me.”

The foundation was cold as Paulina painted his skin. He resisted the urge to pull away, sitting almost perfectly still. Paulina was muttering under her breath. Danny closed his eyes so she could focus without scrutiny.

“Starting with Rainbow Road is just pure evil,” Tucker whined.

“Are you allergic to glitter?” Paulina asked.

Danny peaked at her over at the table now. “Uh, no. I don’t think so.”

“Perfect, I have this new moonstone highlight I’ve been dying to try on someone but it’s got glitter in it. So, we’re going to do a smokey eye with the moonstone highlight, black lipstick, and maybe a green blush? Then we can do like an ocean theme.”

“Sounds more like a galaxy to me,” Danny replied, looking at the colors she was grouping together.

“Oh! That’s actually perfect! Summer galaxy! Now, I just have to come up with a tagline.” Paulina put a dark purple and a light pink next to the green. “He said he wanted bold. Space is pretty bold. We can even do like star freckles or something.”

“You had better keep that blue shell to yourself, Foley,” Dash warned.

“Sam, tell me you did not just throw that banana at me,” Valerie screamed.

Paulina picked up a much fluffier brush, a contour palette in her hand. “Are you ready? We’re getting into the complicated stuff.”

Danny nodded, grinning at her. “Make me beautiful, Paulie.”

“Eat my dust suckers!” Tucker cackled.

Kwan slapped Dash’s shoulders. “Dash! Dodge, dodge, dodge!”

“Stop backseat karting, Kwan!”

Danny found that his smile wouldn’t leave his face. He really hoped that wouldn’t mess Paulina up. The room was bathed in a nice, comforting aura and it made him want to giggle. To see everyone getting along so well, made him extremely happy. He kind of wanted to tell everyone. But he figured that wouldn’t be the best thing to say while they were in an intense Mario Kart round. He did giggle when Paulina’s brush tickled his nose.

“Someone seems happy,” She giggled with him.

Danny shrugged. “It’s just really nice to see everyone getting along.”

“You call that getting along?”

“I know where you live, Gray!” Sam hurled three green shells at Valerie.

“Bring it on, Manson! Bring it on!” Valerie dodged them all.

“Dash, please,” Tucker begged, “we’re friends, right?”

“Right now, Foley, we’re mortal enemies.”

“Go for the throat, Dash!” Kwan cheered.

Danny laughed again. “Yeah, I would. Considering there was a time when we couldn’t even be in the same room without wanting to kill each other. I count this as a win.”

“No!” Tucker wailed. “I was so close!”

“Read it and weep, people. Read it and weep.” Sam whooped.

Dash sighed, passing his controller to Kwan. “So much for trusting you.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you suck.”

Paulina grabbed a separate brush, dipping it into one of the galaxy colors and brushing it onto Danny’s cheeks. “Thank you, by the way. I owe you.”

“Don’t worry about it. I used to let Jazz and my cousin practice makeup on me all the time. I’m comfortable in my masculinity. No big deal to help a friend.”

“Good, because I’m putting a lot of glitter on your face.”

“I see how it is, Valerie,” Tucker muttered darkly. “Kwan, team up with me?”

Kwan shook his head. “You’re on your own. Every man for himself.”

“No! My go-cart buddy has abandoned me in my hour of need!”

“How’s it going over here?” Dash asked, leaning over the edge of the couch to watch Paulina work her magic. Danny cracked his eyes open to look at him. “It looks like space threw up on you.”

“Good, that’s what we’re going for. Danny has amazing bone structure. Richard is going to love him!” Paulina squealed.

Dash smirked at him. “How does it feel to have amazing bone structure, Fenton?”

“Like I’m some kind of king being pampered.”

“Okay, time for lipstick. Open your mouth like an ‘o’.” Paulina instructed.

Danny did as he was told. He could see Dash watching intently out of the corner of his eye. He winked at him. Dash startled and looked away.

“Okay, you need to let that dry and then we can take some photos.” Paulina turned away to start cleaning up her table. She took her tools to the bathroom to clean them.

“How does it feel?” Dash asked.

Danny pressed his lips together, humming. “Kinda buttery. Like sticky, melted butter.” An idea popped into Danny’s mind and he grinned at Dash. “Wanna feel?”

Dash’s eyes went wide. As he was fishing for an answer, Danny gently gripped his jaw, tilting his head to the side. He pressed his lips firmly to Dash’s cheek, dragging his hand down his jaw before letting go and pulling away with an exaggerated ‘mwah!’.”

Dash jolted away, crimson spilling over his cheeks and ears. He brought a hand up to his cheek in disbelief. Danny howled with laughter.

“Stop flirting with the enemy, Danny!” Tucker laughed.

“Aw, feeling left out, Tuck?” Danny stood up and walked over to Tucker.

“Do not distract me right now, Fenton. I'll never forgive you.” Tucker warned, leaning away. Danny ignored him, planting another kiss on Tucker’s cheek. Tucker swatted him away, swerving into a banana peel on the screen.

“I will get my revenge, Danny. Just you wait!” Tucker threatened with no real heat behind it.

Danny laughed so hard he was losing his breath. Sam rolled her eyes at him.

“Don’t even think of bringing that over here.” Valerie hissed. “I’m about to win.”

“Hey!” Paulina screeched, returning from the bathroom. “I said to let it dry! Get back over here so I can fix it.”

Danny obediently sat back in the chair.

“Uh-oh,” Kwan snickered, poking Dash in his side. “Someone is self-destructing.”

Dash glared at him, snapping out of whatever daze he had been in. He rubbed the lipstick off his face. Danny was pretty proud of himself- he’d examine what that meant later.

Paulina reapplied the lipstick. “I mean it this time, mister. Let it dry.”

Sam handed her controller to Dash and wandered over to admire Paulina’s handiwork. “Wow, you look very pretty, Danny.”

Danny struck a pose, batting his eyelashes. “Tell me more.”

Sam grinned, a playful shine in her eyes. “You're pale white and ice cold. Your skin is all sparkly. I know what you are.”

“Say it then, Sam.” Danny giggled, unable to keep up the character.

Paulina gasped. “I’ve turned you into a space vampire!”

“Please, he’d have to be impossibly fast and strong for that.” Valerie chuckled.

“Yeah, no offense, but Danny has never been the poster boy for impossibly strong.” Kwan laughed.

“If you’ve seen him text,” Tucker added, “then you’d know he talks exactly like he’s from this time.”

“Has everyone in this room seen Twilight?” Danny jokingly rolled his eyes, standing from his chair. “C’mon, Paulina, let’s get these photos taken so we can start the next movie.”

“Hopefully it’s a better one this time around.” Sam huffed.

Dash will not admit that he paid more attention to Danny and Paulina’s photo shoot than the last round of Mario Kart. And if he thought sitting next to Danny had been hard before, it was downright torture now.

Apparently, if Danny was actually invested in a movie, he talked a lot. He kept leaning over to whisper things to him and while he knew, logically, in his brain, that whispering was all Danny was doing, he couldn’t help but remember the feel of Danny’s lips against his cheek every time. His heart would not stop racing and he was pretty sure he was sweaty now.

Tucker did not seem to share this problem. Every time Danny leaned over to whisper something to him, he just whispered back or laughed and turned his attention right back to the movie like it was no big deal. Dash tried rationalizing it by reminding himself that they had been best friends for longer than Dash had known them and he simply wasn’t as used to Danny’s antics as Tucker was.

It unnerved him near the middle of the movie when Danny had been quiet for more than five minutes. Dash glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. He was slouching back into the couch and periodically slowly blinking his eyes like he was fighting off sleep.

Dash shifted to give him more room to fall asleep if he needed to. But only a few moments after that, he felt a weight hit his shoulder and froze as Danny’s hair tickled his chin.

“Uh-oh,” Valerie laughed, taking a picture on her phone. “Dash has been chosen.”

“You’re in it for the long haul now, Dash.” Tucker cackled, also taking pictures.

Dash tried to ignore the blackmail obviously being collected. “What am I in?”

“You know when a cat falls asleep on your lap and under cat law, you aren’t allowed to disturb them? Consider yourself under Danny law. He has insomnia and doesn’t sleep much. So, when he does sleep, we try to let him get as much as he can.” Sam explained, doing better than the others at hiding her picture-taking.

Dash glanced down at him. He could understand the struggle with sleep. Usually when he was having issues, he took Pookie on a walk. He wondered how Danny dealt with it. Casually, he shifted the angle he was sitting at so Danny could fit against him more comfortably. He slipped his hand around his waist so his shoulder wasn’t jutting against Danny’s back. Okay, he could handle this.

“Whipped,” Kwan whispered at him. Dash flipped him off.

Dash was a little worried that he could barely feel the rise and fall of Danny’s breaths. With him this close, he should be able to tell how he was breathing. And he was slightly colder than before if that was even possible. He wondered if his insomnia played a part in his temperature. Or why he slept like a dead person. A small sense of deja vu hit him, but he shook it off.

“Well, I think that movie was more horrific than the last one,” Sam exclaimed as the movie came to an end.

“Wasn’t this supposed to be a rom-com?” Paulina asked.

“I think they’re getting their genres mixed up.” Valerie yawned.

Danny started blinking awake at the sound of everyone talking. He stretched and froze when he felt a body behind him. He looked back at Dash and Dash really wished Paulina wasn’t as good as she was at her job because the colors she’d put on really brought out his eyes.

“Sorry,” Danny muttered, “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.” He started scooting away.

Dash dropped his hand from his waist. “Oh, not a problem.” He stuttered. He really wanted to tell Paulina to shut up. She wasn't saying anything but she was grinning at him and he knew what she was telling him. He squeezed his elbows, keeping his eyes away from Danny- who was probably more embarrassed than he was.

“Who’s picking the next one?” Tucker asked, stretching his legs out in front of him.

“Not me." Valerie stood, stretched, and began to pick up her trash. "It’s like 2 am. I’m tapped out.”

“I agree,” Kwan mumbled, following suit. “It’s bedtime.”

Danny also stood, picking up his plate and cup. “I’ll help clean up the popcorn.”

Everyone else jumped up to help clean, not wanting to be the only one not helping. Except for Tucker, who stretched out on the couch once he had it to himself. “Sam,” he whined, “I’m too tired to go home. Can I crash here?”

“Yeah, unlike Danny, my parents actually like you so if they find you down here you’ll be fine.” Sam put all the DVD cases away.

“Why don’t they like Danny?” Paulina asked, tying off a trash bag.

“Take your pick. My parents are dangerous and I’m a bad influence.” Danny mocked.

Dash snorted. “You? A bad influence?”

“That’s what I keep telling them!” Sam huffed. “If anything, I’m the bad influence.”

Once the room was put back together, everyone started gathering their things; Sam pulled a spare blanket and pillow out of the cupboard for Tucker.

Dash cleared his throat. “Did you want a ride home, Danny?”

Danny looked up at him, nerves plain to see. “Oh, I was gonna go to the observatory after this. Not home. But I appreciate the offer.”

“What’s at the observatory this late?” Kwan asked.

“There’s supposed to be a comet that’s just bright enough to be visible without a telescope tonight. I was gonna try to find it.”

Dash shifted his weight from foot to foot, fiddling with his keys in his pocket. “If it doesn’t bother you, I could tag along once we drop off Paulina and Kwan. You know, for safety reasons. In case there’s a ghost attack or something.”

“Safety reasons,” Paulina whispered.

Danny’s eyes seemed to glow with renewed excitement. “Really? I mean, yeah, if you don’t mind being out that late.”

Dash’s heart squeezed so hard in his chest he thought he was having a heart attack. “Yeah, I don’t mind at all. I’ll go get the car started so it’s warm for you. Thanks for having me, Sam.”

“No problem. See ya later!”

Dash grabbed Paulina’s big makeup bag for her and headed for the stairs. He did a couple of breathing exercises on the way to the car to calm his anxiety. His phone pinged.

Paulina: Not a crush, huh ;)

He ignored her text. He was just hanging out with a friend. She was completely wrong. In no way was this a crush.

Danny climbed into the front seat as soon as Paulina was safely inside her house. “You know how to get to the observatory right?”

“Yeah, isn’t it, like, way past closing though?” Dash waited for Danny to put his seat belt on before heading back onto the road.

“Oh for sure. But there’s a hill around the back that has a really nice view.”

“Man, you’re like super into this space stuff, huh?” Dash teased.

Danny gave a short laugh. “I wanted to be an astronaut. I’ve been to every space camp within 150 miles of here and I have all the space shuttle simulations on my computer. I even had Sam teach me astrology just because it involved space. So, yeah, I guess you could call me obsessed.”

Dash glanced at him. “What do you mean, ‘wanted’ to be an astronaut?”

Danny leaned back in his seat, frowning. “Well for one, they only choose like a hundred people every two years to go into the space program. And for two, I learned you don’t really make livable wages off being an astronaut alone. And it’s already hard to leave Amity Park, let alone the planet.”

“Jazz has managed though, right? What’s stopping you from figuring it out?”

Danny sighed. “I’m not as strong as Jazz is. Plus, I’m needed here.” He didn’t let Dash respond as he leaned forward and pointed at a dirt road. “Take this service road, it will lead you to the employee parking lot at the base of the hill.”

Dash did, tapping his hands against the wheel. “Are you sure we’re allowed to be back here?”

Danny quirked an eyebrow at him, his voice taking on a teasing tone. “I never took you for someone afraid to break the rules.”

“I’m not afraid.” Dash sat up straighter. He cleared his throat. “I just want to make sure you know what you’re talking about.”

Danny laughed. “Dash, it’s 3 am. No one cares.”

“I know. It’s just what if a police patrol comes by-”

“Trust me, they never patrol back here. We’ll be fine, scaredy cat.”

Dash huffed. “I’m not scared.” He parked in the spot closest to the hill.

Danny was about to step out of the car but Dash stopped him. “It’s kind of chilly out there. Do you need a jacket?”

He shook his head. “I’m okay. The cold doesn’t affect me that bad.”

“Dude, your skin is already like ice. My letterman is in the back, it wouldn’t be a problem.”

Danny’s heart skipped a beat. He did like Dash’s jacket, but some voice nagging in the back of his head said it was a bad idea. “Really, I’m okay, it’s not that big of a deal-”

“If it’s no big deal, then just take the jacket.” Dash leaned around the seats and yanked his jacket from the back seat. He shoved it into Danny’s hands before he could protest. “It’ll make me feel better about being out here in fifty-degree weather.”

Danny pinched his mouth close, any protest he had dying on his lips. He tore his eyes away from Dash to stare at the jacket. Realistically, he knew that normal people, people who were alive, would be concerned with how cold they were. Dash was just trying to keep a friend safe and comfortable. He sighed and pulled the jacket on, crossing his arms at Dash. “Happy?”

“Yeah. Thank you.” Dash smiled.

Danny huffed, stepping out of the car. He led Dash up the hill, going slow so Dash could see where he was avoiding loose rocks and such. The top of the hill was bare, covered in nothing but grass; a perfect view of the sky away from all the light pollution and no tall trees or buildings to block parts of it.

Danny laid down, actually a little thankful for Dash’s jacket when the chill of the grass bit into him. He patted the spot next to him and Dash followed suit, wriggling around to get comfortable. The stars glimmered above them hiding the comet Danny was searching for.

“So, is a comet just a meteor with a tail?” Dash asked after a long moment of silence.

“A comet is made of dust and ice and other space matter that orbits the sun in an elliptical orbit. A meteor is a piece of space matter that has breached Earth’s atmosphere and it turns into a meteorite when it collides with Earth’s surface.” Danny explained patiently. “And actually, comets have two tails, an ice one and a gas one. The gas tail called a coma, forms when-” Danny stopped talking as he turned to look at Dash, whose eyes were wide and confused.

“Uh, sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble like that.”

Dash shook his head. “I might be a little lost, but I don’t mind. Keep talking.”

Danny's heart stuttered in his chest again. He looked into Dash’s eyes, shocked at the genuineness he found there. “Are you sure? I don’t want to bother you with my nerd stuff.”

“I asked. Plus we’re literally sitting on a hill in the middle of the night just to look at your nerd stuff. It’s okay for you to talk about it. I just might have to interrupt you with questions every now and then.”

Danny smiled at him, warmth spreading through his veins making his fingers curl into the fabric of Dash’s jacket. “Wow, you are like an entirely different person. I really, really, like this Dash.” Danny forced himself to turn back to the sky so he didn’t have to see Dash’s reaction. “So, a coma forms when…”

Dash was not paying attention. He was a big liar, completely not listening. His heart was beating so loud it nearly drowned out Danny’s voice as he rambled about physics and dark matter and stars and things way beyond his understanding. The moonlight was shining off his hair and the sparkly makeup he still had on. With the way Paulina had done, he was practically glowing just like a galaxy. And his eyes sparkled like they were full of the very stars he was talking about. He was so full of life and joy and Dash was completely enamored.

Paulina was right.

He was so screwed.

“Look!” Danny scooted over, pressing himself against Dash and pointing at the sky. “There it is! It’s kind of dim, you might have to squint.”

Dash squinted, trying his best to follow where Danny was pointing. “I don’t see it.”

Danny moved his finger, tracing a constellation and ending just below it. ‘See Lyra? It’s right below it and slightly to the left. It’s the one that looks blurry because of its tail.”

Dash leaned further over, nearly leaning his head on Danny’s shoulder. “Lyra?”

“The constellation, it’s like a little box.”

“Oh,” Dash gasped. “I see it.”

Danny dropped his hand, crossing them across his chest and the two of them watched the comet cross the sky in peaceful silence. A gentle breeze started making its way across the field. Danny could feel Dash fidgeting next to him, wanting to say something but refusing to do so. Danny let him figure it out, not wanting to rush him. The comet was moving pretty fast and he lost track of it a couple of times.

“You said you know astrology too?”

Danny hummed. “Not as much as Sam, but yeah, I know some. If it has to do with space and the stars, I’m in. Why?”

Dash pointed at the constellation from before. “So, do you know the story for Lyra?”

Danny nodded.

“Can you tell it to me?”

Danny drew in a breath; he'd never been asked to tell the stories before. Usually, it was Sam telling him. “I mean, yeah, but it’s a sad one.”

Dash shrugged. “Not everything needs to be a happy story. So, will you tell me or not?”

Danny shuffled around, getting comfortable, ignoring the way his and Dash’s sides were still pressed together. “Lyra, or the lyre, is the story of Orpheus, son of the muse Calliope, and Eurydice, a beautiful wood nymph. Orpheus was said to have a voice so beautiful, even rocks would listen to what he had to sing.”

Danny could feel Dash’s eyes on him, and it took all his self-control to keep his eyes on the stars. “One day, Orpheus was playing his lyre and it drew a gathering of people and beasts. While he was playing, he spotted Eurydice among the crowd. Long story short, he talked to her and they fell in love and got married.”

“That’s kind of fast,” Dash commented.

“It’s mythology.” Danny shrugged. “But, unlike other mythology stories, these two were actually, properly in love. Which ended up being their problem.”

“Being in love was their problem?”

“Yeah, sorry, foreshadowing. One day while Orpheus was away, Eurydice was taking a nap in a nearby field. When she awoke there was a snake by her feet. She panicked and it bit her, killing her. When Orpheus found her, he was extremely distraught. He couldn’t live without the love of his life. Hermes took pity on him and showed him a way that he could walk to the underworld to try to convince Hades to let her go.”

“Hermes is the messenger guy, right? Why’s he getting involved.”

“For the sake of not spiraling into several other interconnected stories, let’s just say there’s a lot involved. So, Orpheus begins a long journey, we’re talking weeks, of walking and dodging obstacles to get to the underworld; fighting off ghosts, getting past Cerberus, the whole nine yards. He finally makes it there and gets a chance to talk to Hades. He begs for his wife to be returned to him. Hades refuses.”

“Of course he did. You can’t just return people to life.”

“Well, in a last attempt to win the god’s favor, he sings them a song about love. Hades' wife, Persephone, hears and is so moved by it, that she also begs Hades to let Eurydice go.”

“So, just like that he gets what he wants?” Dash hadn’t taken his eyes off him the entire story. Danny finally turned to look at him and a strong wave of deja vu hit him. Memories from the lake flooded his mind, making his face warm. He focused his eyes on Dash’s forehead, the only safe place he could stare at while he finished the story.

“Not quite. Hades wants to listen to his wife, but, like you said, he can’t just go around letting people return to life. He has a job to do. So, he issues them a challenge. If he and Eurydice can walk back the way Orpheus had come, with him leading the way and her following behind, then she can live. The catch is he can’t turn around to make sure she’s following him.”

“Can’t she just tell him she’s there?”

“She’s dead. She can’t speak. He’ll have no way to make sure she’s there. But, that’s the test, right? Does he love her enough to trust that she’ll follow? They turn and go. Over the weeks though, doubt starts to set in. How does he know this isn’t Hades trying to trick him into just leaving? What if she’s lost hope and turned around a long time ago? What if she never followed him in the first place? Finally, after several long weeks of his own psychological torture, he sees sunlight. They’ve made it! He runs for the exit, excited to finally have his wife back. As soon as the sunlight touches his skin, he turns around.”

Dash gasped.

“But, she hadn’t stepped into the sun yet. She hadn't run like he had and was still a few feet behind. She waved goodbye and he watched as she disappeared from sight, this time forever.”

“That’s so idiotic. Why the fuck would he turn around? He was so close!”

Danny let his eyes slip down to Dash’s, surprised at how invested he was in the story. “He didn’t do it because he was an idiot. He did it out of love. He was so excited that he ran ahead and didn’t think about her catching up. He loved her too much to not turn around and share his joy with her. In some of the re-tellings, she trips and he turns to catch her, but her feet are still in the shadows. Every time he turns, he turns out of love. That’s why it’s a tragedy.”

“But he worked so hard.”

“Think about it, would you let your partner walk all the way through Amity Park without turning to check on them?” Danny watched as Dash thought about it; really thought about it. Several emotions crossed his face and Danny desperately wanted to know exactly what he was thinking.

Dash sighed. “No, I guess not. I’d be too worried a ghost got them. What does he do after that then? Wallow?”

Danny chuckled, messing with the buttons on Dash’s jacket. “Pretty much. He does go back to the underworld to convince Hades to give him a second chance because he was so close, but Hades refuses. So, he leaves and becomes super depressed, singing only sad songs. He refuses to get married again and rejects a bunch of women. And they get so mad at him that they tear him apart limb by limb and throw him and his lyre in the river where it floats to the isle of Muses and they give him a proper burial so that he can be reunited with Eurydice in the underworld. And they put his lyre in the stars so it couldn’t be played by anyone else.”

“Wow, okay.” Dash finally broke eye contact, giving Danny room to breathe, and pointed vaguely in the direction of the constellation. “And it’s just that square?”

Danny reached up and grabbed his hand, helping him trace the constellation. “That square and these stars. It's supposed to look like a lyre.” Danny studied Dash’s eyes as they traveled down to their hands. A bright red rose to the surface of Dash’s face. Another memory of the incident a few days before rose to his mind, and Danny dropped Dash’s hand. If he wasn’t careful, he’d end up exactly where he told his friends he wouldn’t.

And now Dash was staring at him, a conflict clear in his eyes, and they were so close. And Danny really needed to stop creating these situations. Because he was weak, and it was so very hard just to break eye contact. Just as it looked like Dash had made up his mind about something, Danny sat up and scooted away, creating a distance between them. His heart pounded. “Also, Lyra’s constellation contains the star Vega, which is the second brightest star in the northern sky.”

Danny took a deep breath, hoping that wasn't the most awkward thing he'd ever done. (Considering the last time he fell in a lake, it's not.) And hoped that his science fact would be nerdy enough to ruin whatever vibe had been happening.

Dash blinked, missing the cozy atmosphere. He sat up, clearing his throat. "Which one is the brightest?"

Danny, relieved, pointed to another star in the sky. "That would be Arcturus." He stood up, offering Dash a hand. But he was quick to let go once Dash was on his feet. "It's getting late, we should probably get going."

Dash nodded.

Danny turned, hoping the cold breeze would cool the heat in his face as they descended the hill. "Careful, " he called back, "some of these rocks are loose." They continued picking their way down the hill, it was slower going down than it was going up.

"Hey, Danny?" Dash asked about halfway down. "Could I- ack!" He stepped on a loose stone and lost his balance, tipping forward as the dirt rushed from under him.

Danny turned around, reaching his arms out to catch Dash's shoulders; steadying them both before they toppled down the hill. Dash was holding onto him for dear life. "Damn, that was close. You okay?"

Dash's face was bright red and he was a little shaky as he pulled away, finding his footing before completely letting go of Danny. He coughed. "Uh, yeah. Sorry. Could I ask a question?"

Danny was happy to let him change the subject, not wanting to dwell on the event. "Yeah, what's bugging you?" Danny turned and led the way down the hill a little slower this time, making sure to be extra careful with where he put his feet.

Dash was quiet for a moment, almost like he was hesitant to bring it up. "How would, uh, how would someone know if they're asexual or not?"

"Well, I think that's something only you can decide. But little to zero sexual attraction means you don't feel attracted to sleeping with someone." They reached the bottom of the hill. Danny waited patiently for Dash to dig through his pockets for his keys.

"But, how would you know? Especially if you've never had sex. What does that even feel like?" Dash finally got his keys out and unlocked the car.

Danny raised an eyebrow at him as they climbed into the car. "You've never looked at someone or talked with someone and thought 'wow, I want to tap that?' or anything along those lines?"

"No. I always just kind of figured people just did that because it's what they were supposed to do, not because they actually wanted to." Dash started the car, turning on the heater for Danny.

"How did you figure out you were gay?"

"I tried flirting with girls because, again, I thought it was what I was supposed to do but I didn't really care for it. Then, uh, a guy flirted with me at the movies and I was like, oh, that's what everyone's talking about." Dash pulled out of the parking lot, driving slowly because Danny's house wasn't far away and he didn't want to end the conversation too soon.

Danny had the passing thought that these car conversations were happening a lot frequently. Maybe he should have been worried about that, but he found he didn't mind. "And you didn't want to sleep with that guy?"

Dash shook his head. "No. It kind of felt like sleeping with him would ruin whatever was happening."

Danny gave him a reassuring smile. "It sounds like you might be ace."

Dash squirmed in his seat. "But, I still want a partner and to kiss people. It's just.. you know, the other stuff that's weird."

Despite himself, Danny laughed. Dash's ear burned as he pouted.

"I'm not laughing at you, I promise. It's just-" Danny paused as another bout of laughter escaped him. "It's- you're allowed to say the word 'sex', Dash. It's not like it's forbidden." He took a deep breath to reset his lungs and quell the laughter. "And you can be ace and still kiss people. Kissing isn't inherently a sexual thing. It mostly falls under romantic attraction."

Dash pulled up in front of Danny's house, letting the car idle. "Wouldn't kissing without sex bother people though? I mean, I assume it would because non-ace people want that kind of stuff in their relationship, right?"

Danny shrugged. "People kiss all the time without it escalating. And not every relationship needs sex for it to work. That's something that wouldn't bother me. So, you've just got to find the right people who think the same."

Dash went quiet. Danny glanced at him to find his face on fire and his nails digging into the steering wheel. He was looking at him like he wanted to crawl under a rock and also like Danny held the entire world in his hands. It was how he looked at Phantom.

It sunk in what his words were implying. He pinched his mouth together, eyes going wide. He was in trouble. He was in big, big trouble. And he needed a way out fast.

He forced a laugh to relieve some of the pressure. "Oh, yeah, and before I forget, I was going to ask you if you wanted to come with us to the new Nightermerica movie next week? It's Sam's favorite series so there's no way we're missing it."

Smooth, Fenton, smooth.

Dash sighed, deflating like a balloon. He wanted to ask him what he meant but didn't want to push. "I would, but I can't. My mom and I are going on a three-week trip to California and we leave on Monday."

Danny wouldn't lie, he was a little disappointed, a pang gripping his heart. "Oh, you're going to be gone for that long?"

Dash looked away, staring out the front windshield. "Yeah, it's for a family reunion. It's technically going all month but my mom doesn't like leaving for very long. The Amity Jitters get her really bad."

"Do they bother you?" Danny asked, glad the conversation wasn't as dangerous as it had been a few seconds ago. Though his heart was still racing, keeping him in fight or flight mode.

"Yeah, but my cousin Reggie is going so I was going to feel like my skin was peeling off anyway."

Danny laughed. "Not a Reggie fan?"

"He's the worst. He thinks being in college makes him the coolest ladies' man ever, but then he only dates freshmen. So he's super creepy and then he tells us all about it."

"Ick." Danny made a disgusted face. "Well, I hope you survive."

"Yeah, me too."

Danny chewed his lip. This is where he would get out of the car and they'd part ways. But, now that he knew he had even less time with his friend than he thought he would, he didn't want the conversation to end. Something itched in the back of his brain, bothering him and making him question why it even mattered to him. "Can I ask," his voice sounded tiny, even to him, "Are you going out of state for college?"

Dash looked surprised at the question. He shook his head. "No. I'm staying here at the community college."

"Really?" Danny instantly felt some stress leave his body. He had no idea why he was so relieved, but he'd take it over worrying about how much time he had left with Dash. "I figured you'd be going to some fancy football university or something."

"I'm not… really into the whole football thing anymore, if I'm honest. Don't get me wrong, it's still fun to play every once in a while, but going pro was something my dad pushed for. That kind of poisoned it after a while. And I don't want anything to do with him, so pursuing the career he wanted for me is out of the question."

"I'm sorry," Danny muttered.

Dash waved him off. "It's fine."

"So, what are you going to do then?" Danny twisted in his seat, finally undoing his seat belt so he could sit more comfortably.

"Well, my current plan is to get my general education degree just to have some kind of higher education under my belt and then probably find a trade to go into. I could be a mechanic, or a personal trainer or something. I haven't decided yet." Dash sighed just to clear his lungs. He finally looked back at Danny. "What about you?"

It was Danny's turn to look away, nerves making him a little uncomfortable. "I'm not sure I am going to college. Until Senior Ditch Day when Mr. Lancer tried to convince me to become a teacher, I wasn't sure there was a reason for me to. But, I don't know. I'm still trying to decide. If I did go, I would go here."

"Do you want to be a teacher?" Dash pried.

Danny shrugged. "I don't know. He said I should teach astronomy which would be kind of fun. I'm just not sure if I'm cut out for it. And then there's the whole 'the Fenton's are a family of geniuses' thing. My dad might be disappointed if I don't go into something science-y like Jazz."

Dash placed a hand on his shoulder. "Isn't astronomy science?"

"Yeah, but not the science they want."

"Well, I don't know about the whole family disappointment thing, but as for you thinking you're not cut out for it, I can tell you you're wrong. I mean, did you see the way you spoke about dark matter tonight? You have the passion for it. And if my physics grades were anything to go by, you definitely have the ability to teach people. I think you'd make a great teacher. If that is what you wanted to do."

Danny's heart nearly stopped right then and there. Adrenaline pumped through his veins and he felt a little dizzy. "Really?"

"Yeah, really. You kind of make learning fun." Dash gave him an impossibly soft smile before dropping his hand. "Maybe you should talk to your parents about it?"

Danny sighed. "I don't know. They don't listen very often."

"Well, I can't really tell you what you should and shouldn't do when I don't know your situation. But, if you want to get closure on it, it might be worth a conversation."

Danny was quiet for a minute, thinking it over. It could be worth it if he could get them to consider what he was saying and not push their own agenda.

"What about Sam, Valerie, and Tucker?" Dash asked when Danny had been quiet for a minute.

Danny blinked, trying to focus on the conversation. "Uh, Valerie is trying to get into a big university out of state, but Sam and Tucker are staying here. What are Kwan and Paulina doing?"

Dash exhaled partly in relief, partly in sadness. "Paulina's already been accepted into a beauty school in New York and Kwan is trying to decide between two football scholarships, both out of state. He's going to be an English major but he's excited to have a way to pay for it." He tapped at the steering wheel, a nervous habit Danny noticed. "Can I be honest?"

Danny nodded, definitely not watching the curve of Dash's neck as he breathed.

"I'm actually really glad you guys aren't going anywhere. I'll miss Valerie, but with both Kwan and Paulina gone, I was not looking forward to being the one left behind. I especially didn't want to lose you guys after we just barely became friends."

Danny needed to get out of this car before he did or said something he couldn't take back. He, stupidly, opened his mouth to reply. "Me too. I-"

Dash's phone ringing cut him off, startling him out of his weird daze. As Dash scrambled to answer it, Danny cleared his throat and sat back in his seat. He ran through a few breathing exercises to get his heart rate under control.

"Hey, mom," Dash answered. Danny couldn't hear the voice on the other end. "Yeah, I'm fine. Danny and I were watching a comet- yes, that Danny." Dash sighed affectionately. He looked at Danny. "My mom says hi."

Danny laughed and leaned over to project his voice into Dash's phone. "Hi, Mrs. Baxter."

Dash jokingly pushed him away. "Yeah, we know it's five a.m. I'm dropping Danny off at his place. Then I'll come straight home. Yes, I promise. Okay, love you, bye."

Danny couldn't help but smile. "It's nice that she calls and checks on you." He glanced at his house and wondered if his parents even remembered he was out. Or if they even realized what time it was.

"Yeah, she got home and was worried a ghost got me when she couldn't find me."

"I guess, I should let you go then, so she doesn't have to worry anymore." Danny pulled open his door and stepped out into the chilly breeze.

"I'll see you when I get back?" Dash asked, tapping at the steering wheel again.

Danny snorted. "Think you can get rid of me? You're stuck with me now, Baxter, whether you like it or not."

"Good," Dash grinned.

Danny closed the door and waved as Dash drove off.

It was only when Dash turned the corner did Danny allow himself to break down. "'It wouldn't bother me.' 'You're stuck with me'. Come on, Fenton. Get yourself together." He shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked up to the front door and only then realized he was still wearing Dash's jacket. He sighed, dropping his head harshly against his front door as he searched for his keys to unlock it.

Maybe three weeks away from Dash would be a good thing. Maybe he'd be able to kick whatever stupid fixation he had on him by the time he got back and they could just be friends. He pushed the front door open, immediately freezing in his tracks, his entire body going rigid.

A dark, acrid smell was permeating the air.

He knew that smell.

Ectoplasm.

It was thick and heavy, like it had been around for hours. The door to the lab was open.

He tiptoed over, careful not to make any noise as he listened for his parents. There was clanging coming from downstairs. Not the practiced kind his parents made, but something more desperate.

The overhead lights weren't on. The staircase was completely dark. He crept down them, one at a time, avoiding the creaky spots. As he got closer, he heard muffled screaming. He turned invisible and peeked into the room.

He wanted to throw up.

The exam table was out, in the center of the room, surrounded by smaller tables holding a wide variety of tools; scalpels, medical scissors, forceps, bone-saws, almost all of them covered in dull green ectoplasm.

Laying on the table, chest carved open and pinned in a gruesome display, was a ghost girl. She couldn't have been older than sixteen. Her arms and legs were strapped in metal cuffs to the table. A muzzle tied tightly around her face was keeping her screams quiet.

Her chest was cut completely open, muscle tissue and skin being held back by dissection pins. Her core was exposed; it pulsed a slow, dark orange, illuminating the sawed bone of her rib cage and the slimy organs underneath.

She was crying as she thrashed about, spilling ectoplasm over the table and floor as she tried to free herself.

Danny shuddered, climbing back up a few stairs to get the scene out of sight as he tried to control his breathing; the smell of decaying ectoplasm in the air wasn't helping and now was not the time for him to have an anxiety attack.

After a few more deep breaths, he worked up enough courage to transform into Phantom. Keeping himself invisible, he flew around the house, looking for his parents.

He found them in the ops center. They were bent over a piece of equipment, tinkering away; both had green stains all over their jumpsuits.

He left- not caring what they were doing at the moment as long as it didn't involve dissecting ghosts- and flew back down to the lab. Part of him wondered how his parents were able to just leave a girl like that and go work on something else. Even if she was a ghost. Before he went down the stairs again, he duplicated himself, leaving the duplicate to stand guard at the door.

The last thing he needed was to get caught and be the next ghost on that table.

He descended the stairs, quickly this time. He needed to work fast. The girl was still fighting against her restraints. He focused on turning himself visible while keeping his duplicate invisible.

He held his hands up in a peaceful gesture and slowly approached the table where she could see him. She screamed louder, voice ragged and raw. Her movements became more jarring as she tried to get away from him.

"Hey, don't worry." He tried to keep his tone as soft as he could despite how badly he was shaking. "I'm here to get you out."

She sobbed, more tears falling down her face. She didn't stop trying to get away from him. He stopped walking.

"I promise, I don't want to hurt you. But we have to go fast before those people come back. I need to put you back together first. Is that okay?"

She flopped against the table, still sobbing, but giving up. Danny took a deep breath and approached the table. Now that he was closer, he could see patches of blackened skin all over her arms; necrotic wounds. He glanced at the tables nearby, spying the Fenton Venom on one of them. Tears pricked his eyes. There were so many wounds on her arms. How long had she been here? What were they doing to her?

He shook his head. He didn't have time to freak out. "Okay, I'm going to remove these pins first. It might hurt. I'm sorry." He spoke mostly to keep himself focused more than to calm her down.

He pulled the first pin out, dropping it on the floor. She screamed, thrashing against the restraints again and splattering ectoplasm all over him. He waited til she stopped before going for the next pin. "I'm sorry. We've got a few more of these to go."

He pulled the second pin out, this time closing his eyes to avoid the spray. He took a moment to focus and see what his duplicate was seeing; the coast was still clear. He returned his focus- dizzy and shaky with the effort it took to split his concentration- to the girl in front of him pulling out the next pin. This time she didn't scream. Danny pulled the pins out a bit faster.

He half expected her skin to go back to where it belonged once it was free of the pins, but with the Fenton Venom in her veins, she was healing slow. He wished he had left some of the antibiotics here instead of storing them in the ghost zone. But he couldn't have his parents find out he was messing with their stuff behind their backs.

He searched the drawers around him for some surgical glue. As a full ghost, she'd heal back the way she was supposed to given enough time. But he wanted to help speed the process along and give her core some protection.

Her muscle was slippery as he fit it back against her bones. Her skin rubbery as he glued it back in place. He wasn't going to forget the feel of it against his gloves anytime soon.

Guilt washed over him. He'd been sitting in front of his house with Dash for half an hour while she'd been sitting here with her body flayed open. If he'd just come directly inside instead of prolonging their conversation, he could have gotten her out sooner.

He shook his head. He didn't need to think like that. How could he have known she was down here? She hadn't been here when he'd left for the party. He had no way of knowing. And he was helping now.

He took a deep breath as he glued the last bit of glowing skin in place. "Okay, let's get this muzzle off you. Please, don't scream. They're nearby."

She nodded and turned her head so he could undo the ties to the muzzle. She didn't say anything once it was off. He dropped it on the floor and leaned over the tables toward the key rack. "My name's Danny. What's yours?"

Her voice was raw and strangled. "Emma."

"Okay, Emma," he grabbed the key for the restraints, "let's get you home, yeah?"

"My mom was right." She sobbed. "I should never have come here."

Danny unlocked each restraint quickly, helping her sit up once the final one was off. "I'm so sorry, Find Pandora in the ghost zone. She has medicine for your arms." He helped her to her feet, looking away from her as ectoplasm dripped from the seams of her wounds. She leaned on him as they stumbled to the ghost portal.

"Thank you," She whispered, disappearing inside.

Danny sighed and collapsed to the ground the second she was out of sight. He closed his eyes, but all he saw was her form still splayed out on the table. Pressing his hands against them did no good; the swirling static made him more nauseous than he already was.

Somewhere, his duplicate heard his parents' footsteps. Panic set in and he stood up too fast. He ran back to the key rack, putting the restraint key back in its exact spot, and grabbed a mop. He ran it over the drops she had spilled on her way to the portal. His parents couldn't know how she got out, just that she did.

Through his duplicate's eyes, he saw his parents stumble into the kitchen, invention in hand and clearly sleep-deprived. He recalled his duplicate, tripping when they merged. With three seconds to spare, he got the mop back in its place and turned invisible.

"What in the world?!" His mom screeched, halting just inside the lab.

"Leaping, gallivanting lizards!" His dad cursed, frantically running for the table. "How did it escape? Maddie, did you use the extra strong restraints?"

"Of course! Are you sure you put the muzzle on right? What if she could wail?"

Danny flew through the walls back up to the front door. His parents had started arguing a lot more lately so he was used to it, but he did not want to hear them argue about who forgot what torture method. He changed back to his human form and opened the front door. Then he slammed it as hard as he could, hoping they would hear it.

"I'm home!" He shouted, walking toward the lab. The smell still hung heavy in the air; he'd be sleeping with his window open tonight. They were still arguing by the time he reached the lab again. He tried not to look at the table. "You guys are still awake?"

His voice cut through and they turned to look at him.

"Hi, dear," his mom muttered, rubbing her eyes. "How was your party?"

"Never mind the party," his dad huffed, sounding a little frustrated, "what's all over your face?"

Danny touched his cheek. He had completely forgotten Paulina had put makeup on him. That had been so long ago it felt like another lifetime. "Oh, uh, Paulina wanted to practice her makeup skills. I used to let Jazz do it all the time, so I figured-"

"Figured you'd let her make you look like a girl?" His mom elbowed his side. His dad choked. "I mean, it looks good! Space, just like you like."

Danny clenched his fists at his side. "Boys can wear makeup too, Dad. It's not like-"

"Why are you home so late?!" His mom interrupted when she noticed the time. "It's almost six in the morning!"

Danny crossed his arms to hide how badly his nails were biting into his palms. "I'm nineteen, Mom. I don't need a curfew anymore."

"Adult or not, there are still ghosts out there, young man. Surely your party didn't go this long. What else was so important you'd risk your safety?"

"There was a comet that was visible tonight. Dash and I went to go see it."

"I told you this astronaut business was going to get him in trouble." His dad pointed at his mom.

She ignored him, her eyes lighting up. "You were out with a boy?! Alone? At the observatory?"

His dad caught onto what she was saying. He grinned at his son. "That's where I took your mom on our twelfth date! Good job, Dan-O!"

"No, it's not like that!" Danny protested, getting angrier by the minute. He wished they would just listen to him for once.

"Oh, Danny why didn't you tell us?!" His mom pulled him into a hug. "You should invite him over for dinner!"

He squirmed out of her grip, slipping on a puddle of ectoplasm on the floor. He did not want to be having this conversation in this room. "We're not dating! He went with me in case there was a ghost. For safety reasons!"

"Well, I like him already! He sounds like a smart boy, caring about safety!" Jack-the-safety-takes-too-much-ghost-hunting-space-Fenton said.

"Have you guys even eaten dinner?" Danny changed the subject, already turning to head up the stairs. He couldn't stand to be in the lab any longer. His parents followed him.

"Good idea, Danny. I do feel a bit faint." His mom answered.

Danny plopped down into a chair at the kitchen table as his parents set about getting themselves bowls of cereal. If he wasn't so mad, he would have offered to make them something. He took a few calming breaths. "So, I wanted to talk to you guys about something."

"Is it about this boy you're seeing?" His mom squealed. "Is he cute? Is that his jacket you're wearing? Do I know him?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "You're not listening to me. I'm not seeing him. And yeah, Mom, you've met Dash a ton of times. But that's not what I wanted to tell you."

"You're getting old, Danny. You've never even brought anyone home. We'll be old and gray before your mom gets to make someone dinner." His dad sat down, bumping the table as he did so.

Danny stood up from the table. "You know, let's just talk about this later. It stinks of ectoplasm everywhere and I'm tired." It was true, he just wanted to shower and try to get the image of Emma out of his mind. The only reason he was attempting to have a conversation with his parents was because this was the first time he'd properly seen them in the last three days. And something about what Dash had said, prompted him to try.

"No, No, I'm sorry, honey." His mom rushed. "What did you wanna tell us?"

Danny stared at her for a moment, debating if this was even worth it. It wouldn't be. He knew that. But some part of him was yearning to know what they would think of his decision to be a teacher and he caved. "Uh, well, I've decided to go to college."

"Finally!" His dad cheered, spilling part of his cereal on the table. "Yale with your sister or Harvard?"

Danny could already feel the pit of despair opening in his stomach. He avoided his dad's eyes. "Just the community college here in Amity Park."

"Well, that's a start." His mom covered, kicking his dad under the table. "So what are you going for? Biochemist? Biomedical Engineer? Microbiologist? Astronomer?" She wiggled her eyebrows at the last one like she was in on some inside joke.

"Close," he wheezed. His hope that his parents had changed their view on careers went down the drain as they stared at him with anticipation and excitement in their eyes. His heart squeezed and he scuffed his foot against the floor. He shoved his hands into the pockets of Dash's jacket, gaining a little confidence as he remembered what he had told him. "Uh, I want to be an astronomy teacher. A professor, if I can manage it."

His gut twisted as he watched his father's face visible fall; his crow's feet disappearing with his smile. His mom did better at keeping her smile on her face, but it no longer reached her eyes.

"Well, we had one genius kid," his dad muttered. His mom kicked him again.

"What made you want to do that?" She asked, voice tense.

Danny wished he had never brought this up. He coughed, clearing his throat so they wouldn't hear his voice shake. "I mean, I like astronomy and Mr. Lancer said I'd make a good teacher. So, I've been thinking about it and-"

"Oh, well that's fine then." His dad sighed. "If someone else told you to do it, then you're practically guaranteed to change majors in your first year. We have nothing to worry about, Maddie!"

Danny couldn't believe how his dad had hit the point head-on and still refused to see it. Did he even hear himself?

"At least it's a start." His mom agreed. "You can at least get your generals done while you decide." Her words left no room for argument.

"Right." Danny bit out. He spun on his heel and started walking out of the kitchen. "I'm tired. Goodnight."

"Night, Danny!" His mom called, cheer returning to her voice.

"Goodnight!" His dad shouted, and then when he thought Danny was out of hearing range, he whispered to his mom. "I knew that Mr. Lancer wouldn't leave well enough alone when he kept showing up here his freshman year."

"Sometimes, teachers just don't know when to leave the parenting to the parents." His mom sighed.

"And to think Danny wants to be one of them!" His dad's laugh was boisterous.

"Maybe we should call Jazz. Have her talk to him. He always listens to her more anyway."

Danny sprinted up the last couple of stairs, slamming his bedroom door. As soon as it was shut, he felt the tears finally spill onto his cheeks. He shouldn't have told them. He shouldn't have said a damn word. He was desperate for their approval but he shouldn't have said anything. It always ended like this.

He couldn't hold a candle to Jazz the golden genius child. He wouldn't be good enough for them no matter what he did. Teacher or superhero, they hated both.

He stormed into his bathroom, yanking his clothes off and throwing them into his laundry basket. He felt slightly bad for treating Dash's jacket like that but he just wanted to get the smell of Emma's blood and the feeling of his parents' laughter off his skin.

He turned the shower to its coldest setting, finding a bit of comfort in his element. It was a stark contrast to the hot tears carving their way down his face. He wiped them away and watched the colors of Paulina's makeup fall through his fingers. He had liked how she'd done his eyeliner. Maybe as a way to piss his dad off, he'd ask her to teach him how to do it.

Done with his shower and wrapped in a towel, he grabbed his basket of clothes and took it to the washing machine. He threw an extra bit of detergent in there (checking Dash's jacket would be fine first) to make sure the smell really got out and then he marched back to his room, slamming his door again just because he could.

He put on his comfiest pair of Pj's, cracked his window, and collapsed in his bed. He sniffled, a few tears still trying to escape his eyes. He wished Jazz was awake. He wanted to talk to her before his parents did. He knew she'd be supportive of his decision. And he wanted to tell her his news before his parents ruined it.

He buried himself under his blankets, hoping they'd be enough to keep the monsters out of his mind while he tried to sleep.

The blankets never did anything to help.

Of All The Stories In The Stars, Ours Has Yet To Be Told (62761 words) by StarsWhisper Chapters: 7/? Fandom: Danny Phantom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Dash Baxter/Danny Fenton Characters: Danny Fenton, Dash Baxter, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, Paulina Sanchez, Kwan (Danny Phantom), Valerie Gray, Pookie (Danny Phantom) Additional Tags: Aged-Up Character(s), on the way to college, mentions of child abuse, Mentions of homophobia, Redemption Arcs, Bisexual Danny Fenton, everyone becoming good friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Second Chances, lots of classical literature references, Canon-Typical Violence, Angst, Lots of Crying, Some hurt/comfort, almost everyone has shitty parents, More tags to come as I think of them, Suicidal Thoughts, This is heavily inspired by marichat, stealing lots of headcanons from tumblr, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, not entirely canon compliant, I stole the pieces I like and combined them with fanon to get what I wanted, this was supposed to be a slow burn, Dialogue Heavy, some spooky shit will be snuck in here, Mutual Pining, Dissection, Bad Parents Jack and Maddie Fenton, lots of astrology references, Inspired by Orpheus and Eurydice (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), horror aspects will be in here, but also cute fluff, Asexual Character, Mentions or pevious eating disorders Summary: It's the end of senior year and Dash and Danny are having the worst time of their lives. Dash's father finds out he's queer and tries to kill him. That lands him in prison with divorce papers. Dash goes to therapy to cope and learn how to change his behaviors while taking some time off from school. He now needs to learn how to navigate the world and figure himself out. Danny fears he'll never figure out what he wants for his future beyond being the hero of Amity Park forever and he's running out of time to figure it out as he watches everyone he knows move on without him. Plus there are always the people hunting him down that he has to worry about on top of that.

~

Danny lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling, feet idly kicking the air as they dangled off the side. He listened to his phone ring, anxiety settling in his stomach. He'd already tried twice that day to get a hold of Jazz with no luck. He knew she was busy, but he couldn't help the little voice telling him his parents had gotten to her first. The phone was two rings away from going to voicemail again when she picked up.

"Hey, bro! What's popping?"

Danny snorted, laughing at her choice of slang words. Ever since getting to college, she'd been trying her best to sound cool and he was beginning to suspect Mr. Lancer had given her one of his 'how to be hip' dictionaries. "The only thing that should be popping, is you popping open a real dictionary."

Jazz sighed comically. "There's that younger brother sarcasm I've missed."

Danny rolled his eyes, a faint smile on his face. "How are you, Jazz?"

"Oh, I'm fine. The summer semester is kicking my ass. I've got seven essays, two research projects, and a group presentation all due by the end of the week, but, yeah, I'm fine."

"Jesus, Jazz, do you even have time to breathe?"

"I do right now. I'm sorry for missing your other calls. Is there something going on?"

"I understand you're busy. Nothing crazy, I just, uh, have Mom and Dad talked to you at all?" Danny chewed his bottom lip so hard he tasted blood.

"No," Jazz snorted. "The last I heard from either of them was a few days ago and all Dad sent me was a cat meme on Facebook. I figured they've just been too busy with ghost hunting to check up on me." The frustration in her voice was tense like she couldn't decide if she wanted to be sad or mad. She cared about her parents, but she harbored a lot of resentment about how the two of them were raised. "Why?"

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, cause I wanted to be the one to tell you that I've decided to go to college."

Jazz screamed. Danny ripped the phone away from his ear, only daring to bring it back when he couldn't hear her anymore. "Danny! That's amazing! Where are you going? What program are you doing? What convinced you?"

"Well, I had a talk with Mr. Lancer-"

"I knew he'd come through for me," Jazz whispered under her breath.

"And," Danny chuckled, "he was talking about this program here at Amity Community that I kind of liked. After some thinking, and admittedly a little pushing from Dash, I-"

"Dash? Dash Baxter? Since when are you two hanging out?"

"Uh, I haven't told you about that? Never mind, not important right now. I, well, I decided to be an astronomy teacher. A professor if I can swing it."

Jazz screamed again. "That's such a good choice! It's so you! Oh my gosh, my brother, a professor!" She gasped. "We can share our theories about classroom behavior now! This is going to be so great!"

Danny felt a huge wave of relief hit him, shaking a lot of his parents' disapproval off. He sighed, "Thanks, Jazz. I'm glad you think so."

"Mom and Dad didn't take it so well, huh?" Jazz's voice lost a lot of its excitement, a hint of bitterness glazing over it.

Danny glared up at the glowing stars on his ceiling. "No, not really. They're mad at Mr. Lancer for even putting the idea in my head. But, Mom said it was a start and I'll for sure want to change my major to biochemistry by the end of the semester when I've realized what it is I've gotten myself into."

Jazz hesitated, her voice careful. "And Dad?"

Danny's heart constricted. "He's just glad they have at least one genius kid."

"I'm going to lose my shit." Jazz hissed, knocking something over. "This is why I don't come home for Christmas. Don't listen to him, Danny. He should be proud of you. If he knew of half the shit you did in his lab, he would be proud. I'm proud of you."

"I miss you, Jazz." He sat up, resting his elbows on his knees. "They were a lot kinder when you were around."

"Only cause I had to kick their asses anytime they said some bullshit about you." Her voice softened. "I miss you too. But, hey, look at how great you're doing without me."

Danny laughed. "Yeah, but how much better could I be doing with you?"

"Oh! Speaking of old inside jokes, how are your, um, extracurricular activities going? Wink."

"You don't have to say wink." Danny jokingly rolled his eyes.

"Then how will you know I'm winking?"

"You're such a dork."

"I know you are but what am I?" Jazz laughed. "But, seriously, how are things going on the spooky side?"

Danny took a deep breath, flashes of the night before entering his mind. He stood up to pace his room, hoping to shake them off. "Uh, good, good. Just the usual. The ghosts might be on vacation, there have been fewer attacks lately. So, that's nice."

"You hesitated. Danny, you know you can tell me, right? I wouldn't ask if I thought I couldn't handle it."

Danny exhaled, long and low. "Okay, they were," he swallowed, his breath shaking, "They were dissecting a ghost in the lab last night. She was in real bad shape when I found her."

Jazz gasped. "Was it someone you knew?"

Danny shook his head, briefly forgetting she couldn't see him. "No, but, God, Jazz, she, she couldn't have been older than sixteen. She wasn't even a threat and they had her- she was completely, her arms were covered in-" Danny paused to take a deep steadying breath. "It was bad. She was in a lot of pain and the house reeked like they'd been at it for hours."

Jazz's voice carefully held no emotion. "What happened? Did they say anything about it?"

"Not to me. I got her out without them noticing. When they got back to the lab and found out they argued for a minute before I interrupted them." He stubbed his toe, hissing at the contact.

"That's- I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Do you, maybe, wanna talk about how you're feeling?"

Danny sat back down, twisting the sheets in his fingers. "Not really. I kind of want to forget it ever happened."

"Okay, that's fine." Jazz took a breath, then forced a teasing tone to creep back into her voice. "Then maybe you can explain this photo of you and Dash Baxter that both Tucker and Sam sent me."

"What?" Danny sat up straight, panic settling into his veins. "What photo?"

"It seems like a movie night at Sam's. You're asleep on his shoulder and you two look pretty cozy."

"That was an accident! I didn't mean to fall asleep. Okay, but, listen, I have to tell you about Dash." He proceeded to tell her everything from the beginning, how he had stopped messing with them a few years back, how he patched Phantom up, how Danny invited him to hang out, the whole story up til yesterday.

"So, what I'm getting out of this is that a pretty jock boy said thank you and you fell in love with him."

"I'm not in love with him! Why does everyone keep saying that?" Danny huffed, face warm.

"Uh, 'cause you're acting like it."

"I just, think he's cool. You know, I've mixed these feelings up before with Sam. This is probably just the same thing. I don't like him, I just think he's cool."

Jazz giggled. "Danny, please, I never heard you talk about Sam the way you just talked about Dash. You totally like him."

"I don't think I do. I mean, I do like being around him, a lot. As both Fenton and Phantom. He doesn't really act different between the two of them which is… nice. But if I liked him, I'd have to tell him I'm the same person, and then what if freaks out and starts acting differently again? I like this Dash. I like the way things are. I don't want them to change." Danny knew he was whining, but Jazz started it.

"Of course change is scary. And I'm not gonna say that you should tell him 'because of what could be' or anything. It's your relationship with the guy, you get to decide what you tell him. What I am saying is that you should be honest with yourself and you should have told me! You have a crush on a boy and you didn't tell your sister! I'm hurt."

"Uh, maybe!" Danny protested. "Maybe I have a crush on a boy."

"Liar, liar, pants on fire." Jazz sang.

"Don't you have like twenty essays to do or something?" Danny quipped.

Jazz bellowed a hearty laugh. "Yeah, I do. Talk to you later?"

"Yeah. Thanks for talking to me, Jazz."

"Anytime, bro. Love ya."

"Love you too." Danny hung up. He sighed and collapsed back on his bed, feeling better than he had before. He should make it a point to call his sister more often.

~

Danny: Hey, if I wanted 2 wear eyeliner, where would I start?

Paulina: Aaaaaaa!!! U liked it that much?! this is perfect. I haven't taught any1 make-up in a minute! R U busy? I could B there in ten minutes.

Danny: Would it B ok if i came 2 yours instead? parents have a bunch of dangerous experiments lying around this morning

Paulina: Oh, yeah that should B fine. I'll have everything set up by the time U get here. I'm so excited!

Danny: :D

Paulina has created a group chat.

Paulina has added Kwan, Dash, Danny, Tucker, Sam, and Valerie.

Paulina has sent a photo.

[The photo shows Paulina standing next to Danny in her huge vanity bathroom. They're holding their hands up in the peace sign gesture, winking, and sticking their tongues out. They wear matching eyeliner.]

Paulina: I am a goddess at make-up

Danny: Can confirm. I've learned from a master

Sam: Since the goddess can get you to do something I've been trying to convince you to do for years, I'll gladly bow

Tucker: Smthng U want 2 tell us, Sam?

Sam: Only that I can recognize talent when I see it

Valerie: But can Danny do it on his own?

Danny: I did Paulina's!!! She's been teaching me all day. This shit is hard

Dash: I didn't think you'd get to Paulina's level in one day

Danny: Oh, I'm nowhere near her level. She's a master. However, I can tell U the difference between liquid and felt tip eyeliner.

Sam: Prove it

Tucker: How's he supposed to prove it?

Valerie: He could do your eyeliner

Tucker: No thank U. That shit takes forever to get off. Never again. Why aren't we volunteering Dash for this?

Dash: Because I'm not back for another two weeks. And by then he'll be better at it so you won't be able to make fun of him

Danny: :(

Paulina: I can't believe ur all doubting my teaching skills

Sam: We're doubting Danny's art skills

Danny: >: (

Kwan: Yo!! Looking good, bro!

Danny: :) Thanks, bro. I knew I could count on U. The only 1 that has my back 4 real

Dash: I thought it looked cool

Danny: :D

Valerie: Anyone want to meet at Nasty Burger? I've got a craving for fries

Tucker: Say less, I'm omw

Sam: I'm down

Dash: :(

Danny: You'll be there in spirit :)

Kwan: Woooo! Party!!!! Dash, we can Skype you

Dash: That's okay, we're going on a hike here in a second

Paulina: That's what you get for abandoning us for a month

Dash: :(

~

Sam: I can't believe our resident nurse friend is gone right now

Dash: ?

Tucker: Danny needs stitches and Sam doesn't want to do it

Valerie: What'd he do this time?

Dash: This time?! How often does he need stitches? Is he okay?

Sam: More often than you'd think. He's a magnet for trouble

Tucker: He's fine. Just jumped in front of a car crash to save a kid. A piece of shrapnel gouged his leg.

Dash: Why isn't he in the hospital?! Is the kid okay?

Valerie deleted a chat

Valerie: Danny doesn't like hospitals. Why didn't he let Phantom handle it?

Sam: There weren't any ghosts involved. He wouldn't have shown.

Dash: Is everyone okay though? What's happening with Danny?

Tucker: The kid is worshiping Danny as we speak

Danny: Aw, worried about me Dash? ;)

Danny: Every1 is ok though. I got stitches. The kid is a little shaken, but otherwise unharmed and he's not worshiping me. He was just scared. It doesn't look like a serious crash either.

Dash: My friend jumped in front of a car, of fucking course I'm worried.

Tucker: Eh, he does this often. You'll get used to it.

Dash: Often!? Why?

Valerie: Acknowledging it only encourages him

Danny: Who else was going to save that kid? I think I prefer him over U guys

Dash: What did I do?

Danny: Ur exempt

Tucker: Simp

Danny: I will haunt ur ass Tuck

Tucker: No U won't. Ur too nice

Sam: It's true, that's a hollow threat and you know it

Danny: I can be threatening >=(

Paulina: Glad ur ok Danny! Hate to disagree with U guys, but Danny can be scary when he wants to be

Dash: Yeah, have U ever seen him mad? He's a wall of terror and rage

Valerie: How do you two know that?

Paulina: We used to be bad people.

Dash: U pick on the wrong kid once and suddenly Danny Fenton turns into ur worst nightmare

Danny: :D See?

Sam: Ur still not haunting Tucker

Tucker: I have bestie privileges

Danny: True. But I do too and I will not hesitate to send the blackmail photos I have saved.

Tucker: What photos?

Danny: ^u^

Tucker: Danny, what photos?!?!

~

"Go long!" Danny launched the frisbee through the air, watching Youngblood and Cujo race after it. Youngblood caught it and threw it back. Cujo spun around and came charging back toward him.

He caught it, narrowly dodging Cujo as he jumped after it. This time when he threw it, he used a little bit of ecto energy to throw it further. Cujo took the lead on this chase, Youngblood protesting.

"Hey! Cujo! Let me get it! You can't even throw it!"

"You'll never tire them out, you know." Ember huffed, scribbling music notes in her notebook.

"I know." Danny collapsed on the ground next to her, sinking into the soft grass of one of the ghost zone's islands. "I'm not trying to. Just making sure they don't get bored and try to cause chaos in the living world."

Ember huffed and picked up her guitar. "I've been doing just fine keeping them in check." She played a few chords, shook her head, and adjusted the strings.

"Yeah, you have. Thanks for that. I'm sorry I haven't been visiting as much lately."

She picked her notebook up and changed something she had written. "Yeah, what gives? That new boyfriend of yours better company than us or something?"

Danny tensed. "You know about Dash?"

Ember rolled her eyes. "The whole zone knows about Dash. Well, anyone who cares about Phantom, knows about Dash. Johnny has been itching to tease you about it."

"Great, well he's not even my boyfriend. So Johnny can lay off." Danny watched Youngblood and Cujo fight over the frisbee.

Ember hummed. "You know he won't. I think Skulker already has a plan to use him as bait too. You'd better keep an eye on him."

Danny groaned flopping over to stare up at the swirling green void. His vision filled with a giant green dog, dropping slobber over him like rain as it deposited the Frisbee next to him.

"Gross, Cujo!" Danny sat up, turning intangible so the dog spit would slide off of him.

"You're supposed to throw it back!" Youngblood huffed, sitting next to Ember. "This isn't fun anymore. I want to play pirates."

Danny raised an eyebrow at him, turning tangible again. "Do you remember what happened last time you played pirates? You sent three people to the hospital and leveled a whole city block."

Youngblood rolled his eyes. "It's not that big of a deal. They're all fine."

"People got hurt. That's not fine." Ember said gently.

"Ugh, big kids are no fun. It's fine because they'll just show up here if they get hurt. It's not like they disappear."

"It isn't fine," Danny soothed. "People aren't supposed to be here until they're ready. If you bring them here too early, it makes them really sad." Danny could tell Youngblood wasn't listening to the conversation anymore. Cujo butted his arm to get Danny to pet him.

"And you aren't supposed to be able to see me anymore. Rules are just dumb words that don't mean anything."

Danny tried to contain his frustration as he petted Cujo. He sighed. "Okay, why don't we play astronauts? We can use your slingshot for a spaceship again."

Youngblood brightened. "Okay! I'll go get it. C'mon Cujo! Help me carry it." Cujo barked and the two of them sped off toward Youngblood's door.

"Aren't you glad you're missing time with your boyfriend for this?" Ember sneered.

Danny frowned. "He's not my boyfriend. And I haven't just been spending all my time with him. I've been trying to apply for college and turn the antibiotics for the Fenton Venom into a vaccine. That way Pandora doesn't have to worry about distributing antibiotics to ghosts who are scared of her. You know, important things."

Ember huffed, ripping a page out of her notebook and throwing it at him. "Whatever. Just bring him to my next concert so I can make fun of you."

"No promises. Giving up on your song?" Danny threw the paper back at her, laughing.

"Not giving up, starting over. You giving up on getting over your crush?" She scribbles more in her notebook.

"You're not gonna drop this are you?" Danny wound his fingers around the ghost grass, ripping some chunks out and watching them blow away on the breeze.

"Nope." She popped the 'p', readjusting her guitar on her lap. "It's kind of the most interesting thing going on right now. Since I've given up on taking over the world, I have to entertain myself with your whole 'will I, won't I' thing."

Danny pouted. "Kitty and Johnny's 'will they won't they' isn't more interesting? What about your boyfriend? Is he not entertaining enough?"

"Uh, no. For one, Kitty and Johnny are annoying and they always get back together so it's boring at this point. And no, he's too busy trying to come up with a way to hunt you and the boy you want to kiss so bad it makes you look stupid." She struck a few chords on her guitar, nodding and writing it down.

Danny gasped, shoving her playfully. "I do not look stupid."

"Yes, you do. You fell in a goddamn lake." She grinned and motioned to her guitar. "You know, I could always help out with a well-timed love spell."

Danny frowned at her, eyes flashing in annoyance. "Not a chance. I'm not letting you put a spell on Dash."

"Aw, you care about him." She mocked. "Why don't you just fucking tell him?"

Danny huffed. "I don't know. Maybe I don't want him to freak out when he finds out I'm dead. Or not completely dead if he prefers Phantom. Oh god, what if he does prefer Phantom? What would I do then?"

Ember rolled her eyes. "Jesus, you're a mess. Look, I can't give you the best advice as someone who literally died because she got stood up. But, just ask yourself if you're willing to be lonely for the rest of your life because you're too scared to let someone take your feelings seriously. Don't be an idiot."

"I've got it!" Youngblood called, returning with Cujo who was balancing the slingshot on his back. "I call going first!"

"Coming!" Danny called. He smiled at Ember. "For someone who doesn't have a lot of advice, that was pretty good stuff. I like you better when you're not trying to take over the world."

"I know, you tell me all the time." Ember played more chords on her guitar. "Go play with the kid before he loses his mind."

Danny chuckled as he got up and flew over to Youngblood. "Alright, Commander, are you ready for launch?"

~

Danny: Hey, how's Cali?

Dash: It's fun. My aunt Cassie is teaching me the secret family recipes

Danny: :o any chance I can blackmail U into making those for me?

Dash: Yeah, you can ask nicely

Danny: Can U make them for me?

Dash: What's the magic word?

Danny: Ambivalent

Dash: I can withhold my cooking

Danny: This is cruel and unusual punishment

Dash: Weird, I don't think your texts are coming through

Danny: I refuse to beg

Dash: Then I refuse to share my secret family recipes

Danny: :(

Danny: :(

Danny: :(

Danny : Please?

Dash: Ok, you win. Hope you like chicken kebabs

Danny: <3 U have issues with Reggie yet?

Dash: Ugh, of course. My mom has put him in his place a couple of times though. It's been cool.

Danny: Let's go, Mrs. Baxter!

Dash: She says you can call her Jessica btw

Danny: Is ur mom reading ur texts?

Dash: No, she just asked who I was texting

Danny: Aw, she loves me <3

Dash: Don't encourage her. How are your stitches?

Danny: Still worried about that? I'm fine. It's no big deal.

Dash: It's kind of a big deal. I'm just glad you're okay. I seem to remember you promising a game night when I got back. Wouldn't be able to do that if you fucking died on me

Danny: Did I? I just remember saying we needed to hang out

Dash: No, I distinctly remember you saying that you'd help me get revenge on Tucker

Danny: Ur going after Tucker and not Sam?

Dash: Sam kicks ass. I don't think anyone can beat her. Tucker threw a blue shell at me. That's unforgivable.

Danny: Ok, u have convinced me. I'll help u with ur revenge scheme.

Dash: How upset is he going to be when he finds out I've turned you against him?

Danny: Immensely. He'll never let me live it down. U had better make it worth it

Dash: I'll get some practice in. Wouldn't want to let you down

Danny: Hope ur cousins are good practice then

Dash: Nathan might be, he hasn't left the game room since we got here.

Dash: I need to help with dinner, text you later?

Danny: Yeah, tell ur mom I said hi!

~

Danny, on his stomach, lay on his bed, one elbow supporting his head, red pen spinning in his other hand. An astronomy textbook lay open in front of him, a page already underlined with significant notes in the margins. He'd ordered the basic books for the classes he'd be taking ahead of time so he could use the second half of summer to get a jump start on his studies. He'd need the extra time if ghost attacks ramped up again in the fall.

Granted he was working off the textbooks the teachers had used the previous year so it might all be for naught. But he figured any information was good information, plus he liked seeing the pictures from the telescope.

He was underlining another sentence when his phone rang. He reached over, stretching to grab it from his nightstand, not even bothering to hide the smile on his face when he saw the contact picture. He dropped his pen and answered the call.

"Hey, Dash, what's-"

"Do you have to have your boyfriend fight all your battles, dweeb?" A voice he'd never heard before shouted a small distance from the mic.

"Shut the fuck up, Reggie!" Dash's voice was loud and pissed. "You're the one insisting you know everything when you're just sitting here talking out of your ass."

"Like some kid from Amity Park would know than me. I'm in-"

"Your seventh year of college, yeah, I think that's too many for an associate's degree, making you more of an idiot than a genius!" Dash snorted. "Danny, have you seen Mission to Mars?"

Danny resisted the urge to laugh. "Yeah. Are you calling me to settle a debate about a space movie?"

Dash sounded like he was ready to commit murder. "Yes. Reggie over here thinks that the movie is completely scientifically accurate."

"It's not." Danny closed his textbook and pushed it out of the way. He rolled onto his back to give his elbows a break.

"I fucking told you," Dash shouted, presumably at Reggie.

"What does some fresh high school graduate even know?" Reggie bit back.

"More than you asshole! He's going to get an astronomy degree and I don't think you even know what campus you stumbled onto."

Danny bit his lip to keep from laughing, a warm feeling bubbling up in his stomach.

"Boys, please," an elderly voice called, "the kids are in the next room."

"What part specifically are you arguing about?" Danny asked.

"The part where he takes his helmet off and instantly freezes. You were just talking about it the other day."

"You were actually listening to me rant about the effects of space on the human body?" Danny couldn't help the fluttery tone creeping into his voice. He wrapped his free arm around his stomach trying to contain the small butterflies forming there.

"I'm gonna be sick," Reggie hissed.

"Am I on speaker?" Danny picked at the loose threads on his jeans.

"Yeah, sorry, uh, can you explain to him what happens when an astronaut takes off their helmet in space?"

"Space is freezing, obviously they'd freeze," Reggie shouted disgruntled.

"Okay, first off," Danny started, understanding exactly why Dash hated this guy, "It doesn't matter what would happen because an astronaut would not be able to remove their own helmet. It has to be sealed and pressurized from the back, meaning they would need a partner to put it on and take it off properly. So, there's your first inaccuracy."

"What are your fucking sources for that?" Reggie spat.

"Fucking NASA." Danny snorted. "Fucking google it if you don't believe me. Although, I assume Dash already tried that."

Dash coughed, trying to cover his laugh.

"Whatever," Reggie huffed. "They'd still freeze if they could."

"Not immediately. The first thing that would happen is their skin would develop extreme sunburns from exposure to unfiltered ultraviolet light. If they didn't immediately exhale, their lungs would expand like a balloon from the unbalanced pressure. Parallel air expansion within their ears and sinuses will cause the tissues to rupture. Any moisture in the eyes, mouth, and throat will boil and vaporize. The rest of the liquids in the body will also start to boil and trigger extreme swelling in the muscles. Then the vaporization will cause localized temperatures to drop and then they'll begin to freeze. But that's not the end. Any body fluids that are left can and will escape the body however they can; crying, vomiting, urinating, defecating, all of it boiling on emission. And then they'll run out of oxygen causing hypoxia to take place. Within twelve seconds, they will have lost consciousness so at least they won't have to feel most of this. And if they're not re-pressurized within two minutes, they're certainly dead. And you can imagine the consequences of surviving."

The line on the other end was silent for a few moments. Danny thought he'd gone a bit too far and maybe ruined his reputation with Dash's family. The butterflies in his stomach were turning to stone. He stared at the stars on his ceiling, nerves eating away at him.

Dash, finally, broke the silence, his voice bold and full of pride. "Anything to say to that Reggie? Or did you not understand half the words he said? I thought you knew everything?"

Danny felt warm and gooey inside with the tone of Dash's voice. He was proud of him. Danny may as well be melting. He rolled on his side, curling up in an attempt to contain himself. He fidgeted with the edge of his blankets.

"Whatever," Reggie muttered. "Your boyfriend is creepy as hell. I'm going for a smoke." He heard a door close.

"Yeah, whatever, Reggie, you sore fucking loser," Dash muttered. Danny tried to keep his heart from jumping when Dash didn't correct Reggie on their relationship for a second time.

"Good job, Danny!" Dash's mom whispered nearby. "I owe you one."

"Thanks, Jessica." Danny giggled.

There was some shuffling and muttering on the other end before he heard another door. "You're off speaker now. Thanks for that. I've never seen Reggie so uncomfortable."

Danny's laugh was bubbly and he was embarrassed at how uncontrolled it was. "Anytime. It's nice to know you actually listened to my little space rant."

"Of course, I was listening. And look, it came in handy. Anytime you want to rant, I'm ready to listen."

Danny's face burned, tears pricking the corner of his eyes. His cheeks ached from how long his smile had been there. "Cool," he wheezed. "I'm always here to listen to you too. If there was anything you wanted to talk about."

"Really? Cause my grandma has been trying to teach me how to knit. I could tell you all about different types of yarn and needles."

Danny laughed, every nerve in his body alight with sparking nervous energy. One conversation with Dash was putting him through a lot of emotions in a very short time span. He would be lying if he said he hated it. "Then please, go on, knitting master. I'm all ears."

"Dash!" Dash's mom called faintly from the other room. "We're about to start the next movie! Danny can wait a few more days to have you all to himself!"

Dash sighed. "Well, I guess you'll have to wait to hear all about three-sided yarn until I get back. Talk to you later?"

"Yeah, later." Danny breathed, closing his phone as Dash hung up. He breathed out shakily, cradling his phone to his chest. His heart was racing under his fingers.

Dash had called him to prove a point about astronomy. And he was proud of him for his answer. And that made Danny feel very weak in the knees.

Oh boy, he might be in trouble.

~

Dash adjusted the temperature of the water at the kitchen sink. He was washing the apples they had, making sure to scrub all the pesticides off. He handed each one to his niece Janice who was peeling them at the kitchen table. His grandma sat next to her, mixing pie crust and humming a song.

"Dash, can I ask you something?" Janice asked, setting a freshly peeled apple in the wooden bowl on the table.

"Yeah, what's up, nerd?" He grabbed the last apple, pulling its sticker off and running it under the water.

"That boy that you keep texting, do you like him?"

Dash froze, the old yellow wallpaper with its red birds suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. "Maybe," he drawled. "Why do you want to know?"

Janice shrugged. "Reggie keeps saying mean things about it and I told him if he hurt your feelings about it I'd kick his ass. So, if you did like him, I was going to have to go to war." She struggled to pull a stem out of one of the apples. Their grandma passed her a small knife.

Dash grinned at the thought of his twelve-year-old niece fighting his twenty-five-year-old cousin. She would win. "You don't have to go to war for me, Janice. Just ignore Reggie. He's just a mean person."

"That's not an answer to my question, though." She stood up and got a glass down from the cabinet, filling it with the homemade juice from the fridge.

"I'm curious too." His grandma spoke. "With the way you called him the other day, I'd have thought you two were already dating." She winked at him.

Dash laughed to shake the nerves off. Calling Danny had been impulsive, he just wanted to put Reggie in his place. But he'd been thinking about how happy Danny had sounded since it happened. He turned off the sink and grabbed a cutting board and a fresh knife to start cutting the apples. "Well, if you two gossips need some to satisfy you, then maybe I'll admit to liking two boys."

Janice gasped, plopping back down in her seat. "Drama. Is one of them Danny?"

Dash nodded. "Yes, one of them is Danny. Don't you dare tell him."

"Who's the other one?" His grandma asked, adding more water to her mixing bowl.

Dash didn't really know how to explain Phantom to people who lived outside Amity Park. Ghosts weren't as common beyond their strange little town so they didn't really need ghost superheroes anywhere else. "Uh, just this other guy from school that I've been hanging out with."

His grandma sighed. "I wish I was still young enough to play the field like that."

"Grandma!" Janice gasped, scandalized. Their grandma just laughed. Janice grimaced. "Which one do you like better then? It's Danny, right?"

"You just want me to like Danny because he likes space." Dash slid the apple chunks off the board into a small bowl on the very end of the old wooden table.

"Uh, duh." Janice huffed. "Would it even work with this other guy?"

Dash sighed, remembering how disappointed Phantom had been in him the last time they talked. "I don't think so."

"Why not?" His grandma asked, waddling over to the oak cabinets in search of the dough roller.

"I don't know, gram. I haven't seen him in a while and we just have… different lifestyles. It might be a nice experience, but I don't think it would work long-term."

"There's nothing wrong with experiences." His grandma mused. "They're a part of life."

Dash gave her a small smile. "When did you get old enough to be so wise?"

She cackled, setting the roller down next to her bowl and moving her chair out of the way. "When did you get old enough to be worrying about boys?"

"Touche."

"So," Janice took a long sip of her juice, maintaining eye contact the whole time, "when are you gonna tell Danny?"

Dash frowned. He finished slicing the last apple and walked over to the sink to wash the cutting board. "I don't think I will. He's trying to figure out what he wants from life and I think I'd just get in his way."

"Why can't he figure it out with you?" Janice said with all the sting of honesty that children provided.

Dash didn't even know how to begin low self-esteem to her. His mind raced, trying to come up with a good excuse. "Uh, well, I just think he deserves the best and I think there's better than me."

"I think he's the one who gets to decide what he deserves." His grandma smiled. "You put yourself down too much Dash. We all have darkness in our past, but it doesn't make our present light less deserving."

Dash didn't get a chance to reply as his mom came bustling into the kitchen. "How's it going in here?"

His heart dropped when his grandma smirked at him. "Good. Jessica, dear, did you know your son has a crush on not one, but two boys?"

His mom turned a curious, twinkling eye to him. "I did not."

Janice was practically falling out of her seat. "Aunt Jes, you have to convince Dash to marry Danny so he can bring him to the next reunion so I can have a space buddy!"

His mom gasped, clapping her hands together. "You have a crush on Danny? That's wonderful! You already have my approval."

"Gram, you're a traitor," Dash grumbled. She playfully shrugged, as if she did nothing wrong.

His mom was never going to let him live this down.

"Are you ready to admit anything yet, then?" Paulina chirped from his phone. "Since, you know, you're visiting Danny the day after you're back from vacation and not me?"

Dash huffed, bringing his van to a stop for a red light. A stubborn part of him wanted to keep denying everything just so he wouldn't give Paulina the satisfaction of being right. "What, did my grandma snitch to you too?"

Paulina laughed. "If you were telling your grandma about him, then you're more whipped than I thought?"

Dash rolled his eyes, guiding his car through the green light. "Maybe more than I thought too."

Paulina screeched, absolutely delighted. "I didn't think you'd actually admit it! Tucker owes me twenty bucks!"

"You guys were placing bets?" The cars in front of him slowed to a stop. There were flashing lights up ahead signalling a detour. He craned his neck to see what was going on and only caught flashes of green; a ghost attack.

"Of course, what kind of friends would we be if we didn't? Sam bet that it wouldn't happen til college because both of you are too stubborn. She's gonna be so mad." Paulina giggled. Dash imagined she was kicking her feet too. "So, when are you telling him?"

Dash tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, urging the detour line to go faster. He was not in a particular hurry to get caught in the middle of another ghost fight. "I'm not."

Paulina sighed, long and dramatic. "Don't tell me you're still waiting for Phantom?"

"What?" Dash coughed, choking on his breath. There was a crashing sound from further up the street.

"What was that?" Paulina asked.

"Ghost attack," Dash responded automatically. "Why would you think I'm still waiting for Phantom?"

"Why else would you not want to tell Danny you like him? You can't have both, I mean, one that's unfair to the rest of us, and two, I think Danny would be pretty upset if he found out you still had feelings for a ghost when he's right there."

Dash snorted. "As if you don't also have a crush on Phantom."

"Passively! Like a celebrity crush! You almost kissed the guy!"

"It doesn't matter, I don't have to tell either of them anything. I'm allowed to have crushes that don't go anywhere. I don't have to share my feelings."

"Ugh!" Paulina pouted. "But don't you want to? I've seen how you look at him, Dash!"

"I don't want to rush anything, Paulie! Just three months ago I was still an asshole he wanted nothing to do with." Dash saw the ghost then. It was a massive T-rex stuck between two buildings. It was thrashing about as it tried to catch Phantom between its huge jaws. A spike of fear went through him as he flipped on his hazards. It had been a while since a ghost this big and dangerous attacked.

"I don't know about that," Paulina mused. "Sure we were awful to him, but that never stopped him from trying to go to our parties or hang out with us every chance he got. Sam and maybe Tucker had more of a grudge against us than Danny ever did. And remember that time our parents were kidnapped by ghost pirates? You were the one he picked to be his immediate backup. I don't think he would have done that if he hated you."

Dash felt his stomach flip, both in fear of the ghost in front of him and nerves from what Paulina was saying. A memory from the ghost mosquito epidemic rushed to his mind; Danny had been the only one to check on him when he was in danger. "Okay, but that still doesn't change my mind. I like how things are right now. I don't want to ruin that. Paulie, I've never even been in a relationship before. What if I fuck it all up?"

The T-rex roared, the force of it shaking the ground and his car. What was taking this detour so long?

Phantom was having a hard time getting close enough to the T-rex to use his thermos as it sent pieces of buildings flying through the air. It looked like the Fentons had also shown up as green bullet-like globs narrowly missed Phantom. How in the hell had they decided that Phantom was the bigger threat than a T-rex?

Dash gripped his steering wheel, knuckles turning white. Everything he learned about them made him feel bad for Jazz and Danny. Seriously, if Danny was down there about to be trampled, would they still priotize Phantom?

"No relationship is perfect, Dash. You can't avoid making mistakes. It's about communication and caring about how you fix issues, not avoiding them."

Dash breathed a sigh of relief as Phantom finally managed to capture the T-rex. Phantom turned and started shouting at the Fentons. It was an odd picture; a ghost hero floating the sky and berating a middle aged couple surrounded by pieces of broken buildings. It would make a lovely oil painting.

"I know," Dash relented, "but that doesn't make it less scary. I-" His words died in his throat as he watched the Fentons start shooting at Phantom again. Phantom was caught off guard, slow to dodge. One shot grazed his leg, causing him to stumble and fall right into a second shot that hit him directly in his torso. He went spiraling through the air, ectoplasm dropping like rain to the streets below. He was sinking closer and closer to the ground as he tried flying away, his powers failing him. He crashed into an alley close by Dash.

The Fentons were already in pursuit.

"I gotta call you back!" Dash muttered, ending the call before Paulina could respond, and yanked his van out of the detour line into the parking across the street. He scrambled out of his car, sprinting for the alley- he had to make it before the Fentons; even if he didn't know what he could even do, someone had to help.

"Phantom!" He shouted, turning into the alley. Phantom had one arm wrapped around his torso, the other was supporting his weight against the wall as he struggled to stand. Ectoplasm was everywhere, on Phantom, on the walls, on the ground, glowing like a bright neon sign for the Fentons. Its acrid smell burned Dash's nostrils.

Phantom looked up at the sound of his name. his eyes wide in adrenaline and panic. "Dash," he breathed, "you're back."

Phantom knew he'd been gone? Had he looked for him? Dash shook his head, not the time. He ran over to the hero, hands hovering uselessly in the air. "What can I do? They're coming."

Dash glanced around the alley, looking for anything useful. It was a dead end, solid brick wall too high and smooth to climb, especially with the state Phantom was in. There were no back doors to the buildings on the side to duck into and it was entirely empty except for one small dumpster near the end of the alley; too small to hide behind.

Nowhere to go.

Nowhere to hide.

Phantom moved his arm to check on the injury; a gaping hole in the right side of his torso, edges blackening and flaking off as the venom spread- the ectoplasm doing nothing to wash the venom away. His arm was starting to blister where it had been touching the wound and his leg was struggling to hold his weight.

Phantom's eyes darted between the wound, Dash, the alley, the sky, desperately trying to find a solution. He was sliding down the wall, his energy waning. He reached a hand out; Dash jumped into action, looping Phantom's arm around his shoulder and his own around Phantom's waist to support him. Phantom slumped against him, the chill of ectoplasm soaking straight through Dash's jacket.

They heard the Fentons' shouting close by.

Phantom gripped Dash's jacket (a backup, Danny still had his favorite one) with his free hand, pulling him close. He made eye contact; pain, panic, trust, desperation, several other emotions swirling in the depths of his green eyes.

"I trust you," he muttered.

Dash didn't get a chance to respond as Phantom crashed their lips together.

Several things happened all at once, too fast for Dash to process.

Phantom fell back against the brick wall behind him, taking a confused Dash with him. He turned his body so Dash's hip bone was keeping pressure on the wound and so that nobody entering the alley would be able to see the injury.

Phantom was kissing him. It was desperate, hurried, frantic. He was trying to communicate something to him, but Dash was too shocked to decipher it.

Phantom was bleeding out. He couldn't use his powers and he was bleeding out. He needed medical attention, not Dash's tongue in his mouth.

The Fentons were right around the corner, and the two of them were covered in ectoplasm; there was no hiding that. It stained his clothes, his skin, the alley. How was kissing him their best method of getting out of this? What piece of the puzzle was he missing here?

Phantom was kissing him, his fingers digging into Dash's back and Dash was starting to forget where they even were.

There was a bright flash of light behind his eyelids and suddenly the weight in his arms was heavier, the blood on his skin was warm instead of cold, the lips against his were now gasping for breath, the smell of iron assaulting his nose instead of bitter ozone.

Footsteps screeched to a halt at the entry to the alleyway; Dash barely registered them until a woman's voice echoed off the brick around them. "Danny?"

Phantom was pulling away from him, biting his lip and staring at him with pleading, desperate blue eyes.

His eyes were blue. Dash gasped, blinking up at him. The person clinging onto him in pure, unbridled fear wasn't Phantom; it was Danny. It was Danny's blood soaking his clothes. It had been Danny's lips on his. It was Danny begging for his help; Danny had said he trusted him to save him.

Danny was turning his panicked gaze to his parents who were standing in the alley with wide eyes. His parents who had just shot him; his parents who were trying to kill him.

Danny cleared his throat, trying to keep the pain out of his voice. "Mom!" he squeaked. "What are you guys doing here?"

The Fentons didn't seem to notice the blood everywhere now that it wasn't glowing green. Mr. Fenton frowned. "Didn't you notice the ghost, Danny? What are you still doing here?"

"Did you learn anything from our ghost safety lessons?!" Mrs. Fenton hissed.

Danny shrugged, nearly failing to keep a grimace off his face. "I was kind of busy." He glanced at Dash for backup, eyes begging, begging, him to help.

Dash blinked, still trying to process everything that had just happened. He sheepishly turned to the Fentons, careful not to take pressure off Danny's wound. He waved weakly. "Hi, Mrs. and Mr. Fenton."

Mrs. Fenton frowned at him. "The two of you could have been seriously hurt. Remove yourself from the Baxter boy and march yourself home right now, young man."

"Listen to your mother, Daniel, you're grounded." Mr. Fenton added.

Dash bit his tongue, fighting back his anger. Who were they to be concerned for his safety when they're the reason he's bleeding to death? Dash wanted to scream at them, rage, tell them exactly what he was thinking, but Danny sunk his fingers deeper into Dash's skin, sending a clear message; keep it together.

"I'm an adult now, you can't ground me." Danny grit his teeth, shifting his weight to lean more against Dash than the wall.

Dash was beginning to worry about how much blood his jacket was absorbing. How had the Fentons not noticed by now? Did Danny heal like this? How much time did they have?

"Isn't there a ghost you guys should be chasing right now?" Danny sneered.

Mrs. Fenton gasped. "Don't talk to-"

"He's right!" Mr. Fenton interrupted. "He's getting away, Maddie!" He took off down the street, not even looking back to make sure his wife was following.

Mrs. Fenton rolled her eyes, a sigh of exasperation leaving her. "Get home, Danny. We'll talk about this later." She took off after her husband, feet pounding against the sidewalk.

Danny sighed in relief, slumping to the floor, face pale and covered in a cold sweat. He grinned lazily up at Dash. "Fake-out make-out, totally a real thing."

Dash dropped next to him, hands already in action shrugging his jacket off to turn into a makeshift pressure bandage. Every memory he had with Danny and Phantom ran through his mind, a lot of weird coincidences started to make sense. "You're a ghost." He muttered intelligently.

Danny heaved a deep breath into his lungs as Dash tied the jacket around him. "Half-ghost."

"So, that time at the lake and outside my house, that was you? You're like, actually Phantom, not just possessed or something?" Dash's hands were shaking something awful. He shook his head. He needed to focus or Danny didn't stand a chance of making it. The wound was definitely worse now; about the size of a large baseball. The edges were still flaking off, but at a slower rate now that Danny wasn't in ghost form.

"Yeah, it was me. It's a long story."

"You kissed me." Dash was panicking. Blood was pounding in his ears and his chest felt tight. He grabbed Danny's arm to inspect the blisters there; they weren't as pressing of an issue.

"Fake-out make-out. Common Team Phantom tactic. Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else." Danny wheezed.

"You're a ghost. You're Phantom. Your parents are trying to kill you. Oh, my god, Danny, how did this happen?" The graze on Danny's leg wasn't a bad injury either. It would be fine until they could address the wound in his torso.

"Long story. I can tell you all about it when I'm not bleeding to death. We have a PowerPoint." Danny was starting to feel dizzy.

Dash hooked an arm under Danny's knees and another around his back, lifting him off the ground. Step one was to just get Danny to the car and then he'd figure out the rest. Obviously, he couldn't take him to his house, his parents might kill him.

"That's why Pookie attacked you. Cause you're dead. Are you dead? How does half-ghost work? Oh, god are you dying now? If you die again does that make you a full ghost?"

"Dash," Danny huffed, "I'm gonna pass out. I can't answer too many questions."

Dash peeked out into the street. Everybody had cleared out for the ghost attack. He'd be able to make it to his car unseen. He just hoped the Fentons weren't still lurking around. He sprinted for his car, careful not to jostle Danny too much. "Right, sorry. Who's we?"

"Sam, Tucker, Val, and me. Team Phantom."

Dash settled Danny in the back seat, reclining the seats to give him more room. "Okay, don't actually pass out."

"I might."

"Danny, listen to me. Don't pass out. If you pass out, I can't guarantee that I can bring you back."

"No promises," Danny breathed, laugh dying as he choked on his blood. "Sorry, about your jacket."

"Fuck my jacket." Dash closed the door and clambered into the front seat, frantically searching for his phone. "Just don't pass out and keep pressure on it. You said Sam knows?"

"Yeah, but she hates stitches."

"You'll need more than stitches," Dash muttered, dialing Sam's number. He started the car and turned it back toward his house. His mom was at work, it was probably the safest place they had. He'd just have to keep Pookie in his pen.

The phone was still ringing. "C'mon, Manson, pick up!"

"Ask her about the antibiotics," Danny mumbled.

The phone clicked as Sam answered.

"I mean it, Fenton. Keep your eyes open."

"Dash?" Sam hissed. "What's going-"

"Sam! It's Danny. He's in real bad shape. I need you, and Foley if he can, to grab whatever antibiotic he's talking about, a few gallons of distilled water, and medical gauze- the big pads- and meet me at my house in like ten minutes."

"Fuck," Sam muttered, tripping over something in her haste to get up. "How bad is it?"

Dash swallowed, glancing at Danny in the rearview mirror. His breathing was shallow; his skin was sickly pale and shiny with sweat. "Bad. Be fast."

He hung up to focus on driving so he didn't get anyone else injured. "Danny? Danny, talk to me. How are you doing?"

Danny chuckled weakly. "Just peachy."

Dash took a few breaths, the pungent smell of blood doing nothing to calm him down. "At least you're still making jokes."

"If I lost my humor, then I'd really be dead. There's no need to panic. I've had worse."

"There's a fucking hole in your side, what do you mean you've had worse?!" Dash took the corner to his street a little too fast.

"I'm half-ghost, there's, there's plenty of people lined up to, to torture me for any reason." Danny wheezed, his lungs failing him.

Dash felt sick. What in the world had Danny gone through up til now? "Okay, putting a pin in that for later. How do your ghost healing powers work?"

Danny choked back a groan of pain. "I don't really know. Full, full ghosts will heal back to where they were when they died. I just kind of, uh…" He trailed off.

"Stay with me, Danny! You kind of what?"

"Um, I don't know, it's like normal healing but accelerated? It's never be-been like this before. It usually just takes care of itself."

"Okay, okay. We can work with that." Dash pulled into his driveway. Sam and Tucker were waiting on his doorstep; Tucker chewing on his nails as he balanced gallons of water in one arm. Dash stumbled out of the car, throwing his keys at Tucker. "Foley, get the door open, get Pookie outside, and clear off the kitchen island. Sam, help me get Danny inside."

Tucker struggled to catch the keys, but he moved with a speed Dash hadn't thought him capable of once he had them. Sam was at his side in a moment, immediately moving to support Danny's shoulders as they worked him out of the car.

"We shouldn't stand him up, he might pass out. We'll just have to move him like this."

Sam nodded, paling when she saw the blood left behind on the seats. The two of them worked quickly to get him inside.

"Hi, Sam," Danny muttered, grinning at his friend lazily.

"Hi, idiot," She replied as they got him situated on the counter. She turned her attention to Dash. "What happened?"

Dash motioned to Tucker. "Grab a pillow from the couch to put under his head. Uh, his parents shot him with that weird venom stuff."

"So, you know?" Tucker asked, lifting Danny's head gently to place the pillow down.

"He knows," Danny uttered. "Guys, I'm not doing so good."

"Hang on, Danny," Dash whispered. "We've got you. Sam, how do these antibiotics work?"

Sam pulled a few deep blue vials out of her pocket. "We reverse-engineered them from the Fenton Venom, but they only work if the venom isn't active. We have to clean the wounds first."

Dash nodded, taking a few steadying breaths. "Okay, Tucker, grab a few towels from under the sink and do what you can to wash the venom off his arm and leg. Sam, I'm going to take the jacket off, there's going to be a lot of blood, you need to immediately rinse the venom off the edges of the wound so it stops spreading. Try to avoid getting water inside the wound. Got it?"

The two of them nodded, rushing to grab the aforementioned towels. Dash untied the jacket, ready to remove it once Sam was in position. He threaded the fingers of his free hand with Danny's. "This is going to hurt. You ready?"

Danny hummed, weakly clutching his fingers back. "Your hands are warm."

"Okay, go." Dash took the jacket off the wound, exposing it to the air. Danny hissed, painfully grasping Dash's hand. Tucker was quick to jump into action, taking great care not to spread the venom as he was cleaning it off.

Sam hesitated, rag dripping water between her fingers as she stared at the hole in his side.

"Sam," Dash soothed, trying not to let the fear and urgent frustration show in his voice though it was increasingly hard, "Do you need to switch places?"

Sam breathed out. "No, I've got this."

"Okay, hurry. We have to get his healing working again before he bleeds out."

Sam nodded, touching the rag to the wound. Danny screamed, crushing Dash's hand. Sam dropped the rag, covering her ears with her hands and squeezing her eyes shut. Dash grabbed her hand and replaced it with his in Danny's.

"Here, let me." He took her place, getting a new rag, pouring water over it, and immediately getting to work.

He blocked out the sound of Danny's screams and whimpers of pain as best he could.

His hands were covered in blood; he'd have nightmares about that.

The distilled water was a mute pink as dunked the rag in again.

"His arm and leg are done," Tucker muttered, tears staining his cheeks.

"There's bandages in the first aid kit under the sink, do you need the antibiotics?"

Tucker nodded as he rummaged around for the med kit. "They're supposed to help speed up the healing also."

"That's good." Dash huffed, getting the rest of the venom out. The wound slowly, incredibly slowly started stitching back together. He sighed, relieved. "Sam? Can you pass Tucker the antibiotics?"

Sam reached into her pocket, hands shaking, and passed over the vials. Tucker took them, passing one to Dash before he started with the bandages on his leg.

"Danny?" Dash asked, realizing he'd gone quiet. "You still with us?"

He didn't receive a response, but Danny was still breathing so he'd take it as a win. He'd gotten all the venom out and dosed the wound with antibiotics, but he wasn't really sure what to do now. It's not like he could stitch it up if the skin and muscle was just going to regrow.

"Uh, will this just close up?" Dash looked at Sam. She didn't respond, her eyes were closed and she was running her free hand through Danny's hair.

Tucker cleared his throat. "It should. He just… ends up fine."

"But you don't know for sure?" Dash washed his hands in the sink and grabbed the gauze pads the others had brought.

"No, he usually handles it by himself. I've never seen anything this bad."

"Okay." Dash's heart dropped. Danny had worse injuries than this, and he's dealt with it all alone? How had he managed that? Dash pressed the gauze pad over the wound, catching most of the remaining blood leaking out. He secured a bunch of layers in place with medical tape.

"Okay, he should be good." Dash breathed, leaning against the counter and resting his forehead in his hands. "Sam, Tucker, are you guys comfortable with washing the blood off him and getting him into some clean clothes?"

Sam nodded, finally opening her eyes. "Yeah, yeah we can do that."

Tucker raised an eyebrow on him. "Do you have some of Danny's clothes here?"

"No, I've just got mine, but he shouldn't be in bloody clothes. You two either if you can stand it."

"Are," Sam started, taking a deep breath, "are you okay?"

Dash shook his head. "No. There's blood all over me and my kitchen and my mom's van and I'm pretty sure there's some in my mouth from when he kissed me and he might die or is dead and-"

"He's not dead," Sam muttered.

"He kissed you?" Tucker gawked.

Dash hummed. "Fake-out make-out is what he called it."

"Wow," Tucker snickered. "Welcome to the team I guess."

"He's done that with all of you?"

"How do you think he figured out he was bisexual?" Tucker laughed, a strange sight when compared to the tears still making their way down his face.

Dash chuckled. "Figures." He sighed, watching some blood drop off the counter onto the floor. "I'm going to get started cleaning this up. Don't want it to stain and have my mom ask questions."

Tucker nodded, motioning to Sam to help him pick Danny up. "Salt and cornstarch help get blood out of fabric."

"Thanks, shout if you need help." Dash turned to the supply closet as the two of them gently hauled Danny upstairs. He really hoped they had cornstarch.

   It was hot.

It was cold.

Danny was shaking.

He inhaled, smelling fennel and cedarwood. It was warm, cozy.

He blinked his eyes open, groaning at the light; his surroundings blurry as his eyes tried to focus. Deep blue walls covered in sports and boyband posters stared back at him instead of glow-in-the-dark stars.

This wasn't his room.

Panic gripped his chest as he wildly grabbed at anything nearby to help pull himself up; the blood rushed from his head making him lightheaded. Warm, strong hands gently pushed him back down into the soft covers. Worried blue eyes and freckles filled his vision.

"Hey, easy, it's okay. You've just barely started healing, don't strain yourself."

"Dash?" Danny blinked, clearing his eyes. "Where am I?"

Dash leaned over, wringing water out of a rag and into a bucket before smoothing it over Danny's forehead. The chill of it was greatly welcomed. "My house. You're running a fever. Sam and Tucker are downstairs getting food. I'll have them bring you some water." He typed something into his phone before setting it back down. "How are you feeling?"

His muscles ached to the bone; his torso burned where he'd been shot; there was a headache pounding behind his eyes; his arm felt raw and his leg throbbed; he felt like he was being torn apart at the seams. "Shitty."

Dash huffed a small laugh. "Yeah, that seems right. Do you need anything?"

Danny shook his head, immediately regretting the action. "No." He swallowed against the dryness in his throat. "Sorry to traumatize you."

Dash forced a breath out of his lungs. "Yeah, when you're feeling better you owe me an explanation."

Danny grinned. "No promises."

"Okay, now you owe me two explanations." Dash joked back.

Danny hummed, his eyes drifting closed again. "Yeah, I know. Tucker has a slideshow that he's been dying to…" He trailed off, exhaustion creeping up on him and settling deep in his bones as he fell back asleep.

 The next time he was consciously aware of anything, he heard voices talking.

"Don't worry, my mom's working a late shift. It'll be fine for at least another six hours."

"How is he?"

"It's mostly just a surface wound now, uh, I guess it just has to finish stitching itself back together? But his insides are, well, on the inside."

Danny tried to open his eyes against the exhaustion weighing them down. His throat was parched. "Dash?"

There was some shuffling and then a hand was on his shoulder. "You okay?"

He shook his head, finally managing to get his eyes open, blinking up at Dash. "Water?" He croaked.

Dash helped him sit up, placing pillows behind his back and head to support him. Danny's hands shook as he accepted the glass of water; he chugged the whole thing, relishing the way the chill of it soothed his throat. He leaned back into the pillows taking deep breaths as Dash took the glass from him again.

Tucker sat on the edge of the bed, placing a comforting hand on his knee. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt and sweatpants instead of his normal cargo pants and sweater. "How ya' doin', buddy?"

"Better," Danny breathed. "How long has it been?"

"About seven hours since the incident," Sam answered, not meeting his eyes. She was wearing a sweater and joggers, nothing close to anything she'd ever consider wearing.

"My, uh, parents. Have they…" Danny trailed off, a little distracted by the strangeness of Sam's attire.

Tucker shook his head. "They haven't called anyone. They're probably still trying to find Phantom."

Danny breathed, relieved they hadn't caused issues for his friends while he was out. "Good." He twisted his fingers into the fabric of his shirt. The material was thick and heavy. He glanced down to find a dark blue sweater in place of his t-shirt. "Okay, what's going on with all of our clothes?"

Dash coughed, red creeping onto his face. "Uh, well, you kind of drenched everyone in blood so you all had to borrow some of mine while yours are in the wash."

Danny, trying to bury the trauma of that, grinned at him. "I didn't take you for a sweater person."

Dash just shrugged.

The room fell into an awkward silence. He supposed he couldn't delay it any longer. "Alright, Tuck, you got your slideshow?"

Tucker jumped up and ran over to his bag. "You know I do. Dash, do you have a projector?"

"Yeah, one second." Dash searched through the drawers on his desk.

Sam took a long sip from the mug in her hands. She hadn't spoken much in the last couple of hours.

"You okay, Sam?" Danny asked, pulling Dash's blankets closer to him. They were cozy.

"Fine." She muttered.

Danny frowned. Her eyes were smudged with black; different from the normal precise lines she had. And it wasn't like her to not make a snarky comment by now.

Tucker sat back down next to him as Dash passed him the projector. He set it up to display on the wall opposite Dash's bed. Sam dragged the desk chair over to them.

Tucker cleared his throat and straightened an invisible tie. "If you'll please keep all questions til the end, we'll go ahead and get started with a detailed backstory of Amity Park's famous ghost hero, Danny Phantom."

"You didn't even change your name," Dash muttered, running a hand down his face. "How did I not notice?"

"There, there." Danny patted Dash's shoulder. "I try very hard not to let people find out."

"Dude, you almost kissed me at the lake and I should have- I even told Paulina that you looked familiar and didn't connect the dots."

Danny coughed, his face burning something awful. "Uh, so Tucker you were saying?"

Tucker smirked at him but clicked start on the slideshow, a picture of a younger Danny standing with a jumpsuit next to a non-working portal coming up. Tucker started rapping poorly. "So, Danny Fenton was just fourteen when his parents built a very strange machine. It was designed to view a world unseen."

Sam put a hand over his mouth. "No, you're not singing this whole presentation."

Tucker shoved her off. "Why not?! I worked really hard on this!"

Danny wrinkled his nose at him. "I'm gonna fall asleep before you finish singing, dude."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Ugh, you guys are no fun." He clicked to the next slide. "So, basically Sam dared Danny to fix his parents' machine and he went in there and died and got-"

"He didn't die." Sam protested.

Danny huffed. "There's no sugarcoating it, Sam. I died."

Tears were spilling over her eyelids. "You're still here, you didn't die."

He leaned around Dash to glare at her. "I think I'm the one that gets to decide if I died or not. I was electrocuted and I died. I know you don't want to accept that, but it's what happened."

Sam shook her head. "No. You just got weird ghost powers. Danny, I can't- I can't have killed you okay? I can't have been the reason my best friend died."

Danny reeled back, shocked, his heart aching. "You're not- It's not your fault, Sam. I probably would have gone in that portal at some point."

Sam stood from her chair, fingers harshly tugging at her hair. "No, no you wouldn't have. You were a good kid who didn't break rules. You didn't even want us down in the lab, but- but, I was trying to- ghosts were just supposed to be spooky goth shit! They weren't supposed to get my best friend killed!" She slumped against the wall and buried her head in her hands.

Danny wished he could get up to comfort her, but moving was excruciating. "Sam, I don't blame you for what happened. You know that right?"

"Of course you don't." She sneered. "You die and it's my fault but you don't blame me. I try to have a say in everything that you do after to try and prove I'm not the bad influence who got you killed and I end up over-controlling and you still don't blame me for it. You just ask for space. You're too good, Danny, and that's what got you killed. Cause you couldn't tell a friend 'no'."

Tucker did get up; he crouched down next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry for saying it the way I did. I didn't realize you were beating yourself up over this. It was a dumb joke. And, I was there too you know. I encouraged it just as much as you did."

Dash was drumming his fingers on his knees and trying to look anywhere but at Sam. Danny felt a little bad for how awkward he must feel right now.

Sam shook her head again, what remained of her make-up washing away with her tears. "But, I'm the one who made him do it. And now every time you get hurt, it's my fault 'cause you wouldn't be fighting ghosts if I'd just listened to you when you said enough was enough."

"This," Danny gestured to himself and the wound in his side, "this is not your fault. I didn't have to listen to you. Deep down I was hoping that fixing the portal would make my parents see I'm just as smart and- and valuable as Jazz is. And this? This is because I was so pissed off at those same parents for ignoring the giant fucking dinosaur putting people in danger that I failed to remember I'm what they saw as more of a threat. It is not your fault, Sam. We were all dumb kids." Danny was out of breath, lungs heaving as they weren't fully rested.

Sam wiped her tears away, wrinkling her nose and wiping them on her pants. (She'd wash them for Dash later anyway.) "But I knew better. I should have known better."

Dash huffed, now he knew how his therapist felt. "Manson, if Danny doesn't blame you, then you need to forgive yourself. Or else you're just going to drown yourself and everyone around you in a wave of guilt and depression that won't do anyone any good. I don't think any of you need more of that."

Sam blinked at him. "Who taught you that, your therapist?"

"Yeah, so you should listen to professional advice."

"Dash is right," Danny added. "You can't keep beating yourself up over this. I'm the idiot who didn't look where he was putting his hand in a machine that was plugged in."

"Okay," Sam scrubbed at her eyes again, taking deep calming breaths. "Okay. God, I'm sorry for freaking out. That's such loser behavior, huh?"

Tucker squeezed her in a warm hug. "No need to apologize for expressing your feelings. I'll change the slide show. But only if you let me keep my theme song."

Sam snorted. "Deal. Speaking of your dumb slideshow, we'd better get through it before Dash dies of curiosity." Tucker grinned, helped Sam stand up, and then practically sprinted for the projector remote.

"You sure you're okay?" Danny asked.

Sam nodded. "For now. I should probably ask Dash for his therapist's number though."

"Okay, everyone ready? Let's start from the top, making edits as we go." Tucker clicked to the next slide.

They went over everything; from the portal accident to Danny learning how to use his powers to him beating the ghost king to Vlad causing issues with the Fright Knight to the Ancients appearing to parallel timelines. Danny had to give Tucker credit, it was a very thorough slideshow.

"So," Dash drawled as Tucker opened the floor for questions, "that's why you're so cold all the time? Cause you have fancy ice powers?"

"I wouldn't call them fancy, considering I could freeze from the inside out if I'm not careful, but yes." Danny relaxed back into the pillows, finding it hard to stay sitting by himself. Technically, he was still trying to shake a fever. He was slowly growing tired again even though he'd only been awake for half an hour.

"And, you're you the whole time? You're not like possessed by a ghost?"

"Yeah, it's me." Danny didn't really like admitting that part out loud a second time. Not when Dash was starting to connect a lot of dots.

"So, that time outside therapy, and in my backyard, and the la-"

"Yup!" Danny rushed, face starting to burn as he remembered the lake. "Yup, all me."

"Okay," Dash eyed him quizzically. "Why?"

Tucker started laughing. "You said thank you to him. It doesn't take much to get Danny to swoon-" He was cut off as Danny threw a pillow at his face.

"Shut up!" He hissed.

Sam joined in the teasing. "The whole reason he sat with you at lunch was cause you were nice and bandaged his booboo."

"Really?" Dash raised an eyebrow at him. "That's what made you want to be friends with me?"

Danny sunk into the pillows and pulled the blanket over his face. "I can't hear you over the sound of me trying to rest and recover here!"

"Very mature," Tucker snickered.

Sam poked his shoulder through the blanket. "Do you need help getting home Mr. Rest and Recovery?"

Danny frowned, poking his head back out. The thought of going home while he was healing wasn't the most appealing. He was still angry with his parents for putting the entire downtown in danger; he wasn't sure he could play civil with them in this state. Plus, they probably still wanted to ground him for what they thought was him ignoring a ghost attack to make out with a boy.

And he was still so very tired.

Dash cleared his throat, avoiding eye contact. "You can always stay here if you're not feeling up to moving. My mom usually goes straight to bed after a long shift. She wouldn't know you're here so she wouldn't be able to tell your parents."

Danny glanced between his friends, one option clearly more tempting than the other. He spoke tentatively. "If you're sure that's okay, then yeah, I'd like to stay. I just, don't really want to deal with my parents right now." Despite his best efforts to keep it at bay, he yawned.

"Alright then," Tucker stood and stretched. "Sam and I are headed out. Do either of you need anything from us?"

Danny shook his head.

Dash opened the door for them. "Uh, yeah, could you guys take the bloody rags and stuff to the dump?" He waved at Danny to signal that he'd be right back.

"See ya later, nerd." Sam smiled as she left.

Danny waved, happy that she was feeling better. He snuggled back down into Dash's bed, wincing as the muscles in his torso pulled at the wound. This thing was taking forever to heal.

He stared at Dash's wall as he drifted off, getting lost in the blur of posters and awards. He'd have to ask about those when he woke up.

 He woke to Dash gently shaking him. "Danny? Danny, wake up. I gotta check your bandages."

Danny groaned, forcefully rubbing the sleep from his eyes, head still groggy. "What time is it?"

"Just after two a.m. My mom just went to sleep." He set the first aid kit down on his bedside table. "Is it okay to lift your shirt?"

Danny yawned, "'is fine." He would have made a joke about the shirt not really being his, but he didn't have the energy to flirt with disaster right now. He fought to stay conscious as Dash removed the old bandage, put new medicine on the wound, and placed a new bandage on. "You're really good at this. You ever think about being a nurse?" He mumbled.

Dash snorted. "Do you see the hours my mom has to work? No thank you." He tugged Danny's shirt back down. "How are you feeling?"

Danny smirked lazily at him. "Better now that Nurse Baxter has taken care of me."

Dash's nose wrinkled. "Ew, that's what they call my mom." He reached around the medkit to grab a bowl and offered it to Danny. "I brought you some oatmeal, in case you were hungry."

Danny sat up far too quickly, head spinning. "Yes, please. I haven't eaten anything all day. I'm surprised Sam didn't kill me over it."

"Sam watches what you eat?" Dash tidied the med kit up and slipped it in under his bed before sitting next to Danny.

Danny averted his gaze sheepishly. "Uh, when I first got my ghost powers, I was so overwhelmed and worried about ghosts attacking at any second that I kind of didn't eat a lot. It lead to some really bad issues and Sam has been on my ass about eating properly since."

Dash nodded, twiddling his thumbs. "She's a good friend."

"Yeah, she is." Danny smiled.

Dash let him eat in silence for a few minutes before speaking again. "Can I ask you a few questions."

"Shoot." Danny was the only one who giggled at his pun.

Dash hesitated, biting his lip in thought. "What did you do before me? When you got injured?"

Danny shrugged. "Most of the time I would just take a nap and wake up mostly healed with a few sore muscles. If it required stitches, Jazz usually did it for me. The only reason I'm not healing as well is the Fenton Venom."

"And your healing works even when you're Fenton?"

"Yeah, it does." Danny chuckled under his breath. "Honestly? I thought you'd have found me out when Pookie bit me. That bite was already healing when you pulled out your fancy nurse stuff."

"That's why you didn't want me treating it." Dash hummed. "Okay, next one. Why were you hanging out with me as Phantom? Like actually?"

Danny took his time chewing his last bite and setting the bowl down before answering. "Well, you saving my ass that one time really meant a lot to me. Sam's not wrong when she said that was my main reason for seeking you out as Fenton. And, then I guess, I just kept running into you and I liked being around you, so I just stayed. Until I realized I was about to fuck things up and then I had to get out of there."

"Like when you almost kissed me?" Dash was prying, he knew. But Danny guessed he was owed an explanation.

"You were kind of pretty and I was a little distracted." Danny didn't dare let those words linger in the air. "Sorry, I just kind of left you freezing in your car. I panicked."

Dash shrugged, his face bright red. "It's okay. At least you got me to my car. You were so mad I thought you'd just leave me in the lake."

"It was freezing! You were going to get hypothermia! Seriously, who jumps in the lake after a ghost?"

Dash didn't hesitate. "You would have."

Danny jokingly rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah, but I'm also a ghost. It's not as dangerous for me." He leaned back and pulled the covers back up to his shoulders. He was still tired, but at least his fever seemed to be completely gone.

"How," Dash stopped, taking a breath and twiddling his thumbs, "how come you haven't told your parents? Isn't it more dangerous to not tell them? Since they're trying to kill you and everything?"

"You mean 'rip me apart molecule by molecule'?" Danny frowned, picking at threads in the blankets. "I don't know. I tried once, about a month after the accident. But they were distracted with a new invention and wouldn't listen and Jazz antagonized them over their tendency to be a little neglectful. After that they just kept talking about wanting to dissect ghosts to see what secrets they held. And I- I was scared. How can I prove their love of their son exceeds their love of ghost hunting? Today sure wasn't a great example. I'm more scared than I ever was before."

"God, I'm sorry. No wonder you never want to go home."

Danny shook his head. "It's not always like that. I love my parents, even if I'm upset with them right now. When we graduated, they took me out to my favorite restaurant and my mom had baked a whole cake that said 'congratulations Danny' on it. And they were so happy and proud of me. And on my birthday they planned a whole zoom call with Jazz and they all told me their favorite memories with me and gave me this photo album they had handcrafted full of favorite memories. They are thoughtful and they do care about me. It's just… I don't think they were ready for kids when they had us. At least, they weren't ready for two. It takes too much time away from their careers."

Dash reached forward, winding his fingers around Danny's in a show of comfort. "Cheers to complicated parents, right?"

Danny squeezed his hand. "Yeah, cheers to both of us having parents who tried to kill us."

"At least yours didn't know it was their son." Dash snorted.

Danny absentmindedly rubbed the back of Dash's hand with his thumb. "Can I ask something kind of shitty?"

"Go for it."

"Is your dad the reason you bullied me? I know you said he was the reason you stopped. I guess I'm just curious why you started."

Dash forced all the air from his lungs. He took a slow breath in. "Kind of. It was mostly my fault. He had said that weaker people deserved what came to them. And well, no offense, but you were kind of a twig back then and the other popular kids would make these mean jokes and I thought 'hey, this is what he's talking about. If you wanna stay on this end of it, you'd better participate'. So, I just started picking on you and hoped that would secure my spot with them. And it got worse after we kicked Valerie out. Sorry. I was just trying to make sure they didn't notice I was the weakest one among them."

Danny reached over and poked Dash's arm. "Weak, huh?"

Dash blinked, face turning red. "Uh, I meant, like emotionally."

Danny squeezed his hand. "Well, I'm glad you stopped. And I'm glad you and the others are friends now. You're all really fun to be around. And to be honest, I'd probably be dead without you today. Thanks for that."

Dash shrugged, gaze fixed firmly on the far wall as his ears felt like burning off. "You've saved my ass a lot. Even when I was being shitty to you. It's only fair I repay you."

"But you didn't have to. Especially when I kind of traumatized you by using you as a bandage and a distraction for my parents." Danny's eyes slipped closed again. He was getting tired of being so tired.

"Yeah, maybe next time we can leave the trauma out of it?"

Danny hummed, drifting off to sleep, Dash's hand still twined with his.

"Next time sounds nice."

Listen...

Rarely ever have I found a ship where there are at least three different main dynamics between the characters and I love all of them. Like, depending on the order of events that people put Danny and Dash through there are many ways they interact.

Situation 1: Dash apologizes and Danny being a good person accepts it and they become friends and then whoopsies, a crush. Love it.

Situation 2: Dash doesn't apologize but tries to be friends anyway and Danny has a lot of anger about that that ends up in a huge angst chapter where they talk it out. Adore it.

Situation 3: Dash gets close to Danny as Phantom first and in turn starts being kinder to Danny and then whoopsies now there are complicated crushes. Give me more of it.

I have read so many fics that follow one of these three patterns (And a few others that don't but I've read so many I can't remember the others rn) and I eat that shit up every time. They're all so good for so many reasons and I think people are really sleeping on these dynamics.

Y'all, chapter 7 is kicking my ass. I had to start putting the actual plot in here and I've restarted the chapter like 3 times because I can't get it to work with me.

Fucked around and drew a scene from my last chapter cause I'm having brain fog with writing. Got all the way done with it and realized Dash is wearing his jacket in this scene. I did not have the energy to fix it.

I have decided to break chapter 7 up into two parts because it's so massive that it's easier for me to write separately. So I've got the first draft of the first half down, I just have to get the second draft, edit it, and then it will be ready to go!

Danny was warm.

And cozy.

And only slightly sore.

Whatever pillow he was on was nice and soft. He pulled the pillow closer, snuggling into its warmth, hoping to sink back into a peaceful slumber. Until said pillow moved. Confused, he blinked his eyes open; seeing nothing but a wall of fabric at first, rising and falling in a gentle rhythm. He moved his hands, gently trailing over the fabric, feeling something solid and firm underneath; really firm. He pulled away enough to see where the fabric ended; at Dash's neck and face.

Panic flooded his veins.

He turned intangible to escape Dash's arms and rolled off the bed, turning tangible again just before he phased through the floor, making a tiny, tiny thump against the floorboards. His heart hammered against his chest, blood pounding in his ears. The room was spinning. He didn't remember falling asleep. The last thing he remembered was talking to Dash about his dad and then… nothing.

He squeezed his eyes shut trying to remember. He'd been holding Dash's hand to comfort him; had he fallen asleep like that? Had he trapped Dash there with him? Oh god, that's so embarrassing. Danny covered his face with his hands. How in the world was he going to live this down? What had he said? How was Dash going to react when he woke up?

Carefully, he sat up and peeked over the edge of the bed. Dash had shifted into a different position, having lost the support of Danny's body being there, but he was still asleep.

Danny quietly breathed a sigh of relief and sat with his back to the bed. As he calmed his racing heart, he started to notice the state his body was in. His muscles were sore and achy, not as bad as they had been yesterday. He needed food and water, but he didn't want to just disappear after Dash had spent a whole day taking care of him. He deserved better than that, no matter how awkward or hungry Danny was.

He pulled his shirt (Dash's sweater) up to check on the wound, peeling the bandages off to reveal nothing but smooth, tender skin underneath. He looked around Dash's room for a trashcan, finding one under his desk and disposing of the bandages in the safest way he could. Then, curiosity got the better of him and he investigated Dash's room. It had changed quite a bit since the last time he'd been in here; considering the last time was a few years ago and Technus had pretty much destroyed the place, it made sense.

There was a wall of different sports trophies by his desk, spanning their four years of high school and quite a few middle school ones as well. A lava lamp on his desk illuminated them, making them glint and shine. The rest of his desk was covered in notebooks, college flyers, and a few of the books they'd had to read for Lancer's class.

There was a huge stereo against the wall by his door; just like the one Sam had. Although, it was hard for him to imagine Dash blasting angsty rock music loud enough to shake his walls the way Sam did. He looked through some of the CDs sitting next to it and found some of the usual teen stuff: Dumpty Humpty, a few of Ember's albums, Big Time Rush, One Direction, Twenty-one Pilots, Fallout Boy. But he also found a surprising amount of classical music. He wondered if Dash used it to study or if he simply just enjoyed it.

A memory tickled Danny's brain and he crept over to the closet, thankful for his ghostly quiet footsteps. He slowly pulled the door open so it wouldn't creak and peeked inside. He chuckled when he saw the collection of teddy bears still sitting there. He'd have to ask Dash about them when he woke up.

His phone rang from the table next to Dash's bed, loud and startling. He scrambled to answer it before it woke Dash up.

"Hello?" He walked to the other side of the room, leaning against Dash's desk and keeping his voice low.

"Danny," It was his mom, her voice heavy with worry, "are you okay?"

He'd almost forgotten their fight in the alley. It all came rushing back to him now and he picked at the edge of his shirt, trying to keep his tone even. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"It's just," she sniffled, was she crying? "You haven't been home since the ghost attack yesterday." Her voice was shaking.

Danny fought the rush of guilt that swept over him. "Didn't think you guys would even notice."

She sighed. "I know we get caught up in our work sometimes-"

Danny snorted.

"-but that doesn't mean we love you any less. I'm, I'm sorry about yesterday. I was only worried you would get hurt because you were blatantly ignoring danger. I didn't- I wasn't trying to- I didn't mean to come across as unsupportive."

A mix of emotions hit him, making him want to self-combust. He was angry. He was guilty. He was sad. He was betrayed. How could she say that when she'd been the one causing danger? How dare she be worried when she never pays attention to him; his mom was worried about him. Enough to check on him. He sighed, chewing his lip as tears pricked at his eyes. "Listen, Mom, I- I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be rude. You just scared me-"

"You were just responding to our tone." She interrupted. "Oh, what was it Jazz's textbooks call it? Matching energy? Something like that. Anyway, I'm sorry I was too worried about catching Phantom and not worried about you."

Danny's heart sank. He took a deep breath. "And dad?"

The silence hung in the air for a minute. "He's sorry too."

"Why doesn't he tell me that?" Danny wasn't sure if he should be worried for his dad or angry with him. He'd made a bunch of out-of-character comments lately and he wasn't sure if that was his dad changing his opinions or if it was just work stress.

"He's been in the lab since we got back. I'll tell him to call you."

Danny snorted again. "Don't bother. If he wants to call me he has my number."

"Your father is trying, Danny, he really is. It's just that he's been working late and you know how he is, he's never been great at the whole bonding thing."

"Sure," He sniped. He took a few deep breaths. The last thing he needed to do was get angry and go on a rampage in Dash's room. He wanted to keep Dash as far away from his anger as he could; it was never pretty and he might think differently about him if he saw.

He could hear his mom still sniffling, though she tried to force some teasing into her tone. "You and the Baxter boy were being safe, right?"

Danny groaned, resisting the urge to hang up the phone and avoid the conversation. "That's not what was about to happen, I promise. We were just…" He hesitated. It had been his best option at the time, but he hadn't thought about how he would explain this to his parents later.

"It's okay, Danny, I remember being your age. One time your father and I-"

"Ew, gross, Mom, I'm hanging up."

"Wait-" She chirped. "Just tell me if you like him! Give me the goss, you kids still say that right?"

"No." Danny panicked, biting his lips. He used to be really close with his mom, but over the years he'd learned to keep her at a distance. He wasn't exactly sure why, but it had started even before the portal incident. Maybe it was because bigger kids didn't need as much attention. Maybe it was because Jazz was more likely to help him with homework and bullies at school. Maybe it was because he liked space more than ghosts. Maybe it was because she only remembered he existed when it was convenient for her to be a parent and not when he needed her; not when he wanted her to chaperon a field trip; not when he wanted her to come to his eighth-grade play; not when he'd died and just wanted his mom to hug him and tell him everything was going to be okay; not when his grades started slipping because he was trying to balance being a hero- who she hated- and being just a regular kid; not when he'd won an astronomy award his sophomore year; always when she decided she wanted to worm her way into his life- like when she wanted to know if he liked a boy or not.

He sighed. "I guess you'll know if he ever comes over for dinner."

He could hear her sharp intake of breath as she tried to keep the hurt down. She didn't respond right away. "Well, you're sure you're safe?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Sorry for worrying you." He wasn't actually sorry, but he knew it was what she wanted to hear.

"Are you coming home soon? I'm sorry if I made it feel unsafe to be here."

He had to resist the urge to laugh at the irony. "Yeah, I'll see you later."

"Okay, I love you."

He hesitated. "Love you too." He hung up, running his hands through his hair to try and shake the lingering emotions off. He felt like he was simultaneously on fire and sitting in a bucket of ice at the same time. If he could even begin to explain how he felt about his parents shooting him and then being worried that he's presumably not speaking to them over a boy to a therapist, he would. He shook his head, clearing the last of his thoughts, and turned around to finish exploring Dash's room, only to find said person awake.

"Sorry," Dash muttered looking away like he'd just witnessed a crime. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

Danny shrugged. "It's not like it was confidential. Sorry for waking you."

"That's okay." Dash swung his feet over the edge of his bed and stretched, his shirt riding up. Danny immediately looked away, closely studying a sports poster on the wall. "How are you feeling? Physically, I mean. Looks like that phone call took a lot out of you emotionally."

Danny fiddled with his phone, before shoving it in his pocket. "Yeah. Uh, I'm feeling better. It's healed now, just a bit sore is all."

Dash walked over. "Mind if I check?"

"What?" Danny chuckled, nerves crackling. "You don't trust me?"

Dash frowned at him, looking torn. "Trust you with my life? Yeah, absolutely. Trust you with yours? Not so much."

Danny didn't have a response to that so he just lifted the shirt to show Dash where the wound had been. "See? All good."

Dash took a step forward, gently prodding the area, looking for signs of lingering internal damage. "Okay, I believe you."

Danny dropped his shirt, face warm and butterflies attacking his throat. Dash was close enough that if Danny just leaned down he could kiss him. "What do you mean you don't trust me with my life?" He gripped the edges of the shirt tight between his hands to keep them from reaching out.

Dash sighed, dropping his eyes to the floor as he carefully constructed his response. "When I thought you were just Phantom, seeing you throw yourself into danger with no hesitation didn't really bother me. It was scary to watch you get hurt and I wanted to help where I could, but Phantom's just a ghost, right? Already dead. There's no reason to assume you couldn't take those hits. It was a little more nerve-wracking the first time you got hit by the Fenton Venom and I saw my- the town's hero was actually capable of being seriously hurt. But, still not, not as worried as I would have been if, well if it had been you."

Dash looked back up, eyes pleading with Danny to understand what he was saying. Danny liked his eyes, they were always so expressive.

"But it was you. And you're not dead, at least not entirely, and you can get hurt, bad. And that makes me worried. It's awesome that you save people, hell, you've saved my ass more times than I can count, but you're selfless to a fault. Even as Fenton you're willing to just throw yourself in front of a car for a kid you've never met. Every time you do that, I'm worried I'm going to lose my friend, someone I care about. What even happens if you die again? Do you just disappear? I-" Dash swallowed, eyes falling away from Danny's again. "I don't want that to happen to you."

Danny wanted to kiss him. His heart was hammering, a strange, addicting mixture of joy and melancholy flittering around in his chest. He knew Dash had changed, heavily encouraged it even. But he had never thought that the kid who had tormented him- called him names, made his social life hell, and even on a few occasions hit him- would ever care so deeply about his well-being; or tend to his injuries with such gentle hands and tell him that because he was there everything was going to be okay.

His head was all fuzzy, making it hard to think. "Dash, I-"

A shout from downstairs interrupted him. "Dash, if you're awake I've made breakfast!" It was his mom.

Dash snapped out of whatever trance he was in and backed away, giving Danny room to breathe. He shook his head, wiping a stray tear from his face. "You're probably starving. Do you want to come down for breakfast?"

Danny was dizzy, seasick. All he wanted was to kiss Dash senseless right then and there, but he wasn't sure if that was because of his developing crush or just because he felt overwhelmed by the feeling of being cared for. He cleared his throat. "Oh, uh, that's okay. I wouldn't want to impose. You've already done so-"

"Danny," Dash's tone didn't leave room for arguments. It sent a shiver down his spine. "I don't mind. It's not a burden to take care of you."

Jesus. Danny shook his head. "What about your mom? I wouldn't want to bother her."

Dash stared at him for a long moment, thoughts churning behind his eyes; Danny was going to drown in them if he didn't blink anytime soon. Dash burst into laughter, shattering the stillness of the moment. He'd never seen Dash laugh, really laugh, before. His face turned red from the lack of oxygen and he had to lean on his desk for support as he struggled to get air in between laughs. He gripped his side as it started to ache from the force of his laughter. It was enthralling.

"What?" Danny wheezed; he was going to melt from how warm he was.

"Sorry," Dash huffed out. "It's just that I'm an idiot" He took a few more breaths to get his laughter under control. "How did I not notice you and Phantom were the same person when you use the same excuses for everything."

Danny hunched in on himself, trying to hide the embarrassment. "I do not."

"You used not wanting to bother my parents as an excuse to not sit and eat cake with me like, two months ago."

"It's true though, your mom is nice and I don't want to take advantage of that." He squeaked.

"Danny, my mom adores you. She's upset you're not in her kitchen more often." Dash turned to open his door. "So, it's settled. You're eating breakfast with us."

"Wait," Danny stepped forward, placing a hand on the door to keep Dash from opening it. "Uh, do you have my clothes anywhere? Your mom might have questions if she sees me wearing yours."

Dash gave Danny a long, slow look up and down, making his nerves catch fire; he felt himself turn invisible from the embarrassment. It's a wonder he hadn't done that in front of him before. To Dash's credit, he barely batted an eye, choosing to fiddle with the doorknob instead. "Your, uh, your clothes did not make it. We couldn't get all the blood out."

"Oh. Uh, okay." Danny chewed his lip thinking of other options, willing himself to reappear.

Dash cleared his throat. "Should we, like, pretend."

"Pretend they're my clothes?" Danny furrowed his brows in confusion.

Dash shook his head, rocking on his feet and avoiding eye contact. "Your parents already think something's happening between us. Would it be easier for you to pretend if there was?"

Danny's heart stopped, his lungs losing the ability to breathe. He wheezed, "Like pretend to date?"

Dash huffed, throwing his hands up and running his fingers through his hair, making it stick up in a few directions. "I don't know! It was just a suggestion. You didn't exactly tell your mom we weren't involved. So, how are you going to explain… yesterday?"

Danny pressed his hands over his eyes, wanting to disappear again. "I don't know? I just kind of thought they'd be used to it by now."

"Used to what by now?" Dash squeaked.

"Sam invented the fake-out make-out thing like five years ago. I thought they'd just be used to me being a whore with my friends and not question it!"

"How often do you kiss Sam and Tucker?" Dash was trying not to laugh now; Danny's misery must have been hilarious from his point of view.

"I don't know, a lot? Does it matter?" He tugged at his sweater, desperate to give his hands something to do to shake off the shame he was starting to feel.

Dash was laughing again; that genuine and deep laugh he's had only just a few moments before. And Danny's last shred of denial crumbled away.  

He liked Dash.

He really did. He liked his laugh, he liked how kind he'd become; how brave and selfless. Even with all his self-doubt he knew what he stood for and believed in. He gently touched his side, warmth spreading through his chest as he remembered how caring Dash had been. It took every ounce of strength he had not to push Dash against the wall and swallow his laughter; to kiss him in a way that took everything Danny felt for him and embedded it in his soul so he'd never forget it; to touch him in a way that made Dash feel just as overwhelmed with the emotion as he did. He dug his fingernails into his palm to calm himself down, to shove the feelings back where they came from.

Dash straightened, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Okay, so we can just make something up if my mom asks. What are you gonna tell your parents?"

"Uh," Danny blinked, clearing his thoughts, "I don't know. I'll figure it out. Sorry for dragging you into all this."

Dash smiled at him before opening the door. "I'm not. I'm glad you trusted me. Maybe I'm not such a lost cause after all, right?"

Danny returned his smile as his stomach churned and tied itself into knots. "You never were." He cleared his throat. "And I'll pay you back for breakfast, I promise."

Dash snorted, leading the way down the hall. "Not on your afterlife."

The park was chilly, covered in a light fog. Dash stuffed his hands in his pockets as he watched Pookie sniff a bush. He was too anxious to sleep. He hadn't seen Danny in a few days and except for a few stray texts, he hadn't heard much from him.

He had to wonder if he was avoiding him; and he wasn't sure if it was the kiss (fake-out make-out), or him suggesting they should pretend to date, or if it was just that Danny was still embarrassed with the whole situation.

He sighed, shaking his nerves and the night's chill from his body. He was still trying to wrap his head around the idea of Danny and Phantom being the same person. It should have been obvious to him: Phantom had Danny's humor and Danny had Phantom's courage, they made the same jokes and had the same laugh, it should have been obvious.

Apparently, Dash had a type.

But now he felt more at a loss than ever. It was clear to him that Danny just saw him as a friend; at most, he only found him generally attractive. Memories from the lake and the night they'd gone star gazing played in his mind. Danny had almost kissed him twice but had decided against it each time, pulling away like he was too close to a fire- and maybe he was; Dash had been capable of destroying relationships he cared about before, who's to say he wouldn't do it again? And it was clear he'd been rejected by both his crushes- well, one crush twice.

And he was avoiding him, in both forms.

He kicked at the dirt on the path, startling Pookie. He whispered apologies and continued down the path, letting his hand trail over the soft leaves of the bushes. The park was unusually still and eerily quiet. The only animal he could hear was the occasional owl hooting and Pookie sniffing around the ground. He didn't even see the ghost squirrels out.

Something was very, very wrong about the park if neither the living nor the dead were out. A gentle breeze grazed his skin, but he suspected it was the uneasy feeling of being watched that made him shiver. A cold pit fell into his stomach as he looked around, not seeing very far through the fog. He'd had enough moping and fresh air; it'd be safer staring at his ceiling right now.

He turned, crunching the dirt underneath his sandals, and gently tugged Pookie back the way they'd come. Thank god his house wasn't too far from the park.

He'd be fine.

In the distance, hovering just beyond the edge of the fog, he saw a tall figure materialize as it slowly walked his way. He tensed, something about the figure unnerved him; he kept his eyes glued firmly ahead. They'd pass each other by, maybe do a bro nod, and go their separate ways with no issues and very little interaction. Who'd want to talk to strangers at two am anyway?

Serial Killers.

Dash felt himself speed up; until Pookie started growling at the figure. He stopped, eyeing the figure as it got closer. He was tall, not taller than Dash, Danny was definitely taller, but he still held an imposing height. He was wearing a well-tailored suit; his greying hair was tied in a slick-backed ponytail.

A cold shiver of dread rolled down Dash's spine, not unlike the aura of fear he felt when ghosts were attacking. He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen this man somewhere before. He tugged Pookie's leash, pulling the barking dog closer to him; he was barking like he had at Danny. Dash's heart beat erratically; cold claws of terror dragged across his skin, making his hair stand on end. He couldn't breathe around the knot in his throat. Whoever this man was, he wasn't human.

"Good evening," the man spoke, coming to a stop right in front of him, his voice smooth, cold, and calculating.

Dash didn't respond, didn't dare take his eyes off the man lest he attack the second he looked away. He knew there was no hiding now and there was no way he'd outrun something that wasn't human.

"What's a young man like you doing out this late?"

Dash frowned. "I could ask you the same thing." He flinched at the man's answering laugh.

"You flatter me." He grinned, something evil oozing across his lips. His hands were behind his back, his posture pristine, perfect. "The name's Vlad Masters. May I ask yours?"

Dash took an instinctive step back; Vlad watching the move with a knowing eye. Dash knew that name; it had been in Tucker's slide show. He bent down, keeping his eyes on the man, and picked up Pookie, cradling the growling dog to his chest. Every fiber in his being was telling him to run, to get away from him. He took a deep breath, shoving the fear down. "Something tells me you already know."

Vlad hummed, pulling his hands around to the front to adjust his cuffs. He tilted his head, a predator about to ensnare his prey. "Very perceptive, Dash Baxter."

Dash took another step back, choking on his lungs. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Ah, perhaps not. I just have a few…" his eyes glinted in the light, "…questions about our mutual acquaintance, Daniel Fenton."

Dash inhaled sharply, eyes momentarily darting away from Vlad. He shifted Pookie in his arms, trying to get the dog to calm down but it was hard to do when he was shaking just as much. "What do you want with Danny?"

"Ah," Vlad leered at him, drawing out his syllables, "more than an acquaintance for you?"

From what he knew, Vlad was like Danny, half-ghost. Who knew what powers he had? Dash couldn't make a run for it, no way he'd make it. Even if he could run and hide, he wouldn't be able to keep Pookie quiet. "I don't know what you mean."

Vlad cackled under his breath, walking around Dash's side, circling like a vulture. "An acquaintance wouldn't know about Phantom, would they?"

"I didn't say anything about Phantom." Dash was trapped in a pit with a very hungry beast, with nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and no way to fight back. He turned to follow Vlad's movements, keeping the man where he could see him.

"You didn't have to. But it would do well not to waste our time playing dumb, Mr. Baxter." He sneered. "I only want information."

Dash swallowed his nerves, adrenaline pulsing through his veins. "What kind of information?"

"Yeah, Vlad," Danny, in Phantom form, dropped down between them, pushing Dash a few feet back. "what information?"

Dash sighed in relief as that familiar feeling of safety radiated from Danny and washed over him, releasing the grip Vlad's aura had on him. He stepped closer to him, unashamed of the way he was cowering. Pookie stopped barking, opting for a soft growling instead.

"Daniel," Vlad smoothed, taking an irritated deep breath and pausing his steps, "how nice of you to join us. I see you've grown taller."

"Cut the bullshit," Danny growled, glaring down at the man. "What do you think you're doing?"

Dash knew that tone in Danny's voice, had been on the receiving end of it a few times; he was pissed. And Dash, in that moment, was almost afraid of Danny too; his aura of safety weakening as his anger grew. It felt like his heart was freezing over just standing next to him.

"I'm simply making conversation, Daniel, nothing for you to worry about." Vlad took a step closer to them. Danny held his ground.

"There's always something to worry about with you. Get tired of your lonely bachelor pad in Wisconsin?" Danny's words were teasing, but they didn't mask the hatred underneath.

Vlad tsked and took another step. "Maybe I'm here visiting some friends. I hear Jack misses me."

Danny reached behind him to grab Dash's wrist and pulled them a step to the side; he had claws and they were digging into his skin. "I don't care what my dad says, you're not welcome in my town, you know that."

"Why Daniel," Vlad's teasing also carried an underlying threat, "your feathers are ruffled. Have I overstepped with this boy?" His leer slid back to Dash.

Dash was thankful for Danny's grip on his wrist, even if he was sure he'd have bruises later; he might have taken his chances with running without it. Danny's words were careful, almost practiced, like the two of them had done this dance many times before. He glanced at Danny. He was grinding his teeth, lips curled in a half snarl; how had he never noticed that Phantom had fangs? His eyes flashed at Vlad's words.

"Stay away from my people. Stay away from my town. I won't ask again." He took a threatening step forward, dragging Dash with him. Crackling and popping noises filled the air as bits of electricity flicked off Danny's form.

"Ah, the scary eyes. You know those don't work on me." Vlad flashed his own glowing red eyes; Dash recoiled a bit. "Speaking of your people, tell me, how's Valerie doing these days?"

Danny raised his free arm and shot an electric-charged energy blast at Vlad who easily dodged. It slammed into a lamppost across the park; the light bulb hissed and shattered.

"You're too predictable, Daniel. You've got to control your obsession if you want to have a chance at-" Another blast from Danny hit him square in the chest, charring his skin and stealing the breath from his lungs.

Dash squeezed his eyes shut, terror flooding his veins, hating that the safest place to be was right next to the fight. Pookie whimpered in his arm. He pressed closer to Danny, willing him to calm down.

"And you've got to get your monologing under control, Vlady." Danny hissed, hand still glowing and crackling, another shot ready to go. "Now get out of here!"

Vlad rubbed the spot on his chest. His suit had burnt away where he'd been hit, but the skin underneath was already healed. "Do you know how much this suit cost?"

"Do you know how much I don't care?" Danny sneered, a twisted joke on his tongue. "Suit yourself to the door or this will be a brief fight."

How in the fuck was Danny making puns in this situation?

Vlad let another small grin cover his face. "I'm going to be in town for a few days. Your father invited me over for breakfast." Vlad straightened the collar of his shirt and pivoted on his heel, continuing down the path into the park. "Ta-ta, Daniel, see you tomorrow."

Danny growled, releasing Dash's hand, and took a few steps forward like he was going to chase after him, then decided against it and paced where he was, like a lion trapped in a cage. He was muttering to himself, anger boiling over.

Dash took a step after him just as Danny opened his mouth and screamed. Dash shrunk in on himself, almost dropping Pookie in his haste to cover his ears. Danny's wail was piercing, blood-curdling; the hatred in it enough to make him want to sprint as far as he could in the other direction. It nearly flattened the trees closest to them. Pookie buried his face in Dash's jacket.

Danny's chest was heaving and his jaw hung open, looking like he wanted to scream again as he whirled around, glaring in Dash's direction. His eyes were glowing, nothing but anger in them and his fangs were on full display, his features only looking vaguely human. For the first time in a long time, Dash found himself afraid of Phantom.

"What did he say to you?" Danny's voice was venom.

Dash released a shaky breath. "Uh, I, not a lot. He just asked what I was doing out here and if I knew you."

"What are you doing out here?" Danny was still pacing, flexing his hands, the sight of his claws sending phantom pain to Dash's arm.

"I couldn't sleep." His voice was small and he desperately wished he wasn't out here.

Danny ran his hands through his hair, nearly ripping pieces out. The grass underneath him was freezing over; electricity still popping and spitting off him, like grease in a hot pan. "I fucking hate him."

Dash chose not to speak, fear still squeezing his lungs, his heart was lodged in his throat. He watched Danny pace and mutter for about five minutes before he started to calm down and begin resembling his friend again.

He huffed, walking over to Dash a lot more calm now. "Are you okay?"

Dash nodded. "Fine."

Danny gently reached out to Pookie in his arms, petting him. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you two."

Dash snorted. "Could have fooled me."

Danny flinched. He retracted his arm, letting it hang by his side. "We should get you home."

Dash nodded, but didn't turn to go; it felt too much like turning his back on a dark room. Danny noticed and took the lead, forcing himself to walk slowly and survey the area, just in case Vlad was still hanging around. Dash followed a few steps behind.

Danny reached into one of the pockets on his belt and pulled out his phone. He typed in a number and held it to his ear, tapping his finger against it impatiently. "Hey, Val, where are you right now?"

Dash couldn't hear Valerie on the other end. He forced himself to not stare at the concrete as they walked, his eyes bouncing between the buildings around them and Danny.

"Okay, listen, I have some bad news. I just ran into Vlad at- yes, in Amity Park- No, he was bothering Dash- listen, he's going to be in town for a few days-"

Dash wished he had the context necessary to follow their conversation. All he knew about Vlad was that he was really creepy and stalked Danny's family relentlessly and that he groomed Valerie during their freshman and sophomore years to be a ghost hunter and kept her family in poverty by buying her dad's company.

"Please, don't do anything crazy. Val, I'm just trying to warn you so you're not blindsided if you run into him. I don't need you to jump back into the fray. You can leave the creepy old guy to me- 'cause you got away from him! Yes, I'm going to message her now." Danny stopped, holding an arm in front of Dash, his eyes scanning an alleyway. "Colorado is closer if you really want to, but please don't let him get to you. I'll head to the Wisconsin house as soon as I get Dash home. Okay, be safe. See you later."

He hung up, dropping his hand, and typing a quick text.

Dash cleared his throat, shifting Pookie around in his arms- he was getting heavy. "You're going to Wisconsin right now?"

Danny turned to him, his nerves pulled tight with anxiety. "It's where Vlad lives. I'm going to see if he's hiding any secret plans around. He has a log cabin in Colorado that Valerie's going to check."

"Who else is going with you?" They came to a stop outside his house.

Danny bit his lip, looking away from him.

Dash huffed. "Okay, I know you like to be all mysterious and cool as Phantom, but-"

"I'm not trying to be mysterious, Dash. It's just none of your business."

Dash breathed, using some exercises his therapist had taught him; it wouldn't do them any good if both of them were losing their tempers. "Then can you at least tell me what that was all about?"

Danny sighed, crossing his arms over his chest and hunching in on himself. "I don't know."

Dash snorted. "Fine, keep your secrets."

Danny frowned. "I actually don't know. Vlad is more than a little insane, he's practically evil incarnate. He's been causing issues for a long time, both here and in the ghost zone. I didn't even know he was here."

"Then how did you know to come save me?"

Danny blushed, it was bright green instead of the red Dash was used to seeing. "I didn't. I was just passing by and saw what was happening. Look, it takes me like an hour and a half to get to Wisconsin, I need to get going. Are you going to be okay?"

The words were tumbling from his mouth before he could stop them. "Take me with you."

"What?"

Dash squared his shoulders, standing his ground. "Take me with you."

Danny exhaled in disbelief, fiddling with the Fenton Thermos on his belt. "Dash, I'm walking straight into my arch-nemesis's lair. He's almost as powerful as I am, it's going to be extremely dangerous if he was lying about sticking around. I can't just bring you-"

"Why not?" Dash swallowed against his nerves. "I can handle it."

Danny was tapping his feet against the ground, frustration building. "Vlad is lethal. You could get killed, Dash. It's not safe."

"And what about you? It's not safe for you either."

"I'm already dead, you're not. There's a lot more at risk for you."

"You said he probably has Fenton Venom, right? That means there's a lot at risk for you too." Dash hated being on this side of Danny's stubbornness. Usually, he loved it when Danny stuck to what he knew to be right, no matter what anyone threw at him; hell it was the reason they were friends in the first place. But, it was really annoying when he was the one trying to convince him otherwise.

"I do this all the time, it's part of the whole superhero thing. If it makes you feel any better, besides the Ancients I'm one of the most powerful ghosts in the ghost zone, I can handle myself."

Dash blinked, he had no idea Danny was that powerful; he didn't exactly know what he meant by that statement but it clearly carried a lot of weight. "Valerie is human, you're letting her go." He argued, stupidly.

Danny huffed, throwing his hands in the air. "She's been doing this as long as I have. She has experience, you don't."

"Well, I can't get any if you don't take me. I thought I was the team medic now. What if you need me?"

"I won't."

Okay, ouch. Dash reeled back. The hurt must have shown on his face because Danny winced and stared at the ground. Dash wasn't sure why he was so set on going with him. But he felt like Danny shouldn't be alone with how angry he was. He knew from experience that anger makes people lose focus. And losing focus as a superhero could be deadly. He took a deep breath. "Look, I was on every sports team Casper High had. I'm fast, reasonably strong, and can keep myself out of trouble. Let me go with you. Let me have your back."

Danny squeezed his eyes shut and turned away, pacing and running his hands through his hair again. His breaths were loud like he was running a marathon. He was muttering, cursing under his breath. Dash pet Pookie to relieve some of his nerves.

Finally, Danny huffed and turned to Dash with defeated eyes. "Fine."

Dash's heart jumped. He had not expected to win that debate.

"But I can't fly both of us all the way to Wisconsin. You'll get hypothermia. We'll have to go through the Ghost Zone." Danny raised an eyebrow at him. "Can you handle that?"

Dash felt the unease creep back into his veins. He shoved it down. "Yeah. Yeah, I can handle it. Let me put Pookie inside and I'll be right back. Don't you dare leave without me." He waited til Danny nodded before rushing inside his house. He took Pookie's leash off, poured food in his bowl, grabbed the emergency backpack he'd packed after the last time, and sprinted back out of the house, just barely remembering to lock the door behind him.

He thought for sure Danny would have taken off the second his back was turned, so he was surprised to see him still there. "Oh, good, you actually waited."

Danny rubbed his arm, avoiding eye contact. "I'm sorry. I know you're just trying to help. Vlad just… he scares me. You're not the first friend he's targeted. I just don't want you getting hurt."

Dash wanted to march right up to Danny and pull him into a tight hug. He settled for putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He scares me too. That's why I don't want you going alone. You have a team for a reason, right?"

Danny smiled at him. "Yeah, I guess I do." He reached out and scooped Dash, who yelped in surprise, into his arms. Danny picked him up like he weighed nothing- Dash tried to not let that thought linger. Danny floated off the ground, making Dash cling to him for dear life, and started flying toward Fenton Works.

"Hey, what did you mean by the whole 'my people, my town,' thing?" Dash asked to distract himself from the heat crawling onto his face.

Danny was quiet for a minute, so long that Dash thought he hadn't heard him over the wind. "You know how people who lived here when the town was pulled into the ghost zone get the 'Amity Park Jitters'?"

"Yeah."

"So, well, there's a lot of things wrong with me. Those jitters are really bad for me. Since I technically died here, my ghost half is really fond of the place and doesn't like leaving. When people die and become ghosts, some of them develop these obsessions. That's why a lot of the ghosts that attack here are usually after the same thing every time. For Skulker, he's obsessed with hunting and collecting; for Desiree, it's granting others' wishes because hers wasn't, et cetera. Mine is protection, protecting the things important to me. So, my family, my friends, my town… when people threaten those things, my ghost half doesn't take it too kindly."

"So, that's what the whole rage episode was about? And why Vlad said you needed to get control of it?" Dash made the mistake of looking down. He clung tighter to Danny and buried his face in his shoulder. He was nauseous.

Danny's voice was small. "Yeah."

"Well, at least you have a better way of taking your anger out, on trees and not people." He felt a small amount of residual guilt hit his chest.

"I used to. Mostly on the ghosts that were attacking. Sometimes on you. I'm not really proud of that."

A memory flashed across Dash's mind from the day Danny had asked him to join their study group. "Those pranks you mentioned?"

"Yeah," Danny squeaked, turning them intangible, and flew through the wall into his room. "Sorry."

Dash shrugged as Danny set him down. "I probably deserved it."

Danny shook his head. "Yeah, but bad things happen when you use your powers for bad reasons. It corrupts your soul, just look at Vlad."

Dash frowned. "Is that why you were saying not all the ghosts were evil? Cause only the corrupted ones are?"

Danny nodded. Dash took a moment to look around his room, he'd never been in here before; Danny's house sure, but not his room, at least, not when he could see the whole thing at the correct size. There were textbooks and books on astronomy littered all around the room, some had notebooks next to them with Danny's pretty scrawl covering them. There were model spaceships on his bookcases and glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to his ceiling. His computer desk was littered with stray papers; Dash smiled at the doodles of rockets he saw on one of them.

"Okay, I'm going to make us invisible so we can sneak downstairs. We'll have to be really quiet, I don't know where my parents are and we can't have them catch us. Once we're in the ghost zone you'll have to stick close by, I can't carry you. Not every ghost is friendly and I might have to fight some off. Vlad's portal is close by, but it will take us about twenty minutes to get there on foot."

Dash couldn't ignore the prickles of unease in his spine anymore. He chuckled to relieve some of the pressure. "Is this going to be like an Orpheus and Eurydice thing?"

That pretty green glow was back on Danny's cheeks. "Kind of. Except I'll be able to look back, and keep you safe." He held out a hand. "If you're sure about coming with, we need to get going."

Dash didn't hesitate to take his hand. He felt a little tingly when Danny turned them invisible. He couldn't see Danny and when he looked down, couldn't see himself. Danny gave his hand a little tug and Dash followed.

They moved slowly, Dash navigating by the pull of Danny's hand alone. Danny phased them through the door so it wouldn't creak. The lights were all off and he couldn't hear the Fentons anywhere.

Dash only tripped once at the bottom of the stairs. Danny caught him, the two of them freezing to listen for footsteps. When nothing happened, they continued on to the lab.

It was just like he expected it to be, scary; big imposing machines lined the cold gray walls and the tables were covered in tools and half-assembled experiments. Once Danny was sure his parents weren't in there, he turned them visible. Dash blinked, stumbling once he could see his limbs again.

"Ready?" Danny whispered, standing in front of the portal. The glow from the machine illuminated his hair, his silhouette glowing eerily like some kind of terrifying angel.

Dash swallowed, wishing he could take a picture, and nodded. He gripped the straps of his backpack and followed Danny into the portal.

I wanted to make a text meme about a scenario I just wrote because I think it's funny

Dash giggling and pulling the Debby Ryan Face: You're kind of scary 😉

Danny crying and on the verge of a panic attack: I'm scary?🥺

Dash: Oh, shit I meant in like a hot way I'm sorry

Danny still crying: You think I'm hot?