Work Text:
Tarot/Stalker
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It was known, in certain social circles of Casper High, that on days when Danny Fenton came into school with bruises on his head and a faraway look in his eyes, he could see the future, but not remember it. Well. At least, he could prophesy to it, and his prophecies were accurate. Disturbingly so.
Sometimes, he would give one out of the blue. He'd tell a freshman that their cat was going to die, or what scores everyone would get on the next test. He'd slide up beside the jocks in the senior class, and warn them about a party going wrong. He'd sit down at lunch time and spoil an entire week's worth of TV shows for someone- because the power was going to go out at their house, and they'd miss them otherwise; and it would. These would rarely be about anything more than a month out.
But if Danny was caught in the right mood, he could be asked about things. Things that wouldn't happen for a long time, for months, or even years. College admissions, marriage, sports, events, politics, friendships, contests, romance, deaths. No one had tested a prophecy that went out more than a few months, but he was rarely wrong, and when he was wrong, he wasn't wrong by very much. One student was wait-listed for a college, instead of accepted outright. Another found proof their boyfriend was cheating before Danny had predicted. A third managed to avoid being injured in that basketball game.
More importantly, on those days, his advice was always spot-on.
Hannah Weston had been observing Danny Fenton for a while. Unlike her older cousin, she didn't think that Danny was Phantom, that was kind of crazy, but she did have a soft spot for conspiracy theories and occult rumors.
Her current theory? Danny was some kind of esper. Or a necromancer, in the original sense of the word. His whole family was weird. Mad scientists. Everyone knew they had a lab in their basement, and they had done something with the government, according to Amity Park's conspiracy message boards. They could have done... something. Something to make Jazz super smart, and to give Danny precognition.
And what was to say Danny didn't have precognition all the time? He certainly made himself scarce during ghost attacks. He always seemed to know when they were going to happen. His 'prophesy mode' always seemed to come on right after big ghost fights, too. Hannah's working theory was that his powers ran on ectoplasm (ectoenergy?), and the ectoplasm shed in big ghost fights overloaded him, and made him less careful about hiding his powers.
Of course, not everyone followed Hannah's logic, which is why she and some of the other 'socially neutral' girls were trying to corner Danny away from his ever-present protectors, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley.
It was so weird to think of herself as 'socially neutral.' Then again, considering all the ghosts, being a conspiracy theorist in Amity Park was almost respectable. Right along with the occult, and the tiny ghost-centric actual cult.
Which only made Danny's outcast status weirder. Whatever. No one said high school social dynamics had to be logical.
Their idea (not Hannah's) was that if Danny could already predict stuff well, then he could predict it even better with some actual fortune telling paraphernalia. It didn't make sense, as far as Hannah was concerned, but she was willing to humor her friends, and this was the only way she'd be able to ask him questions without Sam or Tucker shooing her off.
Not that she had anything really pressing to ask. She was just curious.
She peeked in the classroom window. Her friend Mia had found out that Danny and his two friends hung out in this classroom during lunch when Danny was in a prophetic mood. It was mostly used for storage, so the teachers didn't care, even though students technically weren't supposed to be in there.
The PA system coughed to life, summoning Sam and Tucker to the office, as planned. Sarah, her other friend, had been in charge of that. Now it was Hannah's turn. She knocked on the window, and waved at Danny.
Danny came over and opened it. "I can help you, Mia, and Sarah," he said, before Hannah could repeat her lines, "but it's too cold by the field."
"Uh," said Hannah.
"We could go stand by the stairs to the roof, since the upperclassmen who smoke there got busted." Danny smiled absently, his eyes glassy. "I hope they stop doing that now. Smoking isn't good."
Hannah thought about it for a second. "Sure, let me text Mia."
"Also, I don't know how tarot works."
"That's fine."
.
Sarah brought a magic 8 ball. Mia brought cards.
"I couldn't find a crystal ball," Sarah said, defensively, taking the toy out of her bag.
"It's fine." Hannah peered at Mia's cards. They were black and gold. "Those are pretty," she said.
"Thanks," said Mia. "My grandma got them for me for my birthday."
"So," said Sarah, slightly pink. She held up her magic 8 ball. "What should we do first?"
Surprising everyone, Danny reached for the magic 8 ball.
"Signs point to no," he said. He shook the ball.
Everyone leaned in to see the answer. The ball said, 'SIGNS POINT TO NO.'
After a few more minutes, it became obvious that Danny could accurately predict which answer the magic 8 ball would display every time. It became equally obvious that, as long as he had the ball, that was all he would do.
Hannah pulled the ball away. "Let's try the cards," she said. They were halfway through lunch, and as cool as the trick was, it got boring after a while.
"Oh," said Danny, face falling. "I don't know how tarot works, though."
"That's okay," said Mia, holding out the cards. "Just do what feels right."
"I'll try," said Danny, dubiously. He shuffled the cards. "I think Sam would like these," he said, running a finger over the gold foil back. "What is the question you want to ask?"
"You first," said Sarah to Mia. "They're your cards."
Mia licked her lips. "Tell me about what will happen if I become an exchange student." Mia had wanted to be an exchange student for a while. She was even taking Honors Spanish. Her parents, however, weren't enthusiastic about the idea.
Danny divided the cards into three piles.
He flipped over one card. It showed a pair of clasped hands, each wearing a bracelet. "It won't happen the way you expect it to," said Danny. He turned over the next card. It showed two flowers. "You'll go far away, but your plans won't help." He turned over the card on top of the last pile. It had a pair of skeletons on it. "You'll find something important, though."
"Er, you couldn't be maybe a little bit more... specific?" asked Mia.
"No?"
"I told you it wouldn't work," said Hannah. She was just a little smug.
"Sam and Tucker are looking for me," said Danny. "You shouldn't be here when they come up. Here are your cards."
"Thanks," said Mia. She and Sarah went down the stairs. Hannah lingered.
"Are those two ever going to get together?" asked Hannah, hooking her thumb over her shoulder.
Danny blinked up at her. "Weren't you listening?"
"Hannah!" called Sarah. "Come on, we've got to go."
"Well, bye," said Hannah.
"Bye," said Danny, waving. He stood up and stretched. That wasn't too bad. At least they hadn't asked for lottery numbers.
His concussion would be better by tomorrow.