Yall, Just Got The First Draft Of Chapter Two Done In One Day. I Am So Proud Of That. Anyway, When I

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.

We english speakers need more words for Laugh that have different emotional connotations. I can feel the authors of the past shaming me from the great beyond as I attach adverbs to every he laughed. Cause He laughed shyly, he laughed sadly, and he laughed softly, are all different vibes and there's too many adverbs everywhere but I have no alternatives that work for the situation!

The hardest part about writing is admitting to yourself that something isn't working and being willing to start over or even just reread what you've done and then try again after.

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Malevolent (Podcast) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: John/Arthur Lester Characters: John (Malevolent), Arthur Lester, Kayne (Malevolent) Additional Tags: Post Separation, Post canon, set sometime after Season 5, so season five spoilers, idk assume that they find the stone and Kayne actually keeps his end of the deal, DemiAroAce Arthur, He has feelings about that, complicated feelings, He struggles with it, John (Malevolent) Has His Own Body, John has sensory issues, and yearning issues, romantic Jarthur, we get to it eventually, Mutual Pining, other tags to be added as i think about it, please Harlan never find this Series: Part 1 of To Be Loved By You Is A Holy Thing Summary:

Kayne actually goes through with his end of the deal and gives John his own body. However, he not only leaves them stranded in the Dreamlands, but they also gives each of them issues to deal with when it comes to their bodies. Now they have to deal with being separated while they once again try to navigate back to Earth. Arthur struggles with his feelings toward John, not understanding what they are. (He wouldn't have had the language to define Demi-romantic) John struggled with... just about everything.

~

His thoughts turned to John; it felt incredibly lonely in this room- in this body- without him, even though he was just in the other room. There had once been a point when he'd wished for this; craved being alone more than he could say.

So why did it feel like hell now?

He should be grateful. John had his own body, his own autonomy outside of Arthur now- Arthur had his autonomy back. He should be happy for his friend, happy that he could interact with the world now; that he could interact with him now. And interact he did. He couldn't seem to keep his hands off him.

Chat, i am just now realizing that I did not include something very fundamental to my John design in my story.

It is time I throw myself off a river.

Anyway, i was going to do a better watercolor cause i don't entirely like how this one turned out, but I've kind slowed down on posting and figured why not throw it out.

And I need more words for people moving in conversation. I've used the word turned 13 times now

We english speakers need more words for Laugh that have different emotional connotations. I can feel the authors of the past shaming me from the great beyond as I attach adverbs to every he laughed. Cause He laighed shyly, he laighed sadly, and he laughed softly, are all different vibes and there's too many adverbs everywhere but I have no alternatives that work for the situation!

@nym-wibbly

These tags sent me so hard.

(And you're right, I still let it vibe check my commas that's how I found out about the sale)

This one is for grammarly.

I see you.

I see you after all you've done to me.

You come in, sweep me off my feet, correct my comma usage and wrap me around your little finger making me dependent on you.

You taunt me with your premium features, making me wish I had just a little more money to fully commit to you and you never go on any good sale.

Then you drop me into a filthy hole with the rest of the garbage by incorporating ai that can't tell the difference between its and it's and leave me to rot.

So I move on, I find something better than you could ever be. Just for you to flash a 50% off sale in my face like we were nothing. Like I never meant a goddamn thing to you.

Now you want me back?!?!

After all this, this how you want to wine and dine me back into your arms?

Well, I won't play your game. I've grieved our parting already and now I feel nothing but utter indifference toward you.

First Chapter Up!

Basically, I was inspired by @tatumsdrawing mechanic au and I started this project mainly cause I found a severe lack of fics with stuff I wanted to read and decided to contribute.

Of All The Stories In The Stars, Ours Has Yet To Be Told (7031 words) by StarsWhisper Chapters: 1/? 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) 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, lots of astrology references, more tags coming when 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.

~

“Do you blame yourself?”

Dash eyed his therapist for a moment before dropping his gaze to the floor. She was sitting comfortably on her big fluffy chair, legs crossed and clipboard in hand; Dash wondered how she was able to be at such ease all the time while the people she talked with were always so visibly on edge. The couch he sat on always felt too wide and isolating for just one person. It didn’t have enough stuffing and the wood always dug into his skin and made his bones sore.

“What?”

“Well, it is quite common for children in these situations to assume the blame for-”

“I’m not a child. I’m almost nineteen.”

She hummed, scribbling something in her notebook. Dash hated when she did that. He knew it was helpful, but it made him feel small. He didn’t like feeling small. She stared at him, waiting for him to continue the conversation. He hated when she did that too.

Dash snorted. “Blame myself for what? My dad trying to kill me? The disappointment in my mom’s eyes when she looks at me? That half the school hates me because of how I’ve treated them? You’re going to have to be more specific.”

“The divorce,” she answered, uncrossing and recrossing her legs, “but it sounds like there are other things on your mind. Would you like to talk about those?”

“No.” Dash sighed, shifting and failing once again to get comfortable. “I just… I feel so…” Angry? Sad? Guilty? Relieved? Scared? “...ashamed.”

“And why do you feel that way?”

“I don’t know.”

She waited patiently in silence. He shrunk in on himself, head tucking into his shoulders like a turtle.

“I just should have known better.”

“What should you have known?”

Dash huffed. “I don’t know, everything! That I was treating my mom like garbage; that I was acting just like my father even though I hated him; and that if I stayed on that path I would end up alone and angry and awful just like him. I just should have known better…” He let his words trail off, threading his fingers together and squeezing, hoping his therapist wouldn’t notice them shake.

“Dash, no one can be expected to know everything right away, or else every baby born would be Albert Einstein. We have to give ourselves the grace to learn. Shame is a powerful tool; it tells us what we feel the need to improve on. If we feel shame over our actions, we then know where to start to correct our course.”

Dash sighed and leaned back into the couch. “Then I have a lot to learn.”

“What have you learned so far?”

“That I suck.”

“Let’s try again with more constructive language. What have you learned so far?”

He took a deep breath, trying to keep the tears at bay. It was okay to cry, he just didn’t want to. “I need to start actively making decisions in my life to change. That I can’t keep going the way I’ve been going and expect to end up happy.”

“What does change look like to you?”

“I don’t know.”

She quirked her eyebrow, remaining silent.

“I actually don’t know. I mean, it’s not like I can convince my friends to stop bullying people.”

“You stopped, right?”

“Well, yeah. I did, but every time I tried to tell them why, they just laughed at me. How am I supposed to get them to change?”

“Let’s try focusing on the things that you can control. You may not be able to control other people, but you can control your environment. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, but that’s really hard to do. I mean, a quarterback with no friends during his senior year isn’t exactly a fun time.”

“I understand. Maybe you could try taking it in baby steps. For your homework today, I’d like you to write out at least a five-step plan for the change you want to see in your life.”

Dash took a deep breath, resetting his lungs. “Okay.”

“Is there anything else, you’d like to talk about, we’re almost out of time.”

“No,” then, “thank you.”

“Of course, it’s what you pay me for.”

Dash stepped outside, letting the door to the building slam shut behind him. No one ever talked about just how physically exhausting therapy could be. He wanted nothing more than to curl up with Pookie on his comfortable couch with some snacks and mindless T.V. But, he’d promised his mom he’d pick up groceries on his way back. He turned down the main road and began his long trek to the store.

“Shame is a powerful tool,” He grumbled under his breath. “It sucks.” He kicked a rock down the road. Maybe step one of his plan would be to finally convince himself to go back to school tomorrow. He kicked the rock again. Or maybe he could get away with graduating from home.

“Duck!”

Dash threw himself to the ground; growing up in Amity Park you learn not to hesitate. If someone says duck, you duck, no questions asked. A bird ghost smashed into the brick wall behind him; ghost feathers showering around him. He scrambled over to the alleyway, ducking behind the trashcans. Once he was safe, he peeked his head out to see the bird ghost stand up and shake its head. Phantom rushed past him, landing a kick straight to its chest.

He pulled his ghost-catching thermos out of apparently thin air and pointed it at the ghost. It screeched at him as it got caught in the blue whirlwind and clawed at the edges of the device; ultimately losing as Phantom capped it. He turned toward Dash. “Sorry, are you o-”

A bright, sickly green light shot through the air, clipping Phantom’s arm, glowing ectoplasm splattered across the ground. He screamed and dropped to the ground, cradling the injury with his other hand.

Dash leaned around the corner, straining to see what could have happened. The Fentons were standing there, Mr. Fenton holding a gun pointed right at Phantom.

“Ha-ha! Did you see that, Maddie! I got him on the first try!”

“Great job, honey. But go easy on the Fenton Venom; we want him alive or we’ll be limited in the experiments we can do.”

Dash frantically waved in Phantom’s direction; he was struggling to pull himself off the floor and was flickering like he was trying to disappear but couldn’t. They made eye contact- Phantom’s wide and panicked- and Dash pointed to the alley behind him, hoping against everything that the hero would understand what he meant. Then he full sprinted out of the alley and collided with Mrs. Fenton, knocking her into her husband and successfully grabbing their attention.

“Mrs. Fenton!” He screamed once they had all regained their balance. “Thank god you’re here. I saw a ghost!”

“You saw a ghost!” Mr. Fenton whipped around, gun in hand completely forgotten.

“It was huge! Like the size of a car! And it had like these, these, giant fangs and I couldn’t-”

“Dash, calm down.” Mrs. Fenton chirped. “Where did you see this ghost?”

Danny waited until he knew for sure his parents were distracted by Dash before making a B-line for the alley, trying not to let any of his blood fall onto the ground and give him away. He tucked himself behind the trashcan, desperate to keep all of him out of sight. The smell of burning flesh permeated the air. He moved his hand to check on his injury.

There was a fairly decent-sized chunk taken out of his arm and the area around it was bubbling and falling away, dissolving before it could actually fall off. It burned like hell. His hand was tingling from where he’d touched the injury.

“Figures they’d make a poison at some point,” He hissed, blinking his eyes to keep the tears at bay, he needed to be able to see right now. He tried turning invisible again, but this time he didn’t even flicker. “Fuck, what is this?”

“Oh, man that looks bad.”

Danny whipped his head around to see Dash staring at him. Panic swelled in his chest.

“Don’t worry, they’re gone, chasing a ghost that’s not even there.”

Danny sighed, resting his head on the building behind him. “Thank you.” When Dash didn’t immediately leave he added, “I’ll be okay in a moment, when I can get my powers back.” He left the ‘please go away’ to be implied.

“Right,” Dash nodded, swinging his backpack around and digging through it. “You wouldn’t happen to have like a ghost doctor or something would you?”

“No,” Danny bit back the scream of pain crawling up his throat. God, it felt like he was being torn apart molecule by molecule. It didn’t matter how many times he did this torture thing, it never got any easier to handle the pain. “Ow!”

“Right, okay,” Dash pulled a first aid kit out of his bag and then tossed the bag to the side of the alley, before dropping to his knees next to him. “Okay, I’ve got this.”

Danny leaned away from him. “What have you got?”

“Don’t worry, my mom’s a nurse and she’s taught me a lot of first aid. We need to wash that poison off before it does some real damage.” Dash looked around for a container of some kind and had to settle with one of the trash can lids. He put it next to Danny and started rummaging through his kit.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing? What if you make it worse?”

Dash inhaled sharply, like he was practicing extreme amounts of patience. “Look, you’ve saved my ass, like a lot, now let me save yours. Plus, it’s not like you have a lot of options right now, right?”

Danny wanted to argue, but Dash was right. Short of crawling across town to either Sam or Tucker’s house without his parents catching him or his arm falling off, he didn’t have any other options. He was still hesitant about it; at least he was until the poison hit a major nerve and his entire arm blazed with pain. “Shit!” He yelped, a few tears trickling down his cheeks. “Okay, fine. But fuck up my arm and I’m haunting you for eternity.”

“Deal.” Dash uncapped a bottle of distilled water and gently grabbed Danny’s arm, moving it over the lid and rotating it so the poison wouldn’t run over more of his skin. “Okay, this is probably going to sting. Just try not to move.” He tipped the bottle.

The water hit his skin and it did in fact sting. Danny inhaled sharply through gritted teeth and yanked his arm away. The water splashed off his arm and hit his leg, burning less than the direct poison, but still burning. “Shit!”

“I said sit still!” Dash whisper-yelled, quickly rinsing off his leg. “Sorry,” Dash frowned, “I’m sorry. Just, please try not to move. We don’t know what this stuff is and we definitely don’t want it getting anywhere else.”

Danny dug his nails into his palm, a few more tears falling from his eyes. He took deep breaths, trying to ignore the sting of the water. He flinched when the water hit the deepest part of his wound. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m sorry, I yelled. I didn’t mean to.” Dash threw the empty bottle of water away and grabbed a second one. “Hang in there, I need to make sure I got all of it out before we bandage it. Did it get anywhere else?”

Danny held his hand out to him. Dash grabbed his hand as gently as possible. His hand got off easier, looking more like road rash than poison. It didn’t sting as much when he poured the water over it. “Sorry.”Dash apologized anyway.

Danny chuckled.

“What’s so funny.”

“Nothing, I just don’t think I’ve ever heard you apologize this much. Are you sure I haven’t died again?”

Dash’s face turned red with shame. He capped the water bottle and turned to grab the antibiotic ointment. Figures Phantom would know about his past, he’s been around a long time and he was pretty sure ghosts saw things that others might not.“Thanks for noticing. My therapist says I’ve been making exceptional progress lately.”

Phantom burst out laughing, tears flowing freely now. His shoulders shook with the strength of his laughter, causing his hair to fall into his face. Is laugh was big and boisterous and deep. A soft pink glow illuminated his cheeks. He placed his free hand on his forehead, desperately trying to reign it in. His eyes were scrunched shut and his lashes were wet with tears.

It was ethereal.

Dash shook his head; focus!

“Sorry,” Phantom finally choked out, still gasping on the remnants of laughter, “sorry. I’m not laughing at you. Therapy is so cool. I promise I’m not laughing at that. It’s just-” another giggle- “I’m asking you about your vocabulary while I bleed out in an alleyway. What a crazy Tuesday, huh?”

“I’m just glad you’re not crying anymore.” Dash hyper-focused on putting the antibiotic ointment on the burns on Phantom’s hand and wrapping it with gauze.

“I wasn’t crying.”

“It’s okay to cry.”

“I know it’s okay, I just wasn’t.”

“Okay.” Dash chuckled, moving over to bandage his arm.

“Really, I wasn’t.”

“I bet this is handy, huh?” Dash changed the subject, pointing to his arm where the flesh was slowly, but surely stitching itself back together.

“What is?” Phantom turned to look where he was pointing.

“Your ghost healing stuff. Now that the poison is gone it looks like you’re doing fine.”

“Oh, yeah. I guess it is.”

Dash finished securing the bandages in place. “Not that I don’t- that everyone doesn’t appreciate it, but why do you do it? The hero stuff I mean. Surely a ghost would have better things to do in the afterlife?”

Phantom gingerly moved his arm around, testing its movement. He grinned at Dash. “Well, yeah, but who else is going to do it?”

“The Fentons and the Guys in White don’t seem too keen on retiring anytime soon.”

Phantom frowned, his brows furrowing. “Uh, yeah, and while they can be helpful, they’re not always the most reliable or efficient ghost hunters. Plus, they don’t know half the things I know about ghosts.”

“Right, that makes sense, I guess.” Dash began picking up the first aid stuff. “Has anyone ever said thank you?”

Phantom startled, looking up at him with wide eyes. “Um, no. Surprisingly, you’d be the first.”

A shout echoed in the distance. “Let’s circle back around, Jack. Maybe we missed an alleyway.” It was Mrs. Fenton and she was close by.

“If you can, you’d better,” Dash said to Phantom, who- when he turned around- was already gone, “go.”

He hurried to collect the pieces of his first aid kit and packed it up. His heart was beating so fast. Who would have thought he’d be the one to help his- the town’s hero out? And that he was really pretty when he laughed?

Dash reached for his backpack and stuffed everything in, before dumping the mixture of water and viscera into the trashcan and fixing the lid back in place. He sprinted out of the alley and down the road before the Fentons could find him and ask what he was still doing there.

He stopped to catch his breath and calm his racing heart. He had (in a less than technical sense) held Phantom’s hand today. Paulina was going to be so jealous. That was if she even wanted to talk to him. He didn’t really know what his friends would think about him now.

He sighed, that was a tomorrow problem. Right now his problem was getting to the store before they closed. And getting new supplies for his first aid kit.

Dash walked toward his old table as slowly as he could. Step one of his plan was just to see how everyone reacted. He’d go wherever he needed to from there, whether that be going friendless for the last month of high school or explaining to everyone why he wanted to stop being mean to people and hoping they’d agree.

Dash’s heart fell when he saw his usual spot next to Kwan was taken. In fact, the whole table was full. Paulina and Star were laughing at something one of the football players had said. Kwan was the first one to notice him.

“Oh, Hi, Dash!” He waved.

Dash waved back. “Uh, hi, Kwan.” Dash looked between them and instantly knew he had lost the battle.

Star kicked Kwan under the table. “Uh-hem.”

Kwan retracted his hand.

Paulina wouldn’t look at him. She looked sad, torn.

“Sorry, Dash,” Star murmured, “but one of the club rules is you have to be in a certain tax bracket to sit at the table.”

“My mom’s not poor.” Dash weakly defended.

“It’s the rules,” Star fiddled with her fork, “you know that.”

Dash inhaled. “Alright, whatever.”

“Dash, just so you know,” Kwan said before Dash could leave, “it’s not because you’re gay.”

“Thanks, Kwan.”

“We’re not homophobic.”

“Thanks, Kwan.”

“It is just because you’re poor.”

“Thanks, Kwan.”

“We’ll need your hall pass punch card back,” Paulina spoke softly, still not meeting his eyes.

“Fine, I’ll bring it by after school. I really thought you guys were better than this by now.” He turned and left. He glanced around the cafeteria and then headed for the door outside. Not a lot of people used the ones out there anymore because of all the ghost attacks. He’d be able to do some homework at least.

Dash sighed. A part of him still really wanted to tell Paulina about yesterday. And he’d had plans with Kwan to go see the new Nightmerica movie later this month that he’d been really excited for. Guess that was out of the question now.

As predicted, there were only a few freshmen at one of the tables. Dash sat at the one furthest from them. This was alright; a change of environment, just like his therapist had said, just on an expedited schedule. He sighed and pulled out his book for English class. Might as well get started on that homework.

Danny watched as Dash sat down. He hesitated all of about five seconds before he started walking over. A tug on his shirt stopped him.

“You’re joking, right?” Sam snorted, letting go of his shirt.

“What?” Danny shrugged, his best convincing smile plastered on his face. “Look at how sad he is.”

“He looks pathetic.” Tucker chided.

“And it’s what he deserves, to be sad and lonely.” Valerie glared in Dash’s direction.

“Oh come on, guys! He’s not that bad. When’s the last time he even bothered us?”

“So, what he patches you up and bats his big jock eyelashes at you one time and you’re stuck to him like a freshman with a crush?”Tuckertaunted.

“What!? It’s not like that! He’s just trying really hard to change and I think we should give him a chance.”

“Yeah, 'cause he totally gave all of us a chance.” Valerie sneered.

“Look, let’s just go talk to him and if he’s an ass about it, we can leave and you can all say, I told you so.”

“And if he’s not an ass we can invite him over for a sleepover and braid each other’s hair?” Sam giggled, excitedly flapping her hands.

“Yeah! Hey!” Danny frowned. “Come on, Sam. Can’t you be nice for once in your life?” Danny rolled his eyes and walked over to Dash’s table, not caring if the others followed him or not. They did, of course.

He sat his tray down, confidently he hoped. Dash startled, looking up from his book.

“Mind if we sit here?”

Dash hesitated, blinking. He rubbed his eyes, looked around the group like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing, and blinked again. “Uh, sure, I guess.”

Danny threw a grin behind him at Sam and Valerie and sat down in front of Dash. The others sighed and sat down on his side of the table. Dash was staring.

After a moment, Danny casually- oh so casually- pointed at the book in Dash’s hands. “That for Lancer’s advanced class?”

“Uh, yeah; the concurrent enrollment one. I didn’t really want to deal with it in college.” Dash closed the book and dropped it on the bench next to him, cheeks turning a little pink. He fumbled with his hands like he didn’t know what to do with them now.

“Hey, me too. I’m in the morning section though.” Danny punctured the side of his milk carton with a straw, wincing at the pressure it put on his arm. The wound wasn’t a giant hole anymore, but it still had a little more internal healing to do before his nerves would be back to normal. “Don’t tell Lancer this, but I didn’t really like The Scarlet Letter .”

“Wait, you didn’t?” Sam scolded, leaning around Tucker to make sure Danny visibly saw her disappointment. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Danny shrugged, glancing at Dash who was still staring at him like he’d grown a second head. “I just didn’t like the vibes.”

“I figured if anyone would understand the vibes of having a giant painted letter on their chest, it would be you,” Valerie smirked at him, picking distastefully at her mashed potatoes.

“It’s probably cause he didn’t finish it.” Tucker, oh-so-helpfully interjected as he tapped away at his PDA.

“You didn’t even finish it!?” Sam huffed, flinging her fork down, failing to startle Dash out of whatever staring contest he was having with Danny’s nose.

“No, I got bored.” Danny gazed back at Dash. Had he even blinked? “What did you think Dash?”

Dash didn’t react to the sound of his name. He was completely zoned out, a confused and panicked expression stuck on his face. His nose was scrunched up in thought.

“Dash?”

Dash finally blinked, jerking upright and hitting his hands on the table. He flinched, blood rushing to his face. “Uh, what?”

Sam rolled her eyes.

Danny chuckled. “ The Scarlet Letter , what do you think about it?”

“Oh,” Dash dropped eye contact, “I just barely started it.” He shoved some food in his mouth, remembering that it was there.

“Dude,” Danny laughed, “the test is in like two days.”

“Uh, dude , the test is tomorrow.” Tucker corrected, turning his PDA to show Danny the schedule.

“Shit, it’s tomorrow?” Valerie groaned. “I’ve got to finish those last two chapters fast.”

“You’ll tell me how it ends, right?” Danny batted his eyelashes at her.

“As if, Fenton. Do your own homework.” Valerie playfully shoved his shoulder.

“Ow!”

“Oops, sorry. I forgot.” She shoved his side instead.

“I’m sorry.” Dash blurted. His eyes were fixed intensely on the table this time and Danny thought he saw him shaking just the tiniest bit. “I’m really sorry that I bullied you guys for so long. I was told that I was better than certain people and I had a lot of anger from… everything happening at home and I never stopped to think about what I was doing and that’s not really an excuse, but you guys didn’t deserve that and I’m really sorry.” He took a deep breath, relaxing slightly now that he had gotten everything out.

Danny smiled at him. “Thank you, Dash. I appreciate that.”

Tucker couldn’t help the grin that crossed his face. He had to admit, an apology certainly felt nice. “Yeah, man. That was surprisingly mature.”

“I guess taking a few weeks off has really changed you, huh?” Sam sneered. Danny kicked her under the table. “It is nice to hear you say it though.”

Everyone turned to Valerie who was staring off to the side. Dash held his breath. She turned to him, her gaze softening.

“I suppose it’s been long enough and considering you just got a taste of your own medicine, I’m willing to give you another chance. Just make sure you don’t squander it, yeah?”

Dash released his breath, eternally grateful for Valerie’s good nature. “Thank you, guys. And again, I’m really sorry.”

“Keep saying it and I’m going to vomit.” Sam teased.

A silence fell over their table, everyone trying to release tension by eating their food. Danny wasn’t really sure what he should bring up after something like that and there wasn’t really anything he knew about Dash that Danny Fenton could ask him about. He wracked his brain, hoping to pull something out of thin air.

“So,” Tucker beat him to it, “Danny’s bisexual.”

“Tucker!” Everyone but Dash- who reeled back like he’d just been called a slur- yelled at him.

“What?! I just wanted him to know we’re not homophobic.”

“So, you just decide to out Danny?” Valerie scolded.

“Not cool dude.” Sam punched him in the arm.

“Ow! Sorry, you know how I am with uncomfortable silence.”

Dash was staring at him again.

“Tucker,” Danny sighed, “I am amazed you are capable of keeping any secret.”

“Are you really?” Dash whispered like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to ask such things out loud.

“Uh, yeah, I am.” Danny drew back, hunching in on himself. “Does that bother you?”

“No. Why would it bother me ?”

Danny just shrugged.

Dash cleared his throat. “Have you, uh, have you told your parents yet?”

Danny sighed, making Dash tense like he’d overstepped. “Yeah, I have.”

Dash glanced at him, making eye contact with him for the first time in a moment. “Can I ask how they reacted?”

Danny frowned. “Well, they didn’t try to kill me or beat me up if that’s what you’re asking. But, they didn’t leap for joy either. They kind of just-”

“That’s nice, Danny,” Tucker interrupted, clearly mocking his mother, “but have you seen the Fenton blaster anywhere? I swear I just had it.”

“Hey, that’s great, Danny! Now you can pick two of your chores to do today!” Sam bellowed, doing a really good impression of how his dad laughed.

“Oh.” Dash glanced down at his half-eaten lunch.

“Yeah, not the best reaction, but better than what you got, I guess.” Danny gave him a small, pitying smile.

“Basically everybody knows what happened then?” Dash picked at the table, getting a few slivers in the process.

“Yup, pretty much.” Sam drawled.

“You know how news travels through the A-listers and their parents.” Valerie scoffed. “Everyone had pretty much known what had gone down and why by Monday.”

“Awesome.” Dash sighed.

The lunch bell rang, saving everyone from the depressing turn the conversation had taken. Tucker quickly devoured the last few bites of his burger as everyone but Dash, who was taking his time to pack up his stuff, stood and headed for the door.

“I’m gonna invite him to study with us,” Danny stated.

“He’s good with History, so I’m okay with it,” Valerie shouldered the door open and sped walked down the hall. She had a class at the complete opposite end of the building so she had no time to waste.

“I still think you’re making a mistake Danny. Not a lot of people have what it takes to change.” Sam chided, throwing her lunch wrappers into the recycling bin.

“Come on, Sam.” Danny sighed. “When are you going to start trusting my decisions?”

“I trust you. It’s him I don’t trust.”

“Okay, then trust me when I say I trust him. He apologized. Isn’t that proof of something at least?”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Fine, but I’ll keep my I-told-you-so ready.”

“Good enough. Tucker?”

“I am currently making a betting chart, I’ll let you know what I decide based on how the bets are going.” He didn’t even bother to look up from his PDA.

“Okay, I’ll catch up to you guys.” Danny waved and waited for Dash while the other two walked inside.

Dash took longer than necessary to pack his bag. He needed a moment to decompress. Lunch had been a lot of big emotions all at once and he really just wanted a nap. He kept his book out, maybe he’d be able to get through some of it during his next class.

Dash watched as Danny leaned against the door, flinching when his shoulder hit it wrong. He rubbed his arm, wincing and taking a step away from it.

“Did you hurt your shoulder or something?” Dash asked as he opened the door, waiting for Danny to slip inside first.

“Oh, uh, I, um, sprained it while helping my parents in their lab. No big deal.” Danny trailed after him like Dash had hoped he wouldn’t. He didn’t know how much more awkward conversation he could take right now.

“Hey, I wanted to ask you if you’d like to join our study group after school today?” Danny somehow kept perfect pace with him, not even once bumping into anyone. It was like he didn’t exist in the same place as the crowd. Meanwhile, Dash kept bumping shoulders with people walking entirely too slow.

“I haven’t even really started the book.” They arrived at Dash’s locker. He opened it, hoping it would save him from this.

Danny leaned on his good shoulder against the locker next to his, clearly having no intention of leaving until he got his answer. “And I haven’t even finished it. Besides, we study for all our classes and Valerie says you’re really good at History. Plus, we can always just listen to the others discuss it and hope that’s enough to get us at least a C+.”

“Is that how you pass all your classes? Cheating off your friends?” He didn’t really know how to talk to Danny now that their dynamic had changed so rapidly. He was still reeling from the fact that Danny chose to sit next to him at lunch and talk casually about an assignment like nothing had ever happened between them.

Danny gasped. “How dare you, it’s not cheating. It’s studying. I’ll have you know I’m not a cheater.”

His eyes were so blue, like they had an internal light glowing behind them. And he had gotten taller over the years, much taller. He was at the very least as tall as Dash if not a few inches taller. He looked a lot less like the twig from freshman year and more like someone who could dominate professional basketball. Well, if professional basketball players dressed like an angsty theater kid. His hair had grown longer in the back and he’d dyed the underside white, creating a (fashionable) mullet situation. He’d started wearing black t-shirts and red flannels; chains dangled from the side of his jeans; he’d pierced his ears and Dash could have sworn he’d seen him wearing fingerless gloves on a few occasions. The only part of his outfit that was the same, were the red sneakers he wore.

“So?”

Dash blinked. That was the third time today he’d been caught staring. Come on, Baxter, focus! “So?”

“So, are you coming?”

“Why are you suddenly so keen to hang out with me? Usually, people tend to avoid the guy that was a piece of shit to them.” He reached for his math book, shoving it in his bag.

A lazy grin crawled its way onto Danny’s face. “Eh, you’re just not as big and scary as you think you are.” He fucking winked at him. Jesus Christ. “Besides, I may not have thrown you in a locker or chased you down the hallway or hung you from a flag pole, but I have played my fair share of nasty pranks on you in the past. And you’ve just apologized so we’re on even ground here.”

“Wait, what pranks?”

Danny spoke over him, “So are you coming or what?”

Dash gazed heavily into his locker. Danny was staring and it made him nervous. He weighed his options; he could either go home and take a much needed nap, tiptoe around his mother at dinner, and then hide in his room all night, or he could go study and maybe catch up on all the assignments he’d missed and had put off doing. “What subject are you good at?”

“Physics.”

“You’re good at physics but not math?”

“I choose not to question it.”

Dash made sure to sigh as dramatically as possible. “Fine, I’ll come.”

“Awesome!” Danny cheered, peeling himself away from the locker and walking backward to his class. “See you after school!” He turned and booked it down the hallway, almost disappearing into the crowd.

Dash sighed again, this time for his own benefit. He closed his locker and leaned his forehead against it. So much for his nap. At least he could tell his therapist he’d started making changes before he’d even finished writing out his five steps. She’d be proud.

Much later that night, Dash pushed open his front door, dropped his bag on the floor, and braced for impact. Pookie came running around the corner, yapping away, and slammed into his ankles. Dash knelt down, vigorously petting his dog.

“Hey, boy! Who’s a good boy? Who’s a sweet little guy? You are! You are!”

Pookie barked lovingly at him, shaking every molecule in his body from sheer excitement. He licked at his hands.

“Gross, Pookie. You’re gonna get a stomach ache from school germs.”

“Dash? You home, sweetie?” His mom called from the kitchen.

He drew in a deep breath, his body tensing from the anxiety rushing through his veins. His mom hadn’t really talked about what happened beyond making sure Dash knew she loved him no matter what. She’s been avoiding the subject. “Yeah!” He slowly made his way to the kitchen, Pookie following dutifully behind.

His mom was standing over the stove, spoon in hand as she stirred something that smelled amazing. She looked tired. She probably just barely got home from work.

“You’re home pretty late, did something happen?” She asked reaching for the spice cabinet.

Dash walked over and reached for the salt, handing it to her. She always put it back just a shelf too high. He peeked into the pan; stir-fry, his favorite. He avoided her eyes, he didn’t want to see the disappointment he knew he’d find there. “No, I was just at a study group trying to catch up on some homework.”

“With Kwan and Paulina?” She asked slowly, like he would fall apart if she made one wrong misstep.

He washed his hands in the sink. “No, actually, Danny Fenton invited me to join his group.”

She stirred the pot in front of her, falling silent for a moment. “That’s certainly a change.”

Dash felt like he was swimming in ice water. “Yeah, I, um, well, I apologized to him for giving him such a hard time and he sat with me at lunch.” Dash figured she didn’t need to know the exact order of events. “Kwan and Paulina don’t want anything to do with me.”

She frowned. “Oh, sweetie. I’m sorry. It’s not because…” She trailed off. She hadn’t said the word yet. Dash hated that she wouldn’t say it.

“No. At least they said it wasn’t; just that I’m apparently too poor for them now. Club rules.”

She pulled some plates down from the cabinets. “That’s probably just their parents spewing venom in their ears.”

“It’s the same thing we did to Valerie freshman year. I kind of knew it was coming, I just hoped things had changed.” Dash grabbed the filtered water from the fridge, pouring them both a glass.

“Thank you.” She plated the food and walked over to the table, Dash following her. “I’m sorry your friends turned out to not be so friendly.”

“It’s okay.” They sat down, eating in silence for a moment. Dash hated the silence the most.

His mom glanced up at him. “So, you apologized to the Fenton boy?”

Dash sat up straight, taking a deep breath before answering. “Yeah. I did.”

“How’d it go? I mean, obviously, you guys hung out, so pretty well?” She added even more salt to her plate.

“It was hard. And scary. But I think it went pretty well. Some of the others were there too, including Valerie. I think they were more hesitant to forgive me and I can’t blame them. But, I think it worked out okay. At the very least they were glad to have my help with History.” He picked a piece of meat off his plate to feed to Pookie, who was lying down by his feet like a good boy.

“I’m really proud of you, Dash.” His mom was looking at him, a smile on her face. He hadn’t seen her smile since the incident. He felt the shame covering him again.

“Don’t say that mom.”

“Why not? I’m very proud of the man you’re becoming.”

He set his fork down, focusing on controlling his breathing, he did not want to start crying in front of his mom again. “Cause I don’t deserve it. I was awful to you and to Fenton and the other kids at school. I haven’t even begun to make up for it, so how can you say you’re proud of me?” Too late, the tears were already halfway down his cheeks. He heard his mom stand up, but he was more focused on rubbing the tears away. Pookie was trying his best to comfort him by rubbing against his leg.

She gently held his face. “Dash, look at me son, please look at me.”

He did.

She was crying too.

“You have nothing to apologize to me for.”

“I said so many awful things to you and I destroyed our family.” He was full-on sobbing now.

“I’m sorry.” She choked out. “I’m so sorry I didn’t see what was going on sooner. You did not destroy our family. Your father destroyed this family. He destroyed this family when he taught my son to see others as less than. He destroyed this family when he taught both me and my son that we were unworthy of love. He destroyed this family when he started hitting my son. And he destroyed this family when he was ready to kill my son over who he loved. You didn’t deserve any of the things he did to you and I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you. It’s my fault, Dash, not yours.”

She pulled him into a tight hug, her tears spilling onto his shoulders. Dash hugged her back and for the first time in a long time, allowed himself to fall apart. He sobbed and cried and yelled and held her tight like his mother’s touch alone would keep every bad thing away from him. When he had calmed a little, just enough to hear her, she spoke again.

“Of course, I’m proud of you. Despite everything you’ve been through, you chose to get help and you chose to still be you. That’s so hard to do and you did it anyway. When I look at you I see someone who wanted something better for himself and went for it; I see someone who is becoming who he wants to be, not who he was taught to be; I see someone who apologized to the people they’d hurt even though it was incredibly hard to do; I see my son. And I am so very proud of my son. I’m sorry if I ever made you feel any other way.”

Dash sniffled, holding on because he wasn’t ready to let go yet. “I thought you were disappointed in me.”

“Disappointed? Never.” She sniffled too. “I was just sad. Sad that my son was sad. And sad that I married someone so evil. But, I love you. And I’m sorry I don’t say it enough.”

Dash finally pulled away, wiping his tears away. “I love you too.”

She gave him a watery smile. She sniffed, inhaled a deep breath, and stood up. “Look at us.” She chuckled. “We’re a mess and our food is probably cold. I’m sorry, I know it’s your favorite.”

Dash leaned down and picked Pookie up. The dog had been going crazy at the two emotionally unstable humans in his house. “I think we’ve said enough ‘I’m sorry’s’ for the night.”

“Ugh, you’re right. Let’s just order some takeout and we can watch The Bachelorette  or something and you can tell me which guys you think are the hottest.”

“Mom!” Dash was mortified.

“What? We haven’t talked about this yet.” She had the restaurant page and phone in hand, already typing in the number for the pizza place down the street. “I need to make sure you have better taste in men than I do. What pizza toppings do you want?”

Dash found himself laughing. It was nice to have his house feel like home again. He helped his mom clean the kitchen and get the couch blankets out of the closet for their impromptu movie night. Just as they were getting ready to hit play, his phone beeped with a text message.

Unknown Number: I stole ur # from, Val. :P Walk with us 2 school tmrw?

Unknown Number: It’s Danny.

Dash smiled down at his phone. What a dork. Dash saved the number in his phone, heart nearly caving in. It’d been all of one day and suddenly his entire life was different. He’d have to remember to thank Danny for being so forgiving.

“Who is it?” His mom asked.

“Uh, it’s Danny. He wants to walk to school together.” He twiddled his thumbs, not sure how to respond to the text.

His mom smirked at him. “Wow, that must have been some apology.”

Dash wanted to crawl under a rock and never come back out.

“Does he know you drive to school?”

“Probably not. I’ll just walk with him and tell him tomorrow.”

“Okay, whatever you say. Hit play, mister.”

Dash hit play on the TV. and typed a quick reply on his phone.

Dash: See you tomorrow

Nerd: Meet @ my place?

Dash: I’ll be there.

Nerd: See u tmrw :D

Eeeeeeeee! This is co cutesy!

A scene from @starswhisperwritershear chapter 4

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