Chapter Text
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Sam’s POV
The first thing in the file, was a picture. It was yellow and looked aged, of a baby Danny in his father's arms. Strange stains, possibly from tears, were on the photo. Like someone had cried in memory of the boy on the picture. His mother was in the background, asleep.
Tucker and I looked at each other, not speaking. We looked back down at the photo, moving it aside carefully, as if we would damage it if we were forceful. The next page was a hospital analysis, labeled January 7th, 1998.
Certificate of Birth
Name: Daniel James Fenton
Parents: Madeline Renee Fenton and Jack Wesley Fenton
Hospital: Amity Memorial Hospital
“Why do they keep his birth certificate in the file?” Tucker asked, his voice a quiet whisper. He was shaking, out of fear or anticipation….I wasn’t sure.
I moved the birth certificate to the side, holding my breath as a different hospital analysis came up. This one from just two years ago.
Patient: Daniel James Fenton
Analysis: Internal bleeding in various places, scarring on his vocal tissue, possibly from screaming. Electrocution scars on back and chest, and on various appendages. Seemingly asleep, but will twitch from time to time.
Report:
Daniel was helping his parents out in their Ghost Hunting Laboratory, and stepped inside the portal to get a closer look to see why it wasn’t working. Tripping over wires, he hit the on button on the inside. Neither Madeline or Jack know how long he was in there, claiming time slowed when he was screaming.
They seem to be under major duress, hoping that their son will wake up soon. There are slight hints of some substance in his blood, but no major symptoms arise that need looking after. When he wakes up, he may experience permanent disabilities, such as a stutter or possibly be unable to speak, due to the scarring of the vocal tissue and the prolonged electrocution.
Tucker and I paused as I read the report. “He was inside that huge machine when it turned on?” Tucker asked me. I groaned in frustration.
“I feel terrible that this happened to him, but there is nothing on this page about the condition his parents constantly beat him up for.” I said.
Tucker read over the report, his eyes lighting up. “Slight hints of some substance in his blood.” He pondered. “Maybe he has something in his blood?”
“Possibly.” I sighed. I didn’t get it. Nothing in this file made it seem like he was some freak of nature. He was just a kid that got electrocuted and could have died. That would have made me appreciate his life that much more.
I set that aside with his birth certificate and the picture, coming across what looked to be a typed journal entry.
Tucker beat me to it, grabbing the paper and reading it quickly. I looked at the pictures underneath the paper, gasping as there was a picture of Danny, strapped to a chair, crying, while his eyes glowed neon green.
“Sam, he apparently started showing signs of ‘a ghostly entity harboring his body’. Now I don’t know what the hell that means…”
I held up the picture. “Meaning he has a ghost in his body? I know a little bit about Overshadowing from that book over there, but he wouldn’t have a stutter. It would be the ghost’s voice.” I told him.
“Maybe the ghost had the stutter?” Tucker offered. “No...The doctor’s report clearly stated that Danny would possibly have a stutter.”
“If his parents are ghost hunters….and he has ghost energy inside him or something, then they are experimenting on him.” I decided.
Tucker sighed, moving the pictures and coming across another report, from a few days earlier. “Danny believes that the ghost is apart of him, and every attempt to get rid of the mutation would end up killing him. He firmly believes that we should accept him for who he is, rather than try to fix him.
I firmly believe that while this ghost may be wearing my son's face, it is trying to save its own skin, using my son’s voice. I have no sympathy for this ectoplasmic entity. It needs to be destroyed.
Dr. Madeline Fenton.” Tucker read.
“Every attempt to get rid of a genetic mutation would kill him though.” I sighed. Tucker shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.”
I sighed. We jumped as my phone starting ringing, the Caller ID showing us Daniel Fenton.
“Hello?” I asked, Tucker pausing from reading. I told him to continue as I left the room, Danny talking softly in my ear.
“Hey….Are you doing anything right now? I kinda want to g-g-get out of my house….and, uh, I don’t really ha-have any f-friends besides you and Tucker.” He said in my ear. My heart wrenched out of sympathy.
“Well, Tucker is over right now--”
“Oh I understa--”
“And you can come over too….we can work on the rest of the essay that you could proofread and fact-check.” I said, a smile on my face and my voice. I heard a sigh of relief. “Thank you...I’ll be over soon. Any oth-other s-s-school things that you would like to work on?” He asked.
“Tucker may want Calc help, but it can wait if you want to talk about anything.” I told him. There was a pause.
“Maybe….” He said, and I heard talking in the background. The talking was muffled and sounded apologetic, making me realize something must have happened when he went home.
“No, Mom, I’m just going to Sam’s.”
In that moment, his voice was hard and sharp, like he was scared of the person he was talking to. I’ve never heard him more serious and dangerous in the time that I’ve talked to him.
“I’ll see you soon.” He said, his voice normal and calm, and then the line disconnected. I sighed and came back in the room. “We can’t tell him we know yet…” Tucker said.
“We don’t know exactly what's going on, either.” I continued. “We need more time…” I said, placing my face in my hands. “Tucker, he told someone he was coming over, and he seemed….apprehensive.”
Tucker cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“....He was scared of whoever he was telling that he was coming over.” I told him. “Wait, Danny is coming over?” Tucker said, immediately shoving the documents and pictures back into the stained folder.
“Yeah, sorry...I’m just worried about him. We barely know him, yet I want to protect him.” I whispered. “And no, this feeling has nothing to do with my feelings toward him.” I glared at Tucker.
“From my understanding, Danny doesn’t seem dangerous.” Tucker decided. “Whatever he is, we stand by him…” I told him.
A knock on the door stopped our conversation short, and I immediately went downstairs. “Hey Sam.” He said.
He had a gnarly cut on his face, which was bruising significantly. I could hardly contain my gasp. I dragged him in my house, his face contorting in surprise.
“Have you cleaned that? What happened?” I asked. He looked like he didn’t know what to say, and was starting to panic. I stopped at the top of the stairs, and looked back at him. He looked at his shoes, his face pale and terrified. “Hey, you don’t have to tell me, okay?”
He looked up and nodded, opting to be silent rather than speak. I pulled him into my bathroom, ignoring suggestive stares from Tucker.
I opened the cabinet to my first aid kid, motioning him to sit down on the edge of my tub. He was blushing and not meeting my eye as I pressed my fingers to the cakey blood, making sure he wasn’t still bleeding.
“I don’t know why you didn’t clean this before you stepped outside. It could get infected.” I told him, pulling up my stool, and sitting down while dabbing a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol.
“This is going to sting a little bit.” I told him, pressing the ball to the cut. He hissed a little bit, but stayed silent, watching me steadily with his full attention. I felt my face heat up as I continued to clean the cut, and then taping a butterfly bandage to his cheek. We stayed in the position a minute more, watching each other. I could feel his breath on my cheek, that's how close we were in that moment.
Tucker knocked on the door, making Danny accidentally fall in the bathtub and drag me with him with a screech.
Tucker opened the door and immediately started wheezing. “What the hell happened in here?” He laughed and the paused. “Wait, I don’t want to know.” He continued. I stood up and went to help Danny.
“You guys are a pair of, uh, LOVEBIRDS!” He laughed.
“We are not lovebirds!” Danny and I shouted at the same time. We blushed and made no effort to make eye contact after that. Danny looked happy, though. So it was worth it.
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Danny’s POV
I’ve started taking note of everything that makes me happy. It’s a small list.
The Stars: Ever since I was little, I’ve loved the night sky. I used to dream of being an astronaut, and I still kinda do…. But… I know that my parents wouldn’t let me go that far away from them before I’m healed from my ‘freakiness’.
My sister: Jazz has always loved me unconditionally, even after my accident. She never gives up on me, and makes sure I always feel loved. With her at the high school interning to be a psychologist, and then taking Pre-Psych courses at the local college...I haven’t seen much of her.
Sam.
Yep… Sam is on my list, slowly moving her way up to number one. I didn’t know why but, she actually cared about me. And the moment a couple hours ago in her bathroom….
I was going to kiss her. I don’t know why.
I’ve never had an actual crush on really anyone before. I had one on Paulina, but only because I thought she was beautiful. She crushed me after freshman year by inviting me to the school dance, and then never showing up. That was the last dance I went to.
I know for a fact, however, that I am definitely crushing on Sam. She is kind, caring, and compassionate. The fact that she can be a goth without worrying what others have to say about it makes me want to be like her. There are times where I could see her liking me back, from the way she looks at me, and the way that Tucker teases her about it.
But then I remember that I’m a monster, and that she wouldn’t accept me. I quieted down after the moment in the bathroom, wanting to proofread the essay Tucker had written. It was well written, and after I added my portion to it, it was ready to turn in. The project wasn’t due until the end of the week, but it was good to have it done. Tucker was bummed that I didn’t bring my calculus book with me, but I just laughed at him when Sam kicked his shin after he complained.
As the day grew darker, my anxiety became apparent to even Tucker. Holding a conversation with me was pointless, because I just got distracted by the way the sky darkened. “Hey, do you not want to go home tonight?” Tucker suddenly asked me. My eyes snapped to his, and I was surprised to see him not flinch. My eyes have always been very sharp and calculating, and people seem to be intimidated by them.
“Uh...not particularly, no.” I said, sighing. I rubbed my arms with my hands, wishing that I could feel some of the chill from earlier this day, because then my mom wouldn’t have attacked me, and I wouldn’t be scared of going home.
“You could stay at my house…” Tucker offered, smiling softly. “My parents wouldn’t mind if I told them you were having issues at home.”
I paled slightly and coughed. “I mean, it’s not like they are abusing me or anything.” I said, feeling trapped suddenly. Tucker nodded. “Of course not.”
Sam didn’t answer. “Sam, they aren’t abusing me.” I told her, looking her in the eye. They weren’t really, at least to their knowledge. “Whatever you say.” She told me.
I picked up on the fact that they knew something. They knew something big, and I could tell Tucker was having trouble not asking me something. I stared at them, willing one of them to say something to me. I sighed and shrugged.
They’ll tell me eventually. They’ll have to if they know.
Tucker got up and I helped him gather some of his stuff. Sam wished us goodbye, but grabbed my wrist before I had the chance to walk out of the house. “If you need to talk about anything….let me know.” She whispered, pulling me into a hug. I don’t know if she felt how cold I was, or that my heart skipped a beat when she embraced me, but I found myself tightly hugging her, and having to force myself to let go.
“See you tomorrow, Danny.” She said. I nodded, and headed into my car, where Tucker was already sitting and smirking at me as I started the vehicle. “What?” I demanded, looking at him as I packed out of her driveway. “Do you like her?” He asked, that smirk still wide on his face. I looked at him in exasperation. “Is n-n-now the time for this q-q-question?” I asked, my face turning slightly red.
“You do like her don’t you?” He grinned. I blushed even more. “K-Kinda.” I mumbled to myself. Before he could say anything else, I cut him off. “Do you mind if I run to my house for some clothes?”
He nodded, looking slightly worried. “Do you also mind if you came inside with me so my mom doesn’t ask a lot of questions?” I said as I neared my house. “Of course man.” He said, unbuckling his seatbelt as I put my car in park and exited it. I could see the light to the lab was on, and I shuddered a bit before Tucker and I started up the stairs to my front door.
“I know that you guys are smart, and I know that you guys know something.” I said suddenly, my voice dark. Tucker looked at me, guilty and about to speak, when I opened the door. My mother was in the living room, not seeing Tucker at first.
“Daniel, I’m sorry about your face.” She said, in a not caring wayl. Tucker entered the house and looked in shock from my face to my mom, who was frozen. “It’s fine. I’m just grabbing clothes.” I told her shortly, going up the stairs with Tucker in tow.
“...Your mom did that to your face?” He asked. I nodded. “Who else?” I mumbled. “They aren’t abusing me, they just think that they are helping. I don’t know what you know, but the fact that you aren’t running away screaming knows that you don’t know much.” I said darkly, my eyes flickering green for a second. I knew that Tucker saw this, judging by the way his mouth opened in understanding, but I just packed a bag, grabbed my backpack, and went back outside the door.
“Did you ask me if you could spend the night somewhere?” My mom demanded, her arms crossed from her place on the couch, watching us as we descended the staircase.
“No...but given the fact it's for school, I think I should be fine.” I told her, Tucker pausing at the front door.
“Daniel...it’s a school night.” She said, her eyes telling me to stay put where I was. “Yeah, and we have to get going if we are going to get to bed at decent time.” I said, stopping the conversation firmly and leaving the house.
Tucker didn’t say anything during the drive to his house, but I could tell he had questions. “Why does your mom do this to you?” He finally asked, his voice soft and concerned. I sighed. “Because she doesn’t think I should exist. Maybe sometime I’ll tell you why.” I told him. I’m not stupid, I know they knew something….I just didn’t know what.
We went into his house, and after him introducing me to his parents, I was sitting on the floor of his room watching him play a video game. I was working on homework while he was doing this. We sat in comfortable silence. It was starting to get late, and Tucker still had no sign of being tired.
“Dude?” I asked. He jumped and looked over, pausing at the same time. “Yeah?”
“It’s one a.m.” I yawned. I had been dozing a bit while watching him play after getting done with calculus and checking Tucker’s calculus. He rubbed his eyes. “Thanks man, I would have forgotten and stayed up until it was time to leave. I’ll have to teach you how to play this man.” He laughed, throwing me a blanket and pressing a button, a spare bed flinging from under his own.
“Woah.” I blinked. “A invention of my own creation. It wasn’t hard, but it comes in handy.” I laughed.
“Thanks for letting me stay here.”
“Well you couldn’t have stayed at your crush's house, who knows what you would have done…” Tucker smirked. I rolled my eyes, lying down as he turned out the light.
“I think I almost kissed her today.” I told him, not knowing why he would care. “Did you?” He asked, sounding slightly happy.
“Yeah, when she was cleaning my face. I don’t know, Tuck. I really like her.” I told him. “I’m sure she likes you too.”
“Nah, she couldn’t like me. I’m too...different. Who I am….what I am….I could hurt her.” I whispered. Tucker didn’t know what to say, but as I turned around to close my eyes, Tucker patted my back.
“You won’t know if you don’t try. Fuck your parents dude, just stick with us….We’ll keep you safe.”
I fell asleep feeling more reassured than I have in a long time.