The Box Ghost's Last Day on Earth

5:00 PM

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or it's characters.

Chapter 12,

"Danny, honey." Mrs. Fenton said sweetly when she walked up to the garage and saw Tommy and Danny sword fighting.

"Oh, hey Maddie. You thirsty?" Paul said and Maddie glanced at the boys.

"Oh, I would hate to break that up. So I guess I'll take you up on that drink." Maddie said and she walked over and kissed the top of Danny's head.

"Hi, mom." Danny said.

"Hi, hon. Listen, Danny, I'm gonna get a drink, but when I come back you need to say goodbye to Tommy, ok?" Maddie said and Danny nodded.

"Ok, mommy." Danny said and they continued to play.

"Ah, to be young again." Maddie said as she followed Paul into the house.

"I know, life is much simpler then." Paul said and Maddie blinked.

"Something up?" Maddie asked and Paul sighed.

"Work stuff... kinda family stuff... it would probably just bore you." Paul said. He knew the box industry wasn't as exciting as ghost hunting.

"Oh, come on. Perhaps I can provide some insight to the problem." Maddie said.

"It's nothing really, it's just... well, my brother Adam reordered something I canceled. Then he abandoned me at a meeting; a meeting he made me late for. And I guess I don't know how to handle that." Paul said and Maddie paused.

"Have you talked to Adam about it?" Maddie asked and Paul sighed.

"Not really. I'm not great at confrontation; especially with family." Paul said and Maddie grabbed two glasses from the cabinet.

"Perhaps you should. If nothing else to check on Adam and make sure that everything is ok." Maddie said and Paul got out a pitcher of lemonade out of the fridge.

"I don't think I really need to be worried about him, Maddie." Paul said and Maddie sighed.

"Can I share something personal?" Maddie asked and Paul thought that was a little odd.

"Sure." Paul said and Maddie took a deep breath before she continued.

"Back in high school, I was friends with a girl named Amber Lancer." Maddie started and this name sounded familiar.

"Huh, 'Amber Lancer'? Wasn't she the sister of-"

"Please let me finish, Paul." Maddie said and Paul paused and nodded so she could finish.

"Amber was a good girl. But she started dating this bad boy, and she made herself bad for him. She picked a lot of bad habits; drinking, smoking, cheating, etc. I hoped it was a phase but it wasn't... If I could go back in time I would have helped her when I could. Maybe if I helped her before she got into all that stuff, then maybe she wouldn't have died." Maddie said and Paul didn't know what to say. The only thing he could think to do is fill her glass with lemonade.

"As the song goes, 'where did I go wrong, I lost a friend'. Though that song is about a friend who committed suicide. Amber died in a... well, she didn't kill herself that's the difference." Maddie said and Paul sighed.

"I'm sorry about your friend." Paul said and Maddie took a long sip of her drink.

"It's almost funny though. She died in the middle of the night and that night, before I even heard the news, I had a dream about Amber. And she... well, she was in this strange world and she was trying to remember who she was. The only real clue she had was this piece of paper that she was holding, but I'm not sure what it said. So when I woke up, and then I heard about her death. Well, I guess that made me wonder if Amber was trying to tell me something from beyond the grave." Maddie said.

"Is that what got you interested in ghosts, and ghost hunting?" Paul asked and Maddie shrugged.

"Oh, I don't know. I always enjoyed the supernatural. I suppose Amber was the reason I started to take it all seriously." Maddie commented and they were silent for a moment. Outside you could hear Tommy and Danny playing and Maddie smiled.

"I miss my friend, but I suppose there is a chance that I wouldn't be a ghost hunter if she hadn't passed away. If I wasn't into ghosts, then I wouldn't have met Jack, and we wouldn't have Jazz and Danny." Maddie said and Paul sighed.

"Yeah, she sounds like she really meant a lot to you." Paul said and Maddie nodded.

"She did. Even with all of the yelling and fighting and insults, I still cared about her. And I still miss her. And I try to remember her the way she was... before she changed herself." Maddie said and Paul smiled.

"I'm sure she would have liked that." Paul said.

"Maybe, maybe not. She seemed to really enjoy her new look. But that's not why I am talking about Amber today." Maddie said and Paul blinked at her.

"I'm talking about Amber, because she use to be real sneaky and... If I may be blunt with you, I would suggest that perhaps Adam has an addiction of some sort." Maddie said and Paul froze.

"Addiction...? Adam? No way, the guy basically has everything he could want. Why would he turn to drugs. Heck, Adam lives in a nice place, where would he even find drugs?" Paul said and Maddie shrugs.

"The rich and the poor can fall victim to drugs, Paul. And I don't know Adam really well, so maybe he is going through something else. Like a secret girlfriend, or maybe he is distracted by some physical issue: but my point is that you really should talk to Adam and figure out what is wrong." Maddie said and Paul drank some lemonade.

"I don't want to accuse Adam of anything." Paul said.

"Then don't, Paul. Try to approach him in a loving and judge free manner. I'm sure that whatever it is can be dealt with." Maddie said and Paul sighed.

"You're right, Maddie. I love my brother and I would die for him. I just hope Adam remembers that." Paul said and Maddie nodded.

"I'm sure he does. When do you want to talk to him?" Maddie asks and Paul sighed.

"I got a date with Francine tonight, so I think I'll just talk to him tomorrow." Paul said and Maddie nodded.

"Well, I hope that it isn't something too serious." Maddie said and she smiled softly at Paul.

"Yeah, me too." Paul whispered.