Doctor Dash

Chapter 45

Kwan carried a bowl of chips in his hands as he headed for the couch to sit down and have a nice relaxing evening watching a movie. When he entered the main area of his apartment, he gave a started yelp, the bowl dropping from his hands to clatter upon the floor as chips flew out everywhere. He placed a hand to his chest, his heart pounding like a jackhammer, as he met eyes with the man that suddenly appeared in his apartment.

"Right. Sorry." Dan vanished back through the door and a moment later a knock sounded.

Kwan rubbed at his forehead, stepping over the mess of fallen chips as he headed toward the door. When he opened it, he gave the ghost an annoyed look.

"I'm used to just popping in," Dan explained, looking away and rubbing at his neck. He appeared in his human disguise, which was a relief because Kwan didn't really want to have to come up with an explanation if his neighbors started questioning the appearance of a ghost in the building. "Because with Danny, I never have to bother with knocking. It was wrong to just pop in like that. I know."

Kwan rolled his eyes as he opened the door wider for Dan to enter his apartment, not that the ghost really needed it since he could simply phase through an obstacle. "Just remember next time. You nearly gave me a heart attack." His heart still felt like it was beating a touch too fast. After Dan stepped inside, Kwan closed the door. Upon hearing the click of the lock latching, the nerves kicked in, and it was a struggle to push down that urge to avoid having this talk with the ghost.

"Your face was pretty funny." Dan grinned halfway teasingly. He walked over to the mess and crouched down to start cleaning up the chips. "I didn't mean to scare you like that. I wasn't thinking." He shook his head. "That's not really an excuse though, is it?"

Kwan walked over and helped with cleaning up the mess. "Not really, no. You have to remember that the whole ghost thing is still pretty new for me." He didn't really stop to think about how Dan being ghost meant that he could literally appear out of thin air thanks to his powers.

"I ran into Valerie and she mentioned you had things you wanted to talk with me about." Dan glanced up curiously, but there was a hint of hesitation in his eyes.

Kwan frowned as he dropped a handful of chips into the bowl. He had a lot to discuss with Dan, and it scared him, but he knew he needed to get it all out in the open if anything was going to happen between them. Running away, as much as he wanted to do at that moment, was not an option for him. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his gaze, and the words stuck in his throat. Even after making the decision to talk with Dan, it was still hard to speak.

"I-" Kwan fumbled with his thoughts. "You mentioned that in your time, I made a ghost shield."

"Yeah," Dan agreed as he eyed the man before him.

"Well," Kwan turned his gaze downward, seeming to become fascinated with the chips still on the floor. He was merely delaying the inevitable. He knew it, but he couldn't help putting it off a little longer. "If I could make one, an invisible shield, maybe that would be helpful for Lex. I mean, if it keeps ghosts from attacking the school, Lex wouldn't have to worry about his education being interrupted by ghost attacks, and I'm sure Danny would appreciate his son being protected during school hours and being able to stay focused on school. And when he comes back to school in September, he'll be in third grade, and I won't be around to watch over him. Having a shield to protect from ghost attacks will also allow him to avoid risking his secret by having to seek a safe place to transform if he decides to fight ghosts."

"And you wanted my help getting started on it?" Dan dumped the rest of the chips into the bowl.

"Yes, no, well, yeah." Kwan sighed as he leaned his head back and rolled his eyes at the ceiling. "Yes, I would like your help because I'm all over the place trying to think of how to put it all together. But that's not the reason I needed to talk to you."