Chapter Text
Danny Fenton was 14 years old when his parents built a weird ghost portal in their basement. Danny decided he wanted to take a look inside when he was home alone. His parents had given up on it when it wouldn't turn on, so he figured there wouldn't be any harm in climbing inside the machine. Except there was. It had turned on while he was inside and it messed with his DNA, causing him to become a half-ghost half-human hybrid. That was 4 months ago. Now he's been busying himself with homework that made no sense. He was stressed, to say the least. His grades were steadily dropping, his parents becoming more and more neglectful, not to mention the ghost attacks that were happening a lot more frequently than before. He was exhausted, emotionally and physically.
His older sister, Jazz, had made a point that she thought he had some sort of mental illness and was constantly going for the more weird and out there illnesses, even though he constantly reassured her that he didn’t have some mental illness that made him think he was a walking corpse or that his family was replaced by monsters trying to kill him. She instead moved on to other illnesses. At one point she said he had a God Complex. That couldn’t be farther from the truth in his opinion. He sighed, closing his textbook. He wasn’t in the mood to try and figure out what the heck they were learning. He laid his head down and closed his eyes. Then he heard it. The laugh of the Box Ghost. He groaned. “Going Ghost.” He said weakly, turning into his ghost form before flying out.
The Box Ghost, once again, was not hard to beat. Surprise surprise! Danny sent him back to the Ghost Zone before turning normal and sitting at his desk once more. “Maybe for a little while. Not like anyone is awake at the moment.” He opened his desk drawer, pulling out a bag. In it was a pastel mint pacifier and a green notebook. He pulled them out and set them on his desk. Danny put his homework in his backpack, placing coloring books and crayons in the space no longer occupied by school and stress. He changed into a simple green t-shirt and loose grey sweatpants. He grabbed his mint bunny stuffed animal from its hiding place in the closet.
He sat at his desk once more, this time to hopefully destress. He put the pacifier in his mouth, hugging the stuffed animal to his chest before flipping through the coloring book. He decided on a simple dog page and began to color it. He could feel himself slipping. He started to feel better about himself. Soon he was mindlessly scribbling away. Suckling on the pacifier, he adjusted in the chair. He was getting tired. Eventually, he crawled into his bed, comforter to his chin and bunny tucked closely to his chest. His eyelids fluttered, pacifier bobbing slightly, while the moonlight shone through his window covering him in a blanket of comforting glow. Soon he fell asleep.
He awoke to pounding on his door. “Danny! If you don’t get up and start getting ready, you’re going to be late!” He heard Jazz’s voice. He groaned. “I’m up!” He yelled back, pacifier falling from his lips. He stretched before standing up. Danny grabbed the pacifier and stuffed animal, stuffing them into his drawer. He changed into a long-sleeved black t-shirt, grey jeans, and black sneakers. He ran his hands through his hair before grabbing his backpack and phone. He tucked his earbuds into his pocket before deciding he’d put them in when he left the house. He walked out to the hall, then down the stairs. “Hey, Danny!” Jazz said, turning to her younger brother. He just waved. “I’m heading to school, bye.” He gave a small tight smile.
Danny walked out of the Fenton household, not even sparing a glance at the basement door. No doubt his parents were in there and it’s not like they cared when he left or why or even if he went to school. They probably wouldn’t even notice if he skipped, unless, of course, the school called about too many absences. He rolled his eyes and continued walking to school. No need to dwell on the neglectful actions of his parents. He had hell to go to! He made it to the front doors without any incident but he should’ve known the peace wouldn’t last. He hit the ground before he had a chance to even process what was happening.
“What’s up, Fenturd? You might want to watch where you’re going or you might just fall!” Dash yelled at the boy on the ground. Danny just sat there in a kind of dazed state, waiting for Dash and his lackeys to leave. If he didn’t pay them any attention they’d eventually grow bored and leave him be until later. He just hoped they’d lose interest fast. He wanted to get to the safety of a classroom. Classrooms meant teachers, teachers meant temporary freedom from bullying. He sat on the ground for another minute not hearing their snickers and retorts before they grew tired and left him. He waited another minute before he finally got up and walked to his first class. Mr. Lancer was a relatively nice teacher. He didn’t tolerate bullying. Everyone knew if you bullied someone in his class you’d get written up.
Other teachers just told you to stop and didn’t do anything. That’s probably why Dash and his lackeys get away with tripping him in the lunchroom and literally torturing him all the time. He settled into his seat in the back of the class and just sat with his earbuds in until the bell rang. Everyone filed into the classroom chatting and generally acting like it wasn’t eight in the morning. Danny hated it. They were so loud. Danny felt himself drifting in and out of consciousness as everyone took their seats before the tardy bell rang. Mr. Lancer stood at the front of the class, called the roll, and started his lesson. Halfway through the class, there was a loud crash as Skulker came through the fence startling a bunch of stray cats in the dumpsters. Danny sighed as everyone started running, doing the evacuation plan. He followed them outside but slipped away and said “Going Ghost,” under his breath. It was going to be a long day.