Chapter Text
“Danny!” Valerie called as she approached his locker with a wave.
He seemed almost stunned to see her. She hadn’t seen him look so nervous around her in a long time. Danny could be very jittery at times, so maybe he was just having one of those days. She couldn’t blame him considering his parents were ghost hunters (and his dad’s best pal was a half-ghost lunatic).
“Uh,” he glanced at Sam and Tucker before making eye-contact. “Hey, Valerie. What’s up?”
“Do you think we could talk?” She gave a look to his friends. “In private?”
Sam crossed her arms. “What’s so important that you can’t talk about it in front of us?”
Valerie rolled her eyes. “It’s not about you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she turned back to Danny, “or us for that matter. It’s about ghost stuff. I figured you’d know something.”
Was he sweating? Why was he sweating? Danny sucked in a breath. “Uh, what? W-Why would I know a lot about ghosts?”
“Because… your parents are ghost hunters?”
“Oh! Right! Right, I knew that, uh…”
Valerie cocked a brow. “Danny, are you okay?”
Tucker stepped in (blocking Sam’s glare) and placed a hand on Danny’s shoulder. “He… just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. You know how he gets when he’s sleep deprived. Why don’t you two go talk--for a bit. We’ll be right over here, right Sam?”
“Yes,” she hissed looking away, “We’ll be here.”
“Great!” Valerie beamed before grabbing Danny by the wrist. “Let’s go.”
Danny was still jumpy when she got him to a picnic table outside. He was so nervous and she couldn’t figure out why.
“Look, what we’re about to talk about is super secret, and I need you to promise you won’t say anything, okay?”
“Okay,” Danny said with a nod.
Valerie sucked in a breath. “Do you know that half-ghosts exist?”
His eyes went wide at that. “Uh, no. I-I had no idea.”
“Danny, c’mon, don’t lie to me. I promise this stays between us.”
Sighing, his head drooped. “Okay, I’ve heard of there being a possibility.”
“What do you know about them?”
“Val, I can’t…”
Valerie pursed her lips. “You’re protecting Phantom, aren’t you?”
Blinking, he glanced away. “What gave you that idea?”
“I’ve seen Sam and Tucker around him… it’d be dumb for me not to assume you’re involved too. Can you give me something? Just a little bit?”
Danny was thinking it over as he watched her. She could practically see so many thoughts rolling around in his mind as he thought about what he would say. Valerie understood that there would be things she wasn’t allowed to know. Things that had to be kept secret. But she hoped Danny trusted her enough to know she wouldn’t tell anyone else.
“Half-ghosts are usually created by lab accidents… When too much ghost DNA gets fused with human DNA it forms a half ghost. I’m sure there’s a lot more scientific mumbo-jumbo to go with it, but that’d be more my parents’ department and--well…”
“They don’t know half-ghosts exist?”
“No. You know how they can be…”
Valerie nodded, pausing for a moment. “I’m guessing you’re the reason Phantom ends up with a lot of your parents’ gadgets?”
He snorted. “Yeah, that’s me.”
“I’m sorry I hunted him for so long… I guess I really didn’t think Phantom was trying to do the right thing.”
“I…” Danny cleared his throat. “Phantom has messed up a lot, especially when he was learning how to use his ghost powers in the beginning. He doesn’t blame you for hating him. There have been a lot of misunderstandings.”
“I get that now,” Valerie confessed. “It was easier to hate him than to see the big picture.”
“Amity Park is Phantom’s home too. He doesn’t want anyone to destroy it either. Or let it get overrun by ghosts.”
“Yeah… the last few days have been very eye opening and weird.”
Danny snorted. “I’ll bet.”
Huh. That was a strange response.
She looked at him. Really looked at him. She took in all of Danny’s features. His nose, his eyes, his hair… Everything she thought she’d really known. But it wasn’t the same, suddenly. Suddenly… Danny Fenton looked like a complete stranger. This boy she had come to have feelings for didn’t look like that person. He looked older. He looked like he’d been through hell and back.
“Danny, what’s your involvement in all of this? What is it really?”
There was a sad expression she couldn’t read. Those shining blue eyes were full of dread as he gazed at her. Shaking his head, he grimaced. “I can’t, Val.”
Oh.
“That’s okay,” she said with a forced smile.
Valerie placed a hand on his shoulder before sliding off the table. As she walked away, her world tilted around her. Things were locking into place and falling apart simultaneously. She chose to ignore it. This knowledge wasn’t her place to know. There was no confirmation. She didn’t know the truth.
Not yet.