Seeing Double

Ghosted - Part 4

These days Danny tried to walk around the house as quietly as possible. He felt it was important to keep tabs on his parents. He could help Phantom that way, maybe.

"... arrogant to assume he'd followed us?" Mom was saying. "Trying to hunt the hunters?"

They were working on the kitchen table. He lingered at the bottom of the staircase.

"Ghosts aren't smart enough for that, Mads."

"But why else would he have been in Wisconsin?" Mom said. "It's too much of a coincidence."

She was half right. But Phantom would never try to hurt them.

"Need help with the tie?" Jazz said. Danny nearly tripped off the last step in surprise. He hadn't noticed her coming down behind him.

"Y-yeah," he said. She scrutinized him, but whatever she found wasn't worth comment.

Or she was holding back.

He followed her into the kitchen and mom squealed at the sight of him.

"You look so cute in your little suit!" she said. "Let me take a picture."

"A boy becomes a man," Dad said, solemnly. He stood and gave Danny a hug, lifting him off the ground.

"It's just a dance," Danny said. Jazz shooed their dad out of the way so she could work on the tie.

He tried to give them a light hearted smile for the photos.

It was harder than it should have been.

oOo

"Tell me about yourself," Paulina said. They'd been dancing for the past four songs, but she'd finally gotten tired enough to let him sit.

"About myself?" Danny said. "Oh, uh, that's a hard one."

"Aw, come on," she said. She put her elbows on the table, her chin in her hands. "I've never had the chance to properly talk to you like this. Pretend you're introducing yourself to me. I want to know the real Danny Fenton."

She winked.

There's no such person, Danny thought. I'm nobody. "Alright, but help me narrow it down? It's... hard."

Paulina giggled. "It doesn't have to be. Just tell me what you like."

He stared at her.

"Your interests," she said. "Hobbies or whatever."

He thought of the glow in the dark stars on his ceiling. The NASA posters, the cosmic bedspread. "I like astronomy," he said. "Uh, NASA and stuff."

"Cool, what do you like about it?" Paulina said.

"I don't know."

Jeez Fenton, now is not the time for an existential crisis.

"You, uh, you like cheerleading?" Danny said.

Smooth transition, loser. He shoved his hands in his pockets, wanting to disappear.

But Paulina let it go.

"... and my Papi is a banker," Paulina was saying. Danny nodded. "Shut up!" she said, playfully shoving his shoulder. "I know, it's so boring, ugh."

Danny blinked. He desperately wanted to say the right thing here, but he was at a loss. "Boring sounds nice," he settled on.

"But I wish my parents were like yours," Paulina said. "All the gadgets and spooky encounters? It sounds amazing. Is it amazing?"

Ah.