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Word travels around fast when you are known to the public, and so did the news of Mayor Masters adopting the son of the Fentons. Said man wasn’t to be found in amity park and seemed to have taken a short leave from his Mayorly Duties as well. He had placed a second in command in charge so that the city would still run smoothly of course.
The Fentons were easier to be found but didn’t give much away neither. When the media confronted Madeline and Jack Fenton at their Door after politely ringing the bell, they only said only one thing.
“That thing is no son of ours.”
Their Daughter didn’t seem to share that opinion and opted to give a more positive response.
“I don’t know what happened to mom and Dad, but Danny isn’t safe here anymore. I hope he is safe…”
After their behavior, it was no surprise that the older Fentons were accused to have abused their son. At first it was one brave reporter who asked the question carefully, but after that the Internet exploded with accusations and observations. Jazz didn’t say anything to the many questions she was asked nor did Danny’s Friends.
All that lead to Valerie flying on her board in the direction of Wisconsin. She didn’t know exactly what she would be doing once she got there, but she just couldn’t stand by. Vlad wasn’t trustworthy and that he had the boy she liked was even worse. She really doubted that he had adopted Danny because he worried about the boy, no he probably just wanted to manipulate him. He was a manipulative halfa without morals in her opinion and she highly doubted that would change.
But that lead her to another question. What would she do when she got there? He was a halfa so attacking him was a no go. Sneak in? No, he probably had defense-mechanisms that could get her killed. Maybe she could simply knock and act like she was still on his side. Like she came here because her equipment malfunctioned? Yeah that was a better plan. What to do if he didn’t take the bite or continuously watched her was a thing to think on later. She would cross that bridge if she got to it. Anyways, it wasn’t like she would just leave when she was using up a whole free day that she could have used to hunt instead.
She hoped Amity Park was safe.
It took time for her to arrive. She had decided that she really would use her equipment to smuggle herself in, get Danny out and fly the whole way back. Where they would go after that wasn’t something she had thought hard about, but she would have the whole flight back to decide that anyway.
Resolutely she went to the door and rang the bell. She would not be turned away, she swore to herself.
Vlad opened the Door.
After a few seconds where he stared at her in surprise, she opened her mouth to say her excuse just for him to cut her off before she could say anything.
“I hadn’t expected you to be the first to visit to be honest. You wish to see young Daniel, don’t you?”
She could only nod.
“Well then, come in.”
This was not how she thought it would go. Vlad led her into a room with a few couches in front of a running fireplace that seemed to be the living room. He motioned to the couches.
“Please, make yourself comfortable. I will alert Daniel to your presence.”
She settled down and true to what he had said, Danny entered the room just a few minutes later. His trademark shirt was absent, replaced by a bright blue shirt with neon green accents and he was wearing black pants that actually fit him and showed just how thin he was. He smiled softly when they made eye contact. He seemed… softer. A bit more confident and not as paranoid as he usually was, but somehow mellowed out. Like a soldier after a war. He seemed a bit more content, a bit wiser then his age would allow, and she realized that he had that looked like that before. When all was quiet he would gaze outside and with old eyes appreciate what he saw. It would fade so quickly that she thought she had imagined things. Not this time.
He made his way over to her and sat down on the other couch opposite of hers. His smile had grown a bit in size as he greeted her.
“Hey, Val.”
I was so simple, so easy really. But she couldn’t find it in herself to act normal. What had he actually been through to look so old? It felt horrible to not know anything that had happened to the boy she liked. Had she been so oblivious? How could she?
Instead of answering she went over and hugged him. She didn’t see the look of surprise on his face as she started to mumble.
“I’m sorry, I don’t even know what happened to you, I’m sorry, so so sorry. You weren’t in school and a week after that it was announced that you got adopted and the day after that people started to say that your parents abused you and I was worried because I don’t trust Vlad and you were gone, but now you look so jaded and wise and old and I think I missed so much more than just what ever happened then so I’m so sorry, and- and- “
Val rambled on but slowly ran out of things to say. She was clutching onto him like he could disappear while he soothingly patted her back while hugging her back. He started to speak as it was obvious that she wouldn’t say any more.
“It’s okay. I hid much from you, but I can tell you a bit if you want? Starting with that incident that landed me here.”
She nodded.
“My parents found out a secret of mine. They… well they didn’t take it well and attacked me. Vlad found me hiding from them and tried talking with them but they were dead set on killing me so he took me in. I didn’t trust him neither in the beginning, but he is genuine. He cares, whether he admits it or not, so I agreed on him adopting me. We are still discussing if we should press charges against Jack and Maddie or not, but they didn’t abuse me before the incident. They were neglecting me, sure, but not downright abusing. Hmm... what else should I tell you?”
Valerie moved out of the hug to take him in again. He didn’t look as tired anymore as he usually did, but his new clothes made him look so thin so she decided that that would be her next point, right after she had reminded him that Vlad was not to be trusted.
“I know you trust Vlad, but I did once and he used me. I just wanna warn you, be careful. Anyways, can you tell me why you are so thin or why you used to be so tired?”
Danny laughed silently.
“The reason for that is because I rarely had time to eat or sleep… But the reason why I had no time is the secret that my parents found out, so I rather not tell…”
Valerie just stared at his nervous expression.
“I am not going to judge okay? I promise. You could have murdered a man or I dunno, be a ghost, I wouldn’t think less of you.”
She really meant that. Danny shifted and stared to the ground in contemplation. Finally, he spoke.
“Am not a ghost… I am half-ghost… I…”
While she hadn’t expected that, she would stay true to her promise and not judge him. It was still Danny. She could however tell that he wasn’t done yet, and hoped that the second part of his secret would be easy to overlook too.
“I also am… Phantom”
Before she could think she moved and engulfed him in another hug.
“Oh god, I am so sorry! I hunted and hurt and hated you, god I’m sorry, sorry, so sorry! If I had known it was you then I would have never tried to hurt you, I swear!”
He hugged her back with a relieved smile on his face. She took it well, at least in comparison to his parents. He will have to get her to not feel guilty somehow.
“Hey, It’s ok! You couldn’t have known. Who would think that the son of the local ghost hunters is a ghost himself? No one. So, since I was living above the portal I had to deal with all the ghosts and rarely got time for myself or to sleep or eat. My failing grades stem from that too. Oh, and my friends and Jazz know. And that boy in our grade, Wes, who tried to make everyone see that I’m phantom. I used to stress about him a lot until I noticed that no one was paying him any attention so I let it stride.”
Valerie slowly drew out of the hug again and stared at the floor, unsure what to say.
“So, um, I guess Vlad knows too because he is a you-know-what too?”
She wasn’t actually wondering hard about that, but she didn’t know what else to say. Danny laughed in surprise.
“Yeah. Did you see him shift forms?”
She nodded and he added in a whisper.
“He is actually trying to better himself but don’t tell him I told you, kay?”
A grin was slowly blooming on his face and she mirrored the expression. They talked for a good hour longer until Valerie felt rather hungry and exclaimed in shock that she still had to fly the whole way back so she actually should hurry and be on her way. Danny then pulled her to Vlad’s office and asked if he could teleport her home later and if she could eat with them. Vlad fell victim to Danny’s rather effective puppy eyes. He said yes. Poor man.
Danny also told him in a whisper that Valerie knew both their secrets and that there was nothing to hide from her. He smiled while telling Vlad that, and Vlad couldn’t help but smile in relief. It was the first genuine smile he had seem on the boy in weeks, not counting the ghost smiles he liked to give.
For the rest of the day Danny seemed… happy.