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oblivious-aro · 10 months

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Friends in Strange Places Ch. 5

What if Vlad was good instead of evil? Link to chapter 1:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14074558/1/Friends-in-Strange-Places

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Although no one was paying attention, Jazz continued her narration. Tucker and Sam sat in silence, avoiding eye contact with anyone, while Danny stared out the window.

"Hey!" Danny interrupted Jazz "I think I can see the lake!"

Jazz stopped talking and looked out the window.

"Yeah!" she said "And some of the houses. Wow, the architecture is just phenomenal!"

Tucker and Sam rushed over to look too (the lakeview was only on Danny and Jazz's side, and the Fenton parents had always been pretty lax about seatbelts).

"Finally!" Tucker pumped his fist "I am so ready to get out of this vehicle."

"There sure are a lot of trees. It's nice. Shady." Sam remarked. "Those houses are a bit much, though. Which one's Vlad's?"

"Vlad's house should be coming up right about..." Maddie scanned out the window "There!"

She pointed to a minty green house they were steadily approaching. It was decadent, but nowhere neat as large as all the other houses on the lakefront.

"Ope, there's the driveway, turn there Jack."

They turned and drove down Vlad's (very long) driveway, to find Vlad himself standing at end of it. Danny wondered if he'd been standing there long.

When Danny stepped out of the RV behind Sam and Tucker, the first thing he noticed (besides his wobbly car legs) was Vlad's outfit. He wasn't wearing his usual suit, but instead a yellow golf shirt with green stripes around the waist, sleeves, and collar tucked into khaki pants.

"Ah, The Fentons, and friends." Vlad nodded towards Sam and Tucker "Welcome to my summer villa." Vlad gestured to the beautiful structure behind him.

"Wow Vlad," Maddie said "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but this is much ritzier than the little cottage I was expecting."

"Did I say cottage on the phone? Ah, see my mother had taken to calling it 'The Cottage', and it seems at some point I picked up the habit."

"Yeah, that does sound like something Nedelya would do." Jack nodded. "I see you managed to sneak in the ol' Packer's colour scheme past her?"

"Ah, so you noticed."

"You betcha! I suppose the inside is littered with yellow trim?"

"Gold, to be precise."

"Classic Vladdie!" Jack slapped Vlad on the back, knocking the wind out of him.

"Classic Jack." Vlad wheezed.

"Alright, as much as I'd love to stand around chitchating," Maddie said "We'd better get the food we brought into a fridge."

"Oh Maddie, you're barely staying for two days, you didn't have to-"

"Oh, nonsense Vlad. You're being very generous by letting us all stay at your place, including Danny's friends. The least we can do is bring some groceries."

"Well, since you've already gone to the trouble, I suppose I'll show you the kitchen."

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While Jack and Maddie started putting the groceries away, Vlad took the kids upstairs. He dropped Sam and Jazz off at their room, and then showed Danny and Tucker theirs.

"Feel free to explore wherever you'd like in the house." Vlad said "I'll be in the office, which is just in the next room over, finishing up some straightening if you need anything." Vlad gave a small wave as he left.

Danny and Tucker's room was identical to Sam and Jazz's. The floor was made of some kind of dark hardwood, and the walls were green with thins gold designs on it. There were two beds with solid wooden frames and green covers. Mounted on the wall between the beds, above a wooden nightstand, was a golden light fixture with a little chain hanging from it.

Tucker flopped onto one of the beds.

"Springy, yet firm with just enough give." Tucker folded his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. "Very nice. And I must say, I'm a fan of all these decorative pillows."

"Seems like a bit much." Danny said "What on earth does one person need seven pillows for?"

"Sneak attack!"

Danny turned intangible as a pillow sailed through his face and hit the wall behind him.

"Hey! That's cheating!"

Danny turned tangible and stuck his tongue out at Tucker.

"Nothing you can do about it, Tuck."

Tucker crossed his arms poutily.

Danny tossed his backpack onto the other bed.

"I'm gonna go talk to Vlad real quick." he said.

"Alright, don't be too long though, cuz I definitely want to grab Sam and go house-exploring before dinner. Maybe we'll find a hidden passageway!"

"What about Jazz?" Danny asked.

"Oh yeah. I keep forgetting about Jazz. It's been a while since we've really hung out with her."

"It really hasn't." Danny rolled his eyes as he left the room.

The door next to their guestroom (which Danny assumed was the office Vlad was talking about) was open, so Danny stepped inside.

The office had the same green walls as the guestrooms, just without the gold designs. A bookshelf with glass doors took up the entire left wall. Vlad stood at the back of the room by a plain empty wooden desk.

It didn't seem like this office was used for much.

"Are you and your friends finding everything all right?" Vlad asked.

"Yeah, we're all great." Danny closed the door behind him. "So, you're telling my parents this weekend, huh?"

"Indeed. Speaking of, how did things go with your sister? You did talk to her, right?"

"Jazz? Oh yeah, I did tell her. It turned out she already knew, actually."

"Really?" Vlad's eyes widened "And you had no idea?"

"Apparently she saw me go ghost a while back, but she wanted to wait until I was ready to tell her."

"Well," Vlad blinked, his expression unreadable "It sounds like things went well then."

"Yeah."

"I'm glad." Vlad smiled.

"Me too. I didn't tell her about you, though. I wanted to make sure you were okay with that first."

"I appreciate that." Vlad nodded. "You may tell her about me. It would probably be best to have her in the loop. Especially once your parents know about me."

"Yeah." Danny nodded "Are you gonna tell them tonight?"

Vlad didn't answer right away.

"No. I think I'll do it tomorrow. Later in the day. Probably after dinner."

"I think we'll be gone before then. Mom and Dad said we'd need to set out by 2:00 so we're not home too late."

"Ah yes, I suppose you do have school Monday, don't you? I'll tell them after lunch, then." Vlad sighed. "It truly is tragic how short the weekend is."

"Agreed. You, uh, nervous?"

"I'm...trying not to think about it too much until the moment arrives. I'm going to tell them, and that's that. There's nothing to be gained in dwelling on it."

"Yeah, I get that."

There was pause in the conversation.

Danny felt like he should say more. He knew what Vlad was going through better than anyone else possibly could, but the fact of the matter was that they didn't actually know each other that well. What encouraging words could Danny offer this person who was three decades older than him, and whom he hardly ever spoke to?

"You know," Vlad said "It brings me great joy, seeing you surrounded by people who know what happened to you and accept you. I wouldn't say I've had a bad life, far from it, but I'm glad you aren't going through what I went through alone."

Vlad sounded happy, but for some reason that made Danny feel worse for him than if he'd sounded sad.

"Well, for what it's worth, you're not alone anymore Vlad. Even if my parents don't accept you, you'll still have me and my friends. Not that they won't accept you, I know they totally will."

Vlad gave Danny a tired smile.

"I certainly hope so Little Badger."

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"Ah there you are, Vlad!" Maddie smiled as Vlad entered to the kitchen. "Got the kids all situated?"

"Yes, they're all set." Vlad said "I'll show you and Jack your room after we get the food all taken care of."

"Sounds good. It's so nice that we're finally able to spend some real quality time together." Maddie commented, putting a head of lettuce in the fridge.

Vlad gave her a small smile.

"Yeah, V-man!" Jack wrapped an arm tightly around Vlad. "I can finally catch you up on all the stuff Maddie and I have been working on! You are gonna love the Fenton-combobulator!"

"If you two don't mind," Vlad wriggled out of Jack's grip "I would actually prefer it if we didn't talk about anything ghost-related this weekend."

Jack frowned.

"Well, okay Vladdie. But, why-"

"Jack." Maddie said warningly.

Not that she wasn't also curious...

It couldn't have been trauma from the accident, Vlad had been very enthusiastic about their inventions when Jack took him down to the lab.

Especially the portal. He'd gone right up to it without a trace of fear or hesitation.

But she didn't want to risk pushing the issue. They'd wanted to spend time with Vlad like this ever since the reunion, and now that it was finally happening, Maddie just wanted to enjoy it. Preferably without without any drama.

"Alright, alright." Jack held up his hands. "No ghosts. I got it. Gives me more time to razz you, anyway. Seems The Packers aren't making it to The Super Bowl this year. Again."

"The Super Bowl isn't everything, Jack."

"I suppose that's true, but it's when Maddie makes her special chicken wings, so it's the most important football event as far as I'm concerned! By far!"

"Jack, that's far from a unique opinion." Vlad pinched his nose. "Though I must say, I'm interested in seeing how The Patriots..."

Jack and Vlad soon started throwing around terms and numbers that went over Maddie's head, but listening to their conversation still made her smile.

This was the Vlad she remembered. This was her friend.

For a while she'd wondered if he was even still in there, but now she could see him; he'd just been hidden behind some stuffy mask ever since the college reunion. The mask had slipped briefly in the lab at Fenton Works and in Colorado at three in the morning, but now it felt like it was truly and fully off.

This was the Vlad she and Jack had stayed up late running through concepts for theoretical inventions with, had scrounged the library for old newspapers with any articles on ghost sightings, had split whatever the 'deal of the day' was at Tony's Pizza's at least three days a week with.

It turned out that Vlad was still there, he just ordered more expensive pizzas these days.

Speaking of pizza...

"We should probably start getting supper made." Maddie said "Danny's friend Sam's a vegetarian, so she brought her own bean-based burgers, and we brought some vegetables for salads."

"And potatoes!" Jack piped up.

"Yes Jack. You start the potatoes, I'll do the salad, and Vlad can start on the patties."

Vlad's smile faded as he eyed the packages of ground beef on the table.

"You...didn't happen to bring any premade ones, did you?"

"Of course not!" Jack laughed. "The ones you make are waaay better V-man! Don't worry, we got the garlic powder and all those other spices and stuff you need!"

"Is there a problem, Vlad?" Maddie frowned concernedly.

"Well, it's jus been a while since I've actually- wait," Vlad eyed the little plastic bags next to the beef "You still remember the spice mixture I used?"

"Of course, V-man!" Jack patted Vlad's shoulder. "I'd never forget the spices for your burgers. Best I've ever had!"

"We actually use your recipe for burger night at our house." Maddie said.

"They never turn out quite as good as yours, though." Jack patted Vlad's shoulder again. "I don't know what your secret is Vladdie!"

It was strange. The fact that Jack and Maddie still remembered something as mundane as his hamburger recipe after all these years warmed his heart, but it also made it ache longingly.

"Well, Vlad, if you're not up to it, I certainly don't mind-"

"You know what?" Vlad cut Maddie off, his earlier hesitation replaced with burning drive "I'm pretty sure I remember how to do it." The fact that his friends had held on to such a small detail moved Vlad. "They aren't actually particularly difficult to make, I just haven't had anyone to make them for in a while."

Vlad turned to some cupboards next to the fridge.

"I know there's cutting boards around here somewhere...Jack, check the drawer near the stove for the kniv- on second thought, you should look through the cupboards while I find the knives, since you're, uh...taller than me."

"You got it V-man!" Jack beamed.

Maddie smiled as she watched Vlad opened and shut a few drawers.

Yes, that was the Vlad she knew. The Vlad she'd been missing. She continued to smile as Vlad and Jack handed her a knife and a cutting board and she began slicing tomatoes.

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"Those were way better than the burgers Mom and Dad make!" Danny said.

"Yeah." Jazz agreed. "They're a lot less charred."

"Can't really give an opinion on the burgers," Sam said "But I am half-considering trying to talk my parents into getting some of that artisanal root beer."

The kids were all standing on Vlad's back deck. Danny had corralled them all outside after supper cleanup, figuring Vlad would want some tiem to catch up with Jack and Maddie privately.

"You know," Tucker said "I like Vlad Masters. His burger's are worthy of my mother's cooking, and he's a technological genius, but there is something weirdly off about him. He's too polite."

"Being poite's a bad thing?" Danny raised an eyebrow.

"That's not what I mean, Danny. He's polite in a...weird way."

"Oh please," Sam said "He's putting on a front. I'd recognize the 'polite rich person' persona anywhere."

"Not to mention the fact that he's been living alone in a football themed castle for the last twenty years." Jazz said. "It'd be weirder if he wasn't a little off."

"It is strange that he suddenly invited your family out here after months of silence." Sam narrowed her eyes "It's kind of sketchy, actually."

"I actually might know something about that." Danny said.

The other three all turned to look at him.

"Vlad told me he was planned on telling Mom and Dad...something important this weekend."

"Is he going to tell them he's half-ghost!?" Jazz asked, her eyes widening.

Danny's heart skipped a beat.

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, sorry. Do Sam and Tucker not know? I assumed they did, since Vlad invited them out here too."

"No, they know." Danny said. "The question is how do you know?"

"Wait," Tucker said "You didn't tell her about Vlad?"

"I was just about to! I had to get his permission first, and he's not around a lot."

"I mean, considering he sets off all the same ghost devices you do," Jazz started to count on her fingers "He was also the victim of a ghost portal accident, and the fact he's been avoiding Mom and Dad ever since said accident, it wasn't that hard to piece together."

"So, does that mean he's telling them right now?" Tucker asked.

"No. He said he planned on doing it tomorrow. I figured he wants to wait a bit and take the opportunity to spend some time with them before he tells them. You know, break the ice before he drops the bombshell on them."

"And spend one last weekend with them on the off chance they never want to see him again." Jazz added.

It took her a few seconds to realize that everyone was staring at her with horrified expressions.

"Not that that'll happen!" she backtracked "Sure, Mom and Dad will be pretty shocked and probably have a million questions, but they will accept him. I just mean that it might be hard for Vlad to have faith in them right now, you know, all things considered."

"Hey wait," Sam turned to Danny "Once your parents know that half-ghosts are a thing, doesn't that open up the possibility of your parents figuring you out?"

"I was also kind of worried about that." Danny said "But Vlad said he'd throw them off the scent when he talks about the details of his accident. Also, considering all the stuff they've missed in the past, do you really think my parents'll put two and two together on this one?"

"Yeah, probably not." Jazz, Sam, and Tucker all said at the same time.

"And you know, if things do go well, I...actually kind of might want to tell Mom and Dad too."

Sam, Tucker, and Jazz all gave Danny a sympathetic look, but didn't say anything.

"Anyway, I think we should give them some time at the house. Let them catch up or whatever it is adults do." Danny said quickly.

"Yeah, sure thing." Tucker nodded. "But what on earth are we supposed to do in the meantime?"

No one answered him right away.

"Wanna go sit on the dock?" Danny shrugged.

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Tucker sighed as he sat down, letting his feet hang over the edge.

It was a very simple wooden dock that had been painted white. A large boulder that with house's address number carved into it was resting in a little garden by the walkway from the house. The walkway split into two separate paths at the dock that Jazz said ran along the whole edge of the lake.

The view of the lake from the dock was spectacular, but Tucker wasn't appreciating that right now.

"No wi-fi, no video games, no ghosts, what are we even supposed to do?"

"Have you tried relaxing?" Sam asked dryly "Maybe enjoying this gorgeous view of nature?"

"I feel you." Jazz plopped down beside Tucker. "I left all my textbooks at home. They made my suitcase too heavy. But now I don't know what to do with myself."

"Oh for Pete's sake," Sam shook her head. Listening to these two was making her depressed "We could...uh..." Sam looked around, her eyes falling on the lake water "Go swimming?"

Sam squatted down and stuck her hand in the lake. She immediately pulled it out and shot up to her feet.

"Never mind." Sam shook the water off of her hand "That's way too cold for swimming."

"It'd probably be perfect in summer." Jazz said, lazily draping her own hand in the water.

Sam leaned against a mailbox.

"Yeah, Probably." she sighed. "Hey wait, why is there a mailbox on the dock?"

"For the mail jumpers." Jazz said.

"The what?" Tucker sat up slightly.

"There's a boat tour that goes around to deliver and pick up mail on the docks. The mail jumpers jump onto the dock, put the mail in the box, then jump back on while the boat's still moving."

"That sounds incredibly impractical." Sam said.

"And really cool!" Tucker added.

"It's really more of a tradition thing nowadays. They only do it in the summer for tourists."

"This place seems like it's only fun in the summer." Tucker grumbled, slouching again.

Danny rejoined the group, holding up the hem of his shirt.

"Whatcha got there?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Rocks." Danny squatted down and dumped the rocks noisily onto the dock. He picked one up, wound his arm back, and tossed it at the lake. It skipped four times.

"Woah!" Sam and Tucker said.

"Pssht." Jazz rolled her eyes. "Only four skips? Is that really all you got?" Jazz picked up a rock.

"It's not my fault. These rocks are terrible for skipping. Unfortunately, they were the best I could find."

"Blame the worker, not the tools." Jazz tossed the rock she was holding. It skipped three times before sinking. "Oh, wow, these rocks are terrible."

"How'd you do that?" Tucker picked up a rock and threw it. It lamely sunk into the lake with a splash.

"You just throw it kind of like a frisbee." Danny said, skipping another stone. It skipped three times.

"I don't know how to throw a frisbee. You know this." Tucker glared at Danny

"You're a terrible teacher, Danny." Jazz laughed.

"Says you!"

"Yeah, says me," Jazz stood up "The current rock skipping record holder."

"I broke your records ages ago!"

"Uh-huh, sure Danny, you totally broke my record when no one else happened to be around."

"I totally did! I found the perfect rock and got sixteen skips!"

"Allegedly."

"Oh yeah? Give me ten minutes with one of them," Danny jerked his thumb at Sam and Tucker "And I'll make them a better rock skipper than you!"

"Oh please," Jazz rolled her eyes "You think you're the better teacher? I'm the one who taught you how to skip rocks, remember?"

"Ha! Jokes on you! I was never listening to a word you said and figured it out on my own!"

"This argument doesn't even make any sense." Tucker said "And I've told you two how I feel about being offered up to disprove your petty-"

"I call Danny!" Sam raised her hand.

"I- wha, hey!"

"It's settled then." Jazz grabbed Tucker by the shoulders. "Whoever's student can do the most skips with a single rock is the winner."

"Fine by me." Danny crossed his arms and smiled cockily.

"We're going to go down by the shore so you two can't steal my skipping secrets."

"Like we're going to need them!" Danny called as Jazz dragged the befuddled Tucker to the other dock.

"Okay," Danny turned to Sam once Jazz and Tucker were out of earshot "So you just wind your arm back at waist level, then launch it. Try to give it a spin and keep it parallel to the water. Flatter rocks work best, but these were the best I could find."

"Okay, so, like this?" Sam threw a rock. It sunk without skipping.

"Eh, you've almost got it. Just do it like fifty more times and it'll probably click."

"This is what you call teaching?"

"It's how I learned. And by watching Jazz. She's actually a much better shower than teller."

Danny threw a rock and it skipped three times.

"Ugh. Seriously, these rocks are awful for skipping. I can usually get way more."

"Great. I'm sure this will be a productive lesson."

Sam threw another one. It also sank. She scowled but picked up another rock, determined to get at least one skip.

Danny and Sam practiced stone skipping for a while, only pausing when they ran out of rocks to get more. Danny's usually skipped between three and five times (at one point he did manage to get seven), and Sam did manage to get a skip here and there, but most of her rocks just sank.

After watching the seventh rock in a row sink, Sam decided she needed a little break. She watched Danny wind up a stone.

"Hey, Danny..." Sam said "Can I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure."

"How old were you when you got your first crush?"

"Oh, uh..." Danny fumbled the rock he'd been about to throw. He hadn't been expecting her to ask that "I think I was, like, seven. You remember how I always picked Phoebe Phast in Turbo Racer Two as my racer?"

"Wait, you had a crush on Phoebe?"

"Well, I didn't really understand what it was at the time, but looking back, yeah it was totally a crush. Kind of explained why she was the only girl I ever picked as my character in a video game."

"Okay, so seven years old? Wow, that's younger than I expected. Okay, have you had any other crushes, besides for Paulina?" Sam almost managed to not roll her eyes at the mention of that name.

"Uh, yeah, I guess."

"You guess?"

"I mean, I don't think there were any other super noteworthy ones. Mostly celebrities and the same popular girls everyone else was crushing on in middle school. I kinda like Penelope Ryan, but she moved away before I could tell her. I probably wouldn't have asked her out anyway. I hated the idea of asking anyone out at the time, looking the way I did. Turns out undiagnosed dysphoria really amps up the whole pre-teen self-consciousness."

Danny laughed. Sam didn't.

"But...why?"

"Why what?"

"I don't get it. I mean, Penny was cool, I guess, but Paulina's a jerk, and Phoebe Phast isn't even real. I just can't figure out what you see in them."

"They're hot?"

"That's it? That's all you need? But that doesn't make any sense!"

"You don't have to be so judgy. It's not like I can pick who I like."

"I'm not being judgy! It's just...you make it seem like falling in love is so simple. Like, you don't put any consideration into it at all, like it just happens!"

Danny had no idea why Sam was freaking out so much, or why she was nitpicking his old crushes, but it was really annoying him.

"You sound like Tucker." Sam said "You're not making any sense."

"Sam, you're the one not making any sense." Danny snapped "I don't know what you're trying to get at, but Tucker and I are the normal ones. You're the one who's being weird!"

Danny's stomach dropped.

Sam didn't say anything. Her expression was a cross between being really deep in thought and really angry.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"It's fine Danny."

"No, really, I didn't mean-"

"Drop it."

Danny realized that Sam was looking over his shoulder. He turned and saw that Jazz and Tucker were coming back.

Jazz looked very grumpy.

"Uh, what's up?" Danny asked. He snuck another glance at Sam. Her expression was still unreadable.

"You win." Jazz crossed her arms.

"What?"

"I said you win!" Jazz threw her arms in the air. Tucker seemed to be avoiding eye contact with everyone.

"That bad?" Danny asked him.

"It bounced back." Tucker muttered.

"What?"

"It bounced back!" Tucker repeated louder.

"What do you mean?"

"He threw the rock," Jazz said "And I didn't see it skip, so I thought it sunk, but then it came sailing back out of the water right between our heads. So, for our own safety, we are forfeiting the competition."

"Woo hoo." Sam cheered dryly "We win."

She threw another rock into the lake. It sunk without skipping.

"Hey Sam," Tucker said "Are you okay?"

Sam threw another rock. It bounced once before sinking.

"I am now." she said with a small smile "With that, I've officially beaten you properly."

Tucker scowled and crossed his arms. Jazz patted his back sympathetically.

No one noticed the green tentacle emerge from the water. It patted along the shore where Jazz and Tucker had just been before slinking back into the lake.

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The adults chatted idly as they finished the supper cleanup. Once everything was put away, they moved their conversation to the deck with coffee that Vlad had brewed with a French press. He claimed it 'brought out a richer earthier flavour'. Jack and Maddie had no idea what he was talking about.

There was a slight breeze that rustled the leaves as the sun began to dip below the horizon. It was a beginning to get a little chilly, but the warm coffee helped.

"You know," Jack said "I never thought I'd say this, but taking a break from ghosts has been sort of nice in a way."

"I know." Maddie said. "When was the last time we took a break Jack?"

"Hmm, let's see..." Jack scratched his chin. "I think the last time was my last fishing trip with Danny, and that was...huh, I think that was before we got the portal working."

"It's been that long?" Maddie frowned.

"You two are certainly in good company." Vlad said "I don't think I've taken a proper vacation in years!"

"You may not research ghosts anymore Vlad," Maddie elbowed Vlad in the arm "But it's good to see you've still kept your bad habits from working in the least supported branch of the sciences."

They all laughed, followed by a brief moment of comfortable silence.

"I've been meaning to ask, Vlad," Maddie said "How's your mother?"

"Oh...she...passed away. A little while ago."

"Oh." Maddie covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Vlad."

"Yeah, sorry to hear that V-man." Jack put a sympathetic hand on Vlad's shoulder. "Nedelya Masters was a wonderful person. Sweet, but with such a practical wit..." Jack sighed.

"How long has it been Vlad?" Maddie asked gently.

"About..." Vlad scrunched up his face "Five years at this point. She died in her sleep. Heart attack, the doctors said she went quickly. We didn't really have a full funeral, just a small ceremony."

"Oh Vlad," Maddie placed her hand on his "I'm so sorry we weren't there."

"It's alright, you didn't know."

"But I wish we had." Maddie's eyebrows were creased. "Tell me you had at least had someone with you?"

Vlad did have a support system, but he didn't think that Maddie meant his therapist and a committee of ghost vultures.

"Er...of course I did." Vlad attempted to give Maddie a reassuring smile.

Maddie sighed.

"We should have been there for you," her grip on Vlad's hand tightened "Five years ago...you should have told us, we could have-"

Maddie stopped talking. She let go of Vlad's hand, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

"You could have called us, Vladdie." Jack said softly "I know we hadn't spoken in a while, but we would have been there for you."

"I..."

Vlad wanted to say it was alright, it wasn't their fault, but he knew that that wasn't what they wanted to hear.

Jack looked between Vlad and Maddie. After a few seconds, he stood up and clapped a hand to both of their backs.

"Hey now," he smiled "I know that's pretty sad news, but this is supposed to be a happy visit. Old friends catching up, right? Here, I'll go make some more coffee and-"

Vlad and Maddie shot out of their seats.

"NO!" They shouted, simultaneously grabbing Jack's arms.

"Jack I love you, but Vlad's appliances are too expensive for your track record!" Maddie said.

"Remember what happened last time!" Vlad said

Jack held up his hands in surrender and sheepishly returned to his seat.

"The last time?" Maddie raised an eyebrow.

"Ah right, you weren't there for that." Vlad said. "Did we really never tell you that story?"

"No, you didn't." Maddie sat back down, staring at Vlad with intrigue in her eyes.

"Well," Vlad laughed and rubbed his face "You remember that week we told you you weren't allowed to come to our dorm room, and we wouldn't tell you why? Well, you see, Jack and I had just gotten a French press, and when we were trying it out for the first time, Jack decided to-"

"Hey, hey, wait a minute Vladdie! You forgot an important part! See Madds, when we went out to get the coffee press..."

Once Jack and Vlad finally managed to get through that story, it reminded Maddie of something that had happened with her roommate, which led to the trio swapping old college stories until it got too dark to be outside.

All things considered, it was a very nice evening.

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Sam spat into the sink and set her toothbrush in the bottom half of its holder to dry.

She walked over to the bathroom door and paused with her hand on the knob.

"It's fine." Sam said to herself "It's just Jazz. Sure, you haven't really talked to her much since Danny became half-ghost, or before then really, but she's just Danny's sister. And it's just one night. How awkward can it be?"

Sam opened the door.

Jazz was sitting in the bed on the left side of the room, her blanket resting over her legs as she read a book.

Sam felt relieved. Reading meant no talking, and no talking meant no awkwardness.

Sam silently got under the covers of her own bed.

"Do you want to talk about what happened in the RV earlier?"

So much for no talking.

"What do you mean?"

"About your no-crush situation?"

So much for no awkwardness.

"What's there to talk about? I've never had any crushes, that's kind of the end of it."

"But how do you feel about that? You seemed a little defensive earlier."

"I wasn't defensive, I was just annoyed everyone was making such a big deal out of it. I haven't had a crush, who cares? Not me. I'm perfectly happy."

"Well I'm glad to hear that." Jazz looked up from her book "Although, just so you know, although it is perfectly normal for the rates of development in the adolescent psyche to vary from person to person, it's also normal to feel apprehensive about not reaching certain milestones at the same time as your peers."

"I'm not 'apprehensive'." Sam rolled her eyes. "It'll happen when it happens. I don't see the point in wasting my time with shallow high school romances that statistically don't last. Like, seriously, what's the appeal in hanging out with some guy not talking in a theatre? Or worse, trying to make romantic conversation at The Nasty Burger because most teenagers don't have the money for a real restaurant? I can just do that with friends, and it's way less awkward. What's the point in going through those motions?"

"While that's a perfectly valid perspective," Jazz said "There is value in the experimental relationships teenagers often have. It's true, those relationships often don't last, but they're a great opportunity for young minds to learn about things that'll be important for future more serious relationships, like personal preferences and boundaries. The negative impact of mistakes in the long term is also reduced in that time period, due to the lower-stakes nature of a high school romance compared to an adult one. I mean, the emotional reactions can still be quite volatile, but the lessons learned can help to form the foundation for dating knowledge later in life."

"That all sounds terrible. You're making me tired just thinking about it." Sam pulled the covers over her head, hoping to drown out Jazz's voice, but she just kept talking.

"I find it fascinating. You can learn so much about people from what they're like in a romantic relationship. Of course, like you said, it's fine if some people want to wait, or are aromantic. But I wouldn't dismiss-"

"Wait, aromantic?" Sam reemerged from the blankets "What's that?"

"It's when a person doesn't experience any romantic attraction."

"Like, at all?"

"I believe there are some nuances, but basically yes."

"That's a thing? I've never heard of that."

"Yeah, I don't think most people have. I did a lot of research into various LGBT+ identities when Danny came out, and I found some aromantic people online who talked about their experiences."

"Okay," Sam sat up straight "So you're saying it's possible for a person to never fall in love? Or get any crushes? Like, ever?"

"Yeah, turns out lots of people just don't."

"But, how do they know they won't ever?" Sam didn't know why her heart was beating so furiously "How can you tell it won't just happen later?"

"You know," Jazz scratched her chin "I don't really know. Maybe it's like how gay and straight people know they aren't bi. I suppose if we know you can know you can't possibly be attracted to some genders, then by the same principle you can know you won't be attracted to any of them!"

Jazz sounded like she'd just made an enlightening discovery. Sam just blinked at her in confusion.

"What I'm saying is there isn't really a way to tell. You've just got to figure it out for yourself."

"But how do you do that?"

"You seem to have a lot of questions about aromanticism. Is there maybe a reason for that?"

Sam suddenly felt...not fearful, more like she'd been caught doing something private.

"No."

But why did she feel like that? She was just asking questions, she wasn't even doing anything?

"Do you have any other questions?"

"No."

But Sam did have questions. So many questions. Questions she didn't even know how to ask.

"Hey, um, Jazz," she said "Are you...are you straight? Or something else?"

"I'd...like to keep that information to myself."

"Right, sorry." Sam's eyes snapped down to her bed sheets "I was being stupid. I shouldn't have asked."

"I'm not offended, Sam." Jazz smiled kindly "It's alright to ask questions, just as long as you respect the answer."

Jazz's words helped diminish Sam's embarrassment, but she wanted to change the subject.

Her eyes fell on Jazz's book.

"Hey wait a minute, I thought you said you didn't bring any of your textbooks."

"Huh? Oh, this isn't a textbook, it a book on the history of the Green Bay Packers."

"Oh?"

"I found it in the nightstand."

Sam opened the drawer and saw a small stack of books. They all seemed to be about the same football team.

"Wow," she said "Half-ghost and a massive dork. Vlad and Danny must get along great."

"Danny doesn't like football, but they probably would have lot's to talk about if Vlad ever bothered to visit."

Sam noticed a hint of venom in Jazz's voice.

"Maybe that'll all change after this weekend." Sam said.

"Hopefully, but..." Jazz pursed her lips "I didn't want to say too much in front of Danny, but do me a favour and try to be prepared for the worst."

"Wait, you think your parents aren't going to accept Vlad?"

"No, I do. Mom and Dad can be kind of tunnel visioned, but they're far from heartless. And they can be a lot more open-minded than they seem. I mean, they responded very positively to Danny being trans, despite having no idea what that even was until he told them, which I'll admit did surprise me. It's just...be ready just in case. Either way, be there for Danny for me. I know he really values your relationship. As friends, of course." Jazz added quickly "Having you and Tucker there really means a lot to him.

"Yeah, alright Jazz. You good if I turn the light out now?"

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Jazz set her book on the nightstand and yawned. "We should probably be well rested for tomorrow. No matter how it goes down it's going to be an ordeal."

"Yup." Sam reached for the wall light, but paused with the decorative chain in her hand "Hey Jazz?"

"Yeah?" Jazz had pulled the blankets up to her chin and didn't even bother opening her eyes to answer Sam.

"Having you there means a lot to Danny too. It means a lot to all of us."

Sam caught a glimpse of Jazz's eyes flickering open before she pulled the chain, obscuring her view in total blackness. She did not want to see Jazz's reaction.

Ugh!

Sam had felt like she should say something, but now she was regretting those last words. Could she have been any more cheesy?

Jazz didn't need reassurance, she was smart, she already knew how important she was to Danny. What was reassurance of something so obvious from Sam of all people worth?

Sam's spiraling was interrupted by a quiet voice in the dark:

"Thanks Sam."

The doubtful thoughts in Sam's head quieted. She silently smiled back at Jazz.

Sam laid awake for a while, thinking about what Jazz had said.

Everything she'd said.

--------------------------------------------------

Danny had just gotten out of the bathroom. He sat down on his bed and was about to turn off the light off when Tucker spoke.

"Hey, Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"If I ask you something, do you promise not to laugh?"

"Are you going to ask me what I saw in Phoebe Phast when I was seven?"

"What?"

"Uh, nothing. Go ahead, Tuck. I won't laugh, I promise."

"So you...you only like girls, right?"

Oh. This was about what happened in the RV.

"Um, yeah."

"So like no guys ever? Not even once in a while? Like, when they're really hot?"

"Nope." Danny shook his head "Not even once."

Danny waited for Tucker to continue, but a minute passed and Tucker still hadn't said anything.

For as long as he could remember, Danny and his friends had always come to each other whenever something was up. And by something, they meant anything, good, bad, big, or small.

This was especially true for Tucker, who'd always worn his heart on his sleeve, ever since Danny first met him in preschool.

His silence right now was incredibly concerning.

"Do you..." Danny didn't want to be invasive, but he felt like he at least try to get Tucker to talk about whatever was going on in his head "...maybe...not only like girls?"

Danny cringed. He hoped that didn't sound as awkward to Tucker as it did to him.

"I mean, like, yeah it's pretty much only girls," Tucker shrugged "But, like, occasionally there's someone, like some guy celebrities, and it's like, come on! You know?"

"Uh-"

"Sometimes there's just a guy who just checks all the right boxes, and I mean, how could anyone not be into that? Like, there's a reason Choi's as popular as he is! He's such a cool guy and his smile just makes the world brighter!"

"Oh, um-"

"But it, like, hardly ever happens. It's at least ninety-nine percent girls. I mean, not that there's anything wrong with liking guys, but like it hardly ever happens, so it doesn't really mean anything, right?"

Well, at least he was talking now.

Danny looked at Tucker's pleading eyes. He wasn't really sure what Tucker wanted to hear, but he thought it was pretty obvious what was going on.

"You know Tuck, it kind of sounds to me like you might be bi."

Tucker's expression made Danny wonder if that had been the right thing to say.

"I mean..." Tucker spoke slowly "Probably not? I only get crushes on guys really rarely. And I mean, like, really rarely. I'm not trying to be defensive about it, I swear, I just don't think I like enough guys to qualify for...bi."

The last word came out very quietly.

"I'm...not really sure if that's how that works." Danny said.

"And how would you know?!" Tucker snapped.

"I, uh..." Danny blinked, taken aback by the sudden hostility.

Tucker let out a strained sigh and turned away from Danny.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you."

"It's okay, Tuck."

"I know you're trying to help. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Hey, seriously, it's okay. Don't beat yourself up over this Tuck, I get it."

"Really? Cuz I don't." Tucker took off his glasses and rubbed his face "I'm just...really confused right now. I seriously thought every guy got crushes on guys sometimes."

"I mean, I can tell when guys are, like, attractive, I guess." Danny said. "Usually I just feel jealous, if anything, though."

"Yeah, there's guys I want to be, but it's definitely different from guys I like. Huh, that's...kind of weird to say out loud." Tucker sat up and looked back at Danny. "I mean, I guess it's not really a big deal, it's just...for some reason, learning that this isn't actually something most guys do, it almost feels like...like I'm a different person than I thought I was all my life. Okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic, but I 'm not really sure how else to describe it..."

"No, that kind of makes sense. I kind of saw myself in a new light when I first realized I was trans."

"For real?" Tucker's eyes lit up "Was it kind of like you thought you knew where you were going one minute, and then you suddenly realized you had no idea?"

"Well...it was kind of the opposite, actually." Danny felt bad for crushing Tucker's hope, but he felt like he should be honest. "Once I found out what 'trans' was, everything kind of clicked into place. It was like...like I'd been trying to put a puzzle together my whole life, and someone had finally given me the box the puzzle came in so I could see the picture. It was a bit rough, but I finally had a map of where I was going."

Danny smiled at the memory, but then one look at Tucker's face brought him back to the present.

Between the conversation with Sam at the dock and now, Danny was being very unhelpful. He just couldn't seem to figure out what to say to make his friends feel better.

Was he a bad friend? He wasn't trying to be.

Truthfully, Danny didn't really understand why Tucker was so upset. Learning more about who he was had been enlightening for Danny. It brought him peace and made everything feel like it made so much more sense.

For Tucker, it seemed to be doing the opposite. If anything, he seemed to feel closer to how Danny felt before he figured out he was trans.

Maybe Tucker needed to hear something more like what Danny had wanted to hear back then.

"Although, it was pretty hard before someone gave me that map. I definitely felt totally lost before that. But I did learn something very important from feeling that lost for so long."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"You won't be lost forever, even if it feels that way right now. You might not figure it out soon, but you will figure it out eventually. And I mean, it's not like there's any rush."

Tucker didn't say anything right away. He set his glasses down on the nightstand.

"How are you being so calm about all of this?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, this...whatever this is, it kind of changes everything, doesn't it?"

"Not really?" Danny shrugged.

"Really?" Tucker raised a skeptical eyebrow. "The fact that I maybe like guys sometimes doesn't change the way you see me at all?"

"Um, no? Why would it?"

"The tone you and Jazz had in the RV suggested otherwise."

"Oh yeah, right."

Tucker did kind of have a point there.

"We were just surprised, that's all. Just reacting to new information."

Tucker didn't look convinced.

"Well, did it change the way you saw me after I told you I was a guy two years ago?" Danny challenged.

"What? No! No way," Tucker said quickly "Not even-"

Danny raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, it was a bit of an adjustment." Tucker relented "But once we got the hang of using the right pronouns and stuff, everything went back to feeling normal pretty quickly. I mean, I guess it was a slightly different normal, but it still felt as normal as the normal before did. Huh, you know, I never really thought about it much."

"There, see? And it's an even easier adjustment on my end. You're not even getting a hair cut."

"I hardly have any hair to cut."

"There's still some that can be cut..."

"Stay away from my hair!" Tucker yanked his beanie off the nightstand and covered his head with it.

Danny laughed. Tucker laughed a bit too, but then his smile shifted into a thoughtful expression.

"Do I...have to call myself bi?" he asked.

"I mean, it's up to you what you want to call yourself."

"I'm not sure I want to call myself anything right now, honestly. I...don't really know what I feel like. Or what I can really count as."

"That's okay, Tuck." Danny smiled "You can just figure it out later, or whatever. There really is no rush."

"Yeah."

Tucker let out a yawn.

"Man, having an identity crisis really wears you out."

"I can attest to that." Danny nodded solemnly.

"It feels illegal to be tired when you've spent half the day sitting in a car." Tucker took off his beanie and set it next to his glasses.

"I mean, we skipped a bunch rocks too."

"Danny, we regularly fight ghosts with enough power to level a city block. Throwing a few rocks cannot be that draining."

"Hey, rock skipping is a sport which requires a lot of precision and focus to-"

"I'm going to throw a pillow at you if you don't stop talking."

"Considering how well you threw that rock earlier, I'm not worried."

"Hey!"

Tucker glared at Danny for a few seconds, then the two of them burst out laughing.

"Aw man," Tucker shook his head "You know, I'm actually feeling a lot better now. I don't know what I was so worked up over."

"I figured talking would make you feel better. I mean, you're usually pretty gung-ho on sharing your feelings. You were honestly starting to scare me with how quiet you were being."

"Sorry." Tucker scrunched his eyebrows thoughtfully "I guess I just wasn't really sure how to explain what was going on. What Jazz said in the RV really blindsided me. I was just so sure about myself, and then suddenly I wasn't. But I think things are starting to settle in my brain, so I'm back to normal"

"Glad to hear it , Tuck."

Danny grabbed the chain for the light.

"Welp, I'm turning off the light now. I'm all worn out from being a supportive best friend."

"Which I appreciate. Just let me-"

Danny pulled the chain.

"Hey!" Tucker's voice called in the darkness. "What happened to 'supportive best friend'?"

"Shh! Sleepy time."

Danny heard a thwump that he assumed was a pillow hitting the wall a meter away from his head.

"Your aim suuuuucks." Danny whispered.

"Someone help!" Tucker said dramatically "I'm being haunted a ghost that's dissing my aim!"

"Whoooo!" Danny made his eyes glow green.

"Gah!" Tucker's startled cry made Danny laugh. "Jeez dude, don't do that! It's seriously creepy when it's this dark!"

Danny blinked his eyes back to normal and snuggled into his blankets.

Conversations from earlier started playing in his head as he began to drift off.

"...No. I think I'll do it tomorrow. Later in the day. Probably after dinner."

"...Geneva Lake was home to members of the Potawatomi tribe, who originally called the lake 'Kishwauketoe', meaning 'clear water'..."

'...I'm all worn out from being a supportive best friend.'

'...Tucker and I are the normal ones, you're the one who's being weird!'

Oh right, that. Danny felt his stomach shift guiltily.

He really hadn't meant what he'd said, but he'd still said it. Some 'supportive best friend' he was.

He really needed to talk to Sam tomorrow and apologize.

--------------------------------------------------

Danny eyes fluttered open. It was almost completely dark. He instinctively searched for his clock on the nightstand, but didn't see the glowing green numbers anywhere.

He sat up in a panic, but then he remembered where he was.

Vlad's house. Right.

Danny squinted at the analogue clock above the doorframe. It was about a quarter after eight.

It was morning, but still pretty early.

Danny tried to lie down and fall back asleep, but he just couldn't. He gave up after turning over for the seventh time.

Great. He'd barely gotten to sleep in any more than he did on a school day. Why couldn't Vlad have put windows in his guest room? Waking up panicking in the dark was not how Danny liked to start the day.

Danny floated out of bed so his footsteps wouldn't wake up Tucker. One of them might as well get to sleep in.

He stayed in the air as he intangibly pulled his clothes out of his backpack and got dressed for the day, only landing on the floor when he was out of the room and at the stairs.

As Danny got closer the the kitchen he heard a sizzling sound. He found Jazz standing at the stove in the kitchen.

The last step creaked when Danny stepped on it, causing Jazz to turn around.

"Huh," she said "Didn't expect to see you this early."

"Good morning to you too, Jazz. I tried to sleep in, but then I woke up and forgot where I was." Danny sniffed the air "Is that bacon?"

"Yup. I'm starting on some pancakes too. There's also cereal in the cupboard and fruit in the fridge. Mom and Dad packed a lot of food for a two-day trip."

"Feel like that one might have been more Dad than Mom. What are you doing up so early anyway?"

"I always get up at seven, Danny."

"Seriously? Even on weekends?"

"Yup."

"That sound awful."

"I actually find it calming starting everyday with a fixed routine. Of course, without my school work I didn't really have anything to do once I got up, so I figured I might as well start on breakfast."

Danny yawned and opened the fridge. He saw a big orange bowl filled with yellow liquid.

"What's in the bowl?"

"Scrambled eggs. I'm waiting for everyone to get up before I cook them."

"Oh. That's a lot of eggs."

"I'm feeding a lot of people this morning."

Danny pulled a carton of milk out of the fridge.

"Hey, you know what you should-"

"I am not doing that." Jazz's entire face wrinkled. "You can pour some of the eggs into a separate bowl if you want milk in them. The rest of us would like our breakfast edible."

"Mom likes them with milk too." Danny shut the fridge.

"So that's where you get your weirdness from."

Danny stuck his tongue out at Jazz and pulled open one of Vlad's cupboards.

"Wow," he said "Vlad's dishes are all like, in stacks. And you can see them all. It's so...so..."

"Organized? Convenient?" Jazz began to turn over the bacon in the pan "I know. Isn't it great? And nothing even tried to eat me while I was cooking."

"I'm actually a little scared to touch anything. For different reasons than normal. I feel like I'm gonna get in trouble.

"Don't worry," Vlad said "You won't."

Danny jumped. When had Vlad gotten here? He was pretty sure he hadn't heard the bottom step creak.

"Good morning Daniel, Jazz. Ah, I see you've started breakfast. How thoughtful of you."

"It's not a problem. I was up."

"Still, you didn't have to. It's quite appreci-"

"Good morning!" Jack interrupted brightly from the stairs. Maddie wasn't far behind him.

"Ooh, Jazz, you made breakfast, how nice of you." she smiled as she entered the kitchen. "Did you want any help? I could start on some eggs, or something."

"That's alright, Mom. I've already got some mixed in the fridge. Everything's already- Oh my gosh Danny! Do that over the sink! What is wrong with you?!"

--------------------------------------------------

Sam and Tucker slept a little longer, but were soon drawn downstairs by the sounds of conversation and the smell of food.

After breakfast was eaten and cleaned up, the kids went out to sit on the dock and practice rock skipping while the adults had tea out on the deck.

Well, Sam was practicing at least. Tucker was too scared to try again after what happened yesterday, and Jazz seemed to have finally decided to try relaxing on her vacation. She sat against the mailbox and lazily observing Sam's rocks skipping and sinking.

Danny was currently collecting more rocks for Sam. He stopped and looked back at the deck. From down here he could barely see the adults.

He wondered what they were talking about. He wondered if Vlad was going to tell them soon.

Danny shook his head and carried his latest selection back to the group.

Sam was now consistently getting two skips with her throws. She was concentrating deeply, and the others watched her silently.

The silence was broken by Danny dumping his shirtful of rocks onto the dock.

"Well," Jazz checked her watch "This is nice, but I'd like to walk some of the shore path before we leave. There are some very interesting houses belonging to some very influential people, and I'd like to take the opportunity to see at least some of that architecture in person."

She stood up and started down the left side of the path.

"Hey Jazz, wait up!" Tucker called as he started to follow her. He stopped and looked back at Sam and Danny. "Aren't you two coming?"

"Nah, I want to work on my rock skipping some more." Sam said "Besides, if I wanted to see some stuffy rich person's house I could've just stayed home."

"Suit yourself, but Jazz said there's one mansion with an actual pool on the roof."

"You know you won't be able to see that from the ground, right?" Sam said as she tossed another rock.

"Killjoy. You coming Danny?"

"Nah, I'm good."

"What? Well what if I told you we might get to see some of the Wrigley Company's estate?"

"The what?" Sam and Danny asked.

"You know, Wrigley's! They the company behind pretty much every noteworthy gum ever!"

"That sounds...really neat Tuck," Danny said "But listening to Jazz's lectures is not how I want to spend my vacation."

"Man, Jazz's lecture's aren't that bad. She actually says a lot of really interesting things sometimes. Whatever, it's your loss man. You two enjoy your rocks."

Tucker left them to catch up with Jazz on the path.

"Okay, I like gum as much as the next guy," Danny said once Tucker was out of sight "But looking at the house of the guy who makes it just doesn't sound fun at all. It's not like they're giving out free gum there."

"You're both geeks, but Tucker's definitely the bigger geek."

"We're both geeks? Isn't that kind of the pot calling the other pot black?"

"Okay one, black's my favourite colour, so that's a compliment. Two, the expression is 'pot calling the kettle black', Danny."

"What? But kettles aren't black, they're, like, shiny!"

Sam threw a stone. It skipped three times.

"Ha! New record." she grinned.

"Nice. Hey, uh, Sam," Danny rubbed the back of his neck "I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to say you're 'not normal'."

"Oh please Danny." Sam waved her hand. "You know I don't care about being 'normal'."

"Heh, I guess not." Danny smiled. He threw a stone. It skipped six times.

"Show off."

Danny beamed smugly.

"I, um, did talk to Jazz about that last night." Sam said "About the 'no crush' thing."

"Oh yeah? Did you get a lecture on 'the varying rates of development in the adolescent psyche'?"

"Yes. Yes I did. But she also mentioned something that kind of maybe made sense."

"Oh yeah? What was it?"

"Do you know what 'aromantic' means?"

"Eh...kinda? It's when you don't like romance, right?"

"It's not really about whether you like romance or not. Jazz said being aromantic means you don't really get crushes or fall in love or whatever. Like, ever."

"Oh. So, do you think you might be aromantic?"

"I don't know." Sam said. "Maybe."

"That's cool." Danny smiled.

"It is?"

"Yeah, you found a word to describe yourself. Doesn't that feel good?"

"I don't know, it's weird. Usually I do like figuring this kind of stuff out about myself, but I'm not really sure if it's quite right, even though it does feel kind of right."

"If it feels right, then how come you're not sure it is?" Danny asked.

Sam shrugged and threw a rock.

"I don't know," she said as the rock skipped once "I guess I just thought I had myself all figured out. I thought I had romance all figured out. I mean, I thought I was lightyears ahead of those girls in my class who were always fawning over those dumb boy bands who didn't even make any good music. I thought they were just shallow. I never considered the possibility that they were feeling something I wasn't capable of."

"Maybe you should stop assuming every girl with mainstream interests is being disingenuous."

Sam glared angrily at Danny.

"Right, not the time." he said quickly "Please continue."

"It's not that I don't like the idea of being aromantic, I just never realized that it was even an option until now. I mean, I never did really like any of that traditional romance stuff, but I figured I'd just do it right when the time came. And now it seems like I actually might not do it at all. It never even crossed my mind that this might be an option, and like, I'm actually fine with that, but for some reason I'm having kind of a hard time wrapping my mind around it."

"Maybe you just need some time to get used to the idea. Romantic interest as a concept is generally presented as a ubiquitous concept by our society."

Sam blinked twice then narrowed her eyes.

"Okay, there's no way you came up with that on your own. You lifted that from Jazz, didn't you?"

"Hey! I know big words too!"

"Sure you do, Danny."

Sam smirked at the pouting Danny as she threw another rock. It skipped twice.

"Maybe I should have expected this."

"How come?"

"Well, there's the fact that I've never had a crush before, and thought that everyone else was exaggerating when they talked about romantic feelings," Sam started to count on her fingers "I always thought romance stories were stupid, and it was always vaguely disappointing when characters I liked on TV started dating someone. Marriage always seemed like a terrible idea, and I sometimes felt this sense of satisfaction deep down when I heard that someone was getting divorced. Oh, and every classic dating scenario ever looks awkward and terrible to me. Like, I literally want to claw my eyes out when they do that awkward first date thing in movies. Even if it's going well, it's just so...so...ugh! Also, straight, gay, and bi never felt like quite the right labels for me, like they never really felt like they fit. There was also this one time, where my cousin and I were..."

Sam stopped talking when she realized how Danny was gaping at her.

"So you're telling me," Danny said "You thought all of that, and you're only just now considering you might be aromantic?"

"I thought everyone thought like that!" Sam threw up her arms "Like, this is how we all feel deep down, right?"

A grin began to spread across Sam's face.

"Well Sam," Danny said, grinning as well "I can assure you, that is absolutely not how most people feel deep down."

"Well that's obvious in hindsight!"

"Honestly, I feel like that's pretty obvious before hindsight."

"What? Danny, that's not how-"

Sam burst out laughing before she could finish her sentence.

"How did I not know?" Sam continued to laugh "Oh my gosh, it was so obvious. How did I not know until now?"

Danny couldn't help but laugh a little too. He didn't really get what was so funny, but he was glad Sam was happy.

The laughed for a little while longer and then just sat in silence, listening to the lapping of the lake.

"I think that's why I was so weird yesterday." Sam said. "I was just genuinely confused. I think I get it now, though."

The smile suddenly vanished from Sam's face and she slapped her forehead "Oh my gosh!"

"What?"

"I haven't asked you how you're doing at all!"

"Me?"

"Vlad's gonna tell your parents he's half-ghost sometime today, and I've just been going on about my problems."

"Sam it's fine. I wanted to listen to you. And honestly, I was glad for the distraction."

"Well, glad I could help, I guess. But how are you doing?"

"I mean," Danny let out a long breath "Nervous, I guess, but not as nervous as I thought I'd be? It almost kind of feels like it's not even really gonna happen, if that makes sense."

"That kind of sounds like you're in denial."

"What? No! Well, maybe a little. It's just not really how I thought things would go down, you know? I kind of figured if anyone was gonna tell my parents about half-ghosts, it'd be me since, you know, we thought I was the only person who was half-ghost in existence. It's just so bizarre that it's someone else. Like, I know Vlad telling them will affect me, but it also kind of doesn't, if that makes sense."

Danny threw a rock. It skipped four times.

"Everything's just so complicated and weird."

"I've found that anything that involves ghosts ends up making our lives complicated and weird. Especially yours."

"Yup."

There was another comfortable silence. Danny threw another rock and stood up.

"I'm gonna run to the bathroom real quick."

"Bring me one of Vlad's fancy root beers when you come back."

"You got it."

--------------------------------------------------

"I'm going to miss these outdoor conversations." Maddie sighed contently. "Oh Vlad, I forgot! Jack and I brought an album of the kids' baby photos we meant to show you."

Maddie set her empty cup on the table.

"There's some really cute ones of Danny in kindergarten, too. But, we'd better decide what to do for lunch. Sadly, we'll have to leave right after to get Sam and Tucker home at a decent time, Sam's parent were very insistent on that. I think we should get all of our stuff packed up and then have lunch at a restaurant, so we can just eat and go. Where do you recommend Vlad?"

"Hm?" Vlad hadn't been paying full attention to what Maddie was saying "Oh, yes, restaurants. There's...a lot of those around here. Perhaps a pizzeria? There are some very nice places that stone fire them. I'm sure the children would enjoy that, and it would cover Daniel's friend's dietary restrictions."

"Sounds great V-man!" Jack beamed and wrapped an arm around Vlad's shoulder. "So which one's the best around here?"

"Y-yes, of course, um..." Vlad had eaten at every restaurant in this town, multiple times, and yet he was struggling to recall even a single pizzeria's name.

Jack and Maddie frowned.

"What's up with you today V-man?"

"Um, whatever do you mean Jack?" Vlad smile unconvincingly.

"The Vladdie I know knows his eats, and he never," Jack jabbed his index finger at Vlad's chest for emphasis "Ever hesitates with his opinions on food. It's one of the traits I most respect about you."

"You do seem rather distracted, Vlad." Maddie said.

Vlad sighed.

"I was going to wait a little longer, but I suppose there's no point in putting it off." As much as he suddenly wanted to. "I have something that I wanted to tell you two. It's...about the accident."

"The accident?" Maddie repeated "As in the college proto-portal malfunction?"

"That's the one."

Jack and Maddie's eyes widened. Vlad pretended not to notice.

"Come, we should go to the living room to talk."

Jack and Maddie followed Vlad back into the house.

Danny stepped out from under the deck when he heard the soft thud of the door sliding shut.

If Sam was right about him being in denial earlier, he certainly wasn't now.

Now he was definitely feeling anxious.

Danny rushed back down to the dock.

--------------------------------------------------

"Sam!" Danny cried once he'd passed the address rock. His heart was pounding, but not from the running "Sam! It's happening! Vlad's-"

Danny stopped talking when he realized Sam wasn't on the dock.

"Sam?"

That's weird, Danny thought as he continued towards the lake, looking left and right. Sam was literally just here, and I was only gone for like five seconds. Where could she have-

Danny shivered as a puff of mist escaped his mouth.

Oh no.

"Sam!" he yelled, now slightly panicking "Sam! Where are you!"

"Danny?"

Danny whipped his head around and saw Jazz and Tucker standing a little ways off on the shore path.

"What's going on?" Tucker asked.

"Sam's missing!" Danny shouted as he ran over to them "And my ghost sense just went off!"

"Oh no." Tucker said.

"We have to tell Vlad!" Jazz started towards the house "He can-"

"Jazz no!" Danny grabbed her arm "Vlad's with Mom and Dad right now!"

"Yeah, he's been with them all weekend." Jazz tried to jerk her arm out out Danny's grasp "Danny, Vlad knows this area a lot better than we do. He'd be way more efficient at searching. I can get him away from Mom and Dad, and then we can tell him about the gho-"

"He's telling them that he's half-ghost right now!"

Jazz froze.

"Really?" Tucker's eyes widened "Oh, wow."

"Yeah," Danny continued "And if Mom and Dad hears there a malicious ghost on the loose that kidnapped Sam, and they pull out all the ghost weapons we all know they have stashed in the RV, and Vlad's just told them he's a ghost..."

"Yeah, that would probably not end up being a great situation." Tucker said.

"Besides, Sam's been captured by ghosts before, she knows how to handle herself."

"That's...not really comforting, Danny."

"It's fine, all of us have. Many times."

"Okay, how about you stop talking and we just focus on finding Sam."

"Alright." Danny let go of Jazz's arm "We can search faster if we split up. I'll start in the woods around Vlad's house. Those trees are pretty dense, there's plenty of places the ghost could be hiding in there."

"I'll go along the shore path for a bit." Jazz said "Maybe it took Sam the opposite way Tucker and I were walking."

"And I'll stay by the dock." Tucker said. "In case they come back to the scene of the crime."

The three of them nodded and set off in their respective directions.

--------------------------------------------------

He wasn't stalling. They should be sitting down when he told them. Somewhere comfortable. It just made sense.

Jack and Maddie were next to each other in the loveseat in Vlad's living room. He sat in an armchair facing them.

Nobody said anything right away. The ticking of the clock was thunderous.

Vlad wasn't stalling. He was just figuring out where to start.

Which was rather difficult, considering the magnitude of what he was about to reveal to Jack and Maddie.

"Is...everything alright, Vlad?" Maddie tentatively asked.

Vlad realized he'd been quiet for too long. It hadn't been because he was stalling, though, he was just planning what he was going to say. Carefully. It was a delicate matter.

"Yes, I'm alright Maddie. I'm..." Vlad adjusted his position in the armchair "I'm just not really sure how to...it's just that..." Vlad cleared his throat and took a breath "Regarding our last conversation, I realized that you were right. I have been distant. The reason for that is that I've been hiding something."

"Hiding? From...us?" Jack's sounded confused, like he'd never even considered the concept of Vlad not sharing something with them.

Vlad immediately felt guilty.

"I should have told you two a long time ago. I just...I wasn't sure how you would take it."

Jack and Maddie didn't say anything. Their expressions were neutral, but they were both leaning towards Vlad ever so slightly.

"After I was blasted by the proto-portal, there were some...side effects I didn't tell you about at the time."

"You mean the ecto-acne?" Jack asked. "I thought that faded. Our studies indicated that the acne was only acting as a temporary defense mechanism against the impure-"

"No, no, not the acne. That did fade after a month or so. This was...something else."

"Vlad, what are you talking about? What happened?" Maddie asked. Her voice was controlled, but there was a undertone of panic in it, like a parent who suspected their child might have ingested a toxic substance.

The words caught in Vlad's throat. He couldn't just say it, right? That'd be ludicrous. They wouldn't be able to process an idea as strange as a ghost-human hybrid if he just blurted it out.

Maybe he could start with the basics. Talk science. They were all scientists here. If Vlad could break the concept down for them, maybe they'd understand.

"It would seem that the portal's transmutative properties made the energy I was exposed to extremely volatile. So volatile that it actually restructured my DNA. In fact, it would seem that there was an ectoplasmic fusion on a molecular level."

Jack and Maddie raised their eyebrows, not really sure where Vlad was going with this.

"Yes..." Jack said. "And that's what caused the ecto-acne. Your body was purging the impurity. Although, I seriously doubt you were affected on quite that level."

"Well you'd be wrong about that. I've done numerous tests. The ectoplasm bonded with me and rearranged my cellular makeup, resulting in some...permanent side effects."

"What kind of side effects Vlad?" Maddie asked. She sounded slightly calmer, but much more confused.

Vlad was struck with the realization that he couldn't stall saying it any longer. His stomach lurched and it almost felt like someone else was saying his next words:

"The accident made me part-ghost."

The room was filled with silence.

Vlad felt like he was floating. Not in a happy carefree way, or like real floating that he actually did as a ghost, but more like an astronaut in a movie when the tether is cut off from the space ship.

Seconds felt like hours as Vlad analyzed every miniscule movement in Jack and Maddie's faces. He had to keep reigning himself in from the horrible conclusions his brain kept jumping to.

He'd gone over this with his therapist; be prepared for the worst, but acknowledge it's not the only possible outcome. Give them a chance. Don't make assumptions, don't jump to conclusions, don't push them away before they've at least had a chance to accept you.

Turns out that was easier said than done. The waiting was agony, and it was becoming harder and harder to keep the images of everything falling apart in his mind at bay.

Vlad desperately wanted to go back to the ship, go back to when he'd first had this idea of telling Jack and Maddie so he could stop himself, but that was impossible. All he could do was float there and wait for whatever was going to happen next.

He nearly jumped out of his chair when Maddie finally spoke.

"What...do you mean by that, Vlad?"

"I mean the accident turned me into a ghost."

Another silent pause. Jack and Maddie seemed to be waiting for him to elaborate, but what else could Vlad say? The concept was ludicrous, but it also really was that simple.

"Vlad," Maddie scrunched her eyebrow "That isn't possible. You're very clearly still human."

Vlad felt a surge of annoyance.

"Why would I be telling you this if it wasn't-"

Vlad forced himself to stop and breathe. It wasn't her fault she wasn't getting this right away. He might have reacted the same way twenty years ago.

"Let's hear him out Madds." Jack was calmer than Vlad had expected. Maybe he'd picked up on Vlad's obvious agitation. "Vladdie, what did you mean when you said you 'are a ghost'. You look pretty alive to me, man."

"It means that my DNA is partially ectoplasmic, I have ghostly abilities, and I even have a ghost form. So, to put it plainly, the proto-portal altered my genetic structure into that of a human-ghost hybrid."

There was yet another moment of silence.

"Vlad," Maddie pinched the bridge of her nose "If your trying to come up with some cockamamie story about why you've been away all these years, " her voice was steadily rising "I don't-"

"Hey, hey slow down Madds." Jack placed a hand on Maddie's shoulder. "Vladdie, what's all this about 'ghost DNA'? There's no possible genetic makeup that could be classified as both human and ghost. Your body should have purged all the impure ectoplasm by now."

Vlad sighed and rubbed his temple.

He could just show them. Maybe turn invisible or summon some ecto energy to his his hand. Or just simply transform.

No, a part of his brain said firmly. Seeing their friend using ghost powers would be too startling. They would freak out. True, they didn't have weapons to pull on him, but once they saw him doing ghostly things, they might not believe it was him anymore.

How could they?

No, Vlad had to get them to understand his ghostliness before showing them. It was his best shot at acceptance.

But how? He tried explaining things in detail, and he tried putting them as simply as he could, but Jack and Maddie still weren't getting it.

"I-"

Vlad was interrupted by a loud crash.

"What in the name of bratwurst was that?"

"It came from outside." Jack said.

The three of them shot to their feet and rushed out the front door of the house. It didn't take long to find the source of the noise.

"Maple smoked salmon!" Vlad cried.

In the middle of the lake, a giant green squid towered above them. Multiple red eyes darted around the lake while over a dozen tentacle towered out of the water

Three of those tentacles were wrapped around Sam, Tucker, and Jazz.

"Ghost!" Jack and Maddie yelled at the same time.

"And it has the kids!" Jack added, his tone urgent.

All of the squids eyes turned to the three new arrivals. They blinked simultaneously and then the squid began to thrash around, its captives screaming as they were flailed about in the grasp of the tentacles.

"We have to get to the RV and get-"

"We don't have time for that." Vlad cut Maddie off and took a step forward.

"But, Vlad-"

"Don't worry Maddie," Vlad turned to glare at the giant squid.

All of the fear and hesitation Vlad had been feeling vanished, suddenly replaced by a burning fury. This ghost had not only endangered the kids, but it had stolen Vlad's chance to explain things to Jack and Maddie, to make them properly understand.

This wasn't how he wanted to spend his potentially last moments with his friends.

"I can save the children. And...this is what I mean by ghost DNA."

Jack and Maddie jumped back as a black ring appeared around Vlad's waist. They stared dumbfounded as the ring split and changed their best friend into his terrifying ghost form.

Without looking back, Vlad shot off into the air and flew straight for the giant squid.

The ghost stopped flailing when it noticed Vlad coming. At least five tentacles shot towards him. Vlad expertly wove around them.

He didn't fool around. The second he was the right position, Vlad summoned a glob of pink ecto energy to his hand and waved his arm, sending out a razor sharp crescent that sliced right through the tentacle that was holding Sam.

Sam screamed as she fell through the air, but Vlad swooped down and caught her, carefully depositing her back on the dock before flying right back to the squid.

Sam's arrival on the dock snapped Maddie out of her stupor.

"Jack, run to the RV," she said "Get whatever you can to fight this ghost

Jack nodded and ran off to the other side of the house. Maddie started towards the dock.

The squid let out a roar of pain and rage, but its sliced-off tentacle quickly grew back.

The ghost was now lunging at Vlad more aggressively. Vlad duplicated and fused back together in rapid succession to confuse it.

After almost a minute of dodging, Vlad finally managed to get in a good enough position to slice the tentacle holding Tucker, but at the last second the squid moved the tentacle holding Jazz upwards, causing Vlad's blast to slice off both tentacles.

Jazz and Tucker screamed as they fell through the air.

There was a moment of panic on Vlad's face, but he quickly gathered himself and split into two, one Vlad swooping to catch Tucker and the other Jazz.

Just as Maddie arrived, the two Vlads set Jazz and Tucker down onto the dock before fusing back together. Vlad quickly wiped his forehead with his arm, steeled himself and flew back to the squid, launching ecto blasts at it.

"Kids," Maddie said "I know things are crazy right now, but we need to stay calm, and you need to listen. That ghost that saved you from the bigger ghost is actually Vlad!"

"Wait, that's Vlad?" Jazz asked, her head whipping around to the fighting ghosts. Tucker and Sam looked at each other with wide eyes. Maddie figured they were too in shock to say anything.

"It's a long story." Maddie said. "Wait! Was Danny with you?"

"No," Tucker answered "We haven't-"

A giant green ecto blast sailed past the group towards the squid. Everyone snapped their heads around to see Jack with a Fenton Bazooka propped up on his shoulder.

"Vladdie!" he called "Stay high so I don't hit you! My aim is not always the best!"

Vlad continued to shoot ecto blasts at the ghost. He gave no indication that he'd heard Jack, but he continued to fly near the top of the squid as Jack kept firing at the tentacles, keeping them away from Vlad. The throng of tentacles was thick enough that barely any of Jack's shots missed.

Jack and Vlad kept up their assault. Now that the captives had been saved, Vlad didn't have to hold back. He unleash a furious onslaught of ecto attacks at the squid's body, while Jack's kept the tentacles at bay with his bazooka. The ghost tried desperately to bat away the blasts, but just ended up with singed tentacle tips.

The squid slowly retreated further and further from the shore, but Jack and Vlad would not let up. Eventually, it let out a final roar before plunging below the water.

Vlad hovered above the lake for a few seconds, confirming that the ghost wasn't returning before heading back to the others.

"Are you children alright?" Vlad asked as he landed on the dock and morphed back into his human form.

"No broken bones." Sam reported, shivering and rubbing her bare arms.

"Yeah, d-don't worry," Tucker's added through chattering teeth "Th-this is only l-like, the eighth most t-traumatizing thing that's happened to us."

"Um, I would very much like to hear about those seven other-" Jazz stopped mid sentence and looked up at Vlad. She seemed to study him for a few seconds before her face was overtaken by a too-big smile.

"Well, thank you so much for saving us, Mr Masters." she said quickly "It is very cool and surprising for all of us to learn that you are half-ghost, but you saved our lives, so you're clearly not evil, so I'm going to take these two," she grabbed Sam and Tucker by their shoulders "And get them dried off and give them a mental checkup regarding the very wet and very horrifying ordeal we all just went through. Sound good? Okay great, see you later!"

Jazz began dragging Sam and Tucker towards the house before either of them could respond to what she'd just said.

Vlad smiled. What a strange child.

"Wow..."

Vlad's smile dropped at the sound of Maddie's astonished voice. He turned to find her and Jack staring at him. Maddie pulled back her hood.

"That was...so you...you really do have...ghost powers."

"Erm...yes?" Vlad could almost feel their gaze burning his skin. He shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"You mean," Jack did some quick math "For the last twenty years you've...and you didn't tell us?"

"But why Vlad? We were your friends!"

"You were ghost hunters. Capturing and dissecting ghosts was all you- all we ever talked about. I couldn't be sure how you'd react."

"Couldn't be sure how we'd..." Jack trailed off, rolling Vlad's sentence in his mind.

Vlad tensed when he saw The Fenton Bazooka shift on Jack's shoulder. Jack followed Vlad's fearful gaze and, after realizing what he was looking at, threw The Bazooka aside. It landed a good distance away with a small crash.

Maddie's eyes widened in horror.

"Vlad," her voice was barely above a whisper "You didn't think we'd..."

"You two were my dearest friends. I didn't want to risk you hating me." Vlad's voice was steady, but his heart was pounding, and his armpits were tingling.

Jack and Maddie knew. After twenty years of telling himself he'd never tell them, they finally knew.

Vlad honestly wasn't sure what was going to happen now.

"Vladdie, that's insane!" Jack threw out his arms "We'd never hate you, you're our friend!"

"Like I said, Jack, I couldn't be sure."

Maddie approached Vlad and placed her hand on his arm.

"Oh Vlad," she said, her eyes shining "It doesn't matter how ghostly you are. You're our best friend, we'd never..." Vlad felt Maddie's grip on him tighten. Not aggressively, but desperately. "Vlad we'll always love you. I'm so sorry we didn't make that clear enough to you."

Vlad let out a startled gasp as Maddie pounced, wrapping him in a hug.

"I..I..." Vlad tried to say something, but he couldn't find any words. His mind was completely blank. It was like he was frozen.

Suddenly he and Maddie were both crushed by Jack's massive arms.

"It's okay, Vladdie." Jack let out a sniffle "We're here for you now."

That was when his brain started to thaw.

Vlad had never allowed himself to even imagine this outcome. He had no idea what the future held now that Jack and Maddie knew.

The uncertainty terrified him.

But they didn't hate him. They didn't call him an imposter or a monster, they didn't want to capture and dissect him like he'd long feared.

Vlad could feel tears threatening to form in his eyes.

For the longest time those fears had driven so many of the decisions Vlad had made. Fears he'd been carrying around for over two decades crumble inside of him, tension drained from his muscles.

For the first time in years, Vlad let himself go.

He neck relaxed and he let his head fall somewhere between Jack's chest and Maddie's shoulder.

The tears began to flow down his face.

He was with his best friends. He was safe.

He could finally fall apart, because he knew his friends were there to support him, every part of him.

Behind the address rock they'd hidden behind, Sam, Jazz, and Tucker couldn't tear their eyes away from the emotional scene.

"They...they accept him." Jazz said, her voice a mixture between surprise and relief.

"Yeah..." Sam breathed.

"Hey, you found Sam!"

The trio all turned to see Danny approaching their hiding spot.

"Sam, we were looking everywhere for you! Where did you-" Danny stopped talking when he saw his parents hugging Vlad on the dock.

"...Um, did I miss something? And why are you all wet?"

"Mom and Dad know now." Jazz said.

"Oh."

Danny's eyes widened

"Oh!"

He looked over at the hugging adults.

"And they...it's..."

"Yeah." Jazz smiled softly.

"Wow." Danny breathed. He couldn't stop staring at the dock.

Sam and Tucker came over and each put a hand on Danny's shoulder.

--------------------------------------------------

After all the ghost fighting, hugging, and getting Sam, Jazz, and Tucker all dried off, they ran out of time to go out for lunch. Maddie told the kids they'd just make some sandwich's with the leftover groceries in the RV. Vlad grilled two of Sam's veggie burgers and wrapped them in aluminum foil, so she'd have something better to eat than a lettuce sandwich, while everyone packed up their stuff.

With all the hurried getting ready to leave, there wasn't a lot of time for Jack and Maddie to talk with Vlad about what had happened, but Danny heard Vlad say he wanted to 'get back together as soon as possible' when they were getting in the car.

It wasn't long before they were saying bye to Vlad and heading down the road back to Amity Park.

Danny looked at Vlad out the back window until he disappeared from view. He was pretty sure Vlad was looking back at him.

"So kids," Jack turned in the passenger seat after they'd been driving for a few minutes "I suppose you're all a little confused about what just happened."

No one in the back dared to speak.

"Maddie and I barely understand it ourselves, but it seems when Vlad got blasted by our flawed proto-portal back in college, it caused a mutation that seems to have given him ghost powers."

Jack didn't notice three pairs of eyes flash to Danny.

"Now, you don't have to worry. The ectoplasm in his DNA doesn't seem to pose any threat to his physical well-being, nor has it turned him into a terrifying monster. He's just..." Jack scrunched up his face and waved his and in the air.

"A scientific anomaly?" supplied Maddie.

"Yes, an anomaly! That's all."

"That being said," Maddie said "He would like us to keep it a secret. There's no telling what the media would do if they discovered a man of his prominence had ectoplasmic DNA. Understood, kids?"

"Yup." The four of them replied mechanically.

"They must still be in shock." Maddie said to Jack. He nodded.

"Don't worry kids," Jack turned back to them "This may be a...startling development, especially since we didn't even know this sort of thing could happen to a human before this morning. I mean, a human with the abilities of a ghost, that's just-"

"Jack."

"Right, right, sorry Madds. This is just very...oh man, imagine how it must have been for Vlad all those years, figuring his abilities out all on his own. He must've-"

"The important thing is," Maddie cut in "Even though we...certainly didn't expect this, Vlad's still the same person, even with ghost powers, and we're going to support him by showing him this information doesn't change our relationship with him."

"Yeah...we can do that." Danny said quietly, his eyes never leaving his parents.

Danny felt Jazz grab his hand. He didn't squeeze back, but he didn't let go either.

--------------------------------------------------

Outside of Jack and Maddie occasionally discussing directions, no one said much during the drive home, neither party feeling free to talk openly.

At some point Tucker and Sam dug out their Game Boys and started having Pokémon battles, while Jazz watched Danny play Pac-Man.

At some point they stopped at a diner. After they were seated, a server with a slightly shaky voice took their drink order. Her hand trembled slightly as she wrote and she apologized a lot.

"Was it just me, or does she seem a little nervous?" Maddie asked after the server had left to get their drinks.

"It's probably because we're such a big group." Jazz said "And she sounded like she might still be new."

"Oh, the poor thing." Maddie said "We should leave her a nice tip, Jack."

"Oh absolutely, Maddie." Jack nodded "Remember kids, customer service is one of the most grueling jobs in this country, and the Number One Fenton Rule, besides 'always be prepared for a ghost attack', is always treat people..."

Nervous server, observant Jazz, ranting Dad. All in all, this was a pretty normal restaurant outing for Danny.

Too normal.

They'd just had one of the least normal weekends of their lives, but you wouldn't have been able to tell from the outside. Jack Fenton continued to ramble on, as if his best friend hadn't just revealed to him that he'd been avoiding him for the last twenty years because he was freaking half-ghost!

It made Danny want to scream.

But instead he just sat there eating his chicken BLT and peanut butter milkshake, like everything was normal.

It was a relief when they finally got back to the RV and could go back to their video games.

Eventually, Sam and Tucker were dropped off at their respective houses. They both grabbed their luggage and said things like 'goodbye' and 'thanks for taking us', as if it had just been a normal weekend getaway.

Danny almost sighed with relief when they finally pulled up to Fenton Works. He really needed some time to by himself to think.

"Alright, you kids take your stuff upstairs while your father and I sort out the leftover food. " Maddie instructed once everyone was inside the house.

"Yeah, sure." Danny replied.

Both parents turned to the kitchen and Jazz started hauling her suitcase up the stairs.

"Hey Mom, Dad?" Danny said, causing everyone to snap their heads towards him "H-how are you guys doing?" Danny rubbed the back of his neck "Like, with the whole Vlad-ghost thing? That's gotta be a little weird for you guys, since he's your best friend and all."

Jack and Maddie flashed each other a look before smiling at Danny.

"You don't need to worry, son. We're all good."

"What about you, sweetie?" His mom came over and stroked his hair "I know this ghost stuff might be a little confusing for you and your friends. Did they seem alright with everything when they left?"

"Uh, yup! We're all good." Danny hoped he sounded casual "So it doesn't bother you that Vlad's half-ghost? Even though you two are ghost hunters?"

"Oh don't be silly Danny, he's still the same old Vlad, anyone can see that. What kind of friends would we be if we abandoned him just because he can fly through things now?"

Danny smiled at that, but tiny doubts still lingered.

"So you don't think he's some kind of mutant monster now, or that he's been taken over by an evil ghost, or that he's just some weird imitation of what he once was?"

Jazz's heart broke a little listening to Danny's list.

"Woah, slow your roll there, son." Jack came over and put a hand on Danny's shoulder "There isn't a smidgeon of doubt that the Vladdie we were talking to all weekend was our pal from college. It may seem far-fetched, and perhaps even a little scary for a human to have the same abilities as a ghost, but speaking as ghost professionals, Vlad seems perfectly alright and, although it might take us all some time to process this new development, we're gonna figure it out and in the meantime show Vlad all the support we can so he knows we don't see him any differently because of this. Just like your mother said."

Danny felt like a muscle he'd been unknowingly clenching for months finally relaxed.

"That's right Jack." Maddie gave Danny's hair one last ruffle "That being said, it is a school night, so you kids better unpack and get your homework done."

"I already did all my homework before we left." Jazz said. Danny remained silent.

"That's my Jazzerincess!" Jack beamed "But you still gotta unpack. You too Danny."

Jack gave him a friendly pat on the back that almost knocked him over.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going."

Danny paused on the first step.

"Mom, Dad?"

"Yes Danny?"

"I love you guys."

Jack and Maddie looked at each other. It had been a while since they'd heard either of their kids say that unprompted. They smiled at Danny.

"We love you too, son." Jack said.

Danny smiled back before following Jazz up the stairs.

When he opened his bedroom door, Danny's body immediately felt lighter. Staying at Vlad's lavish vacation house had been fun, but it was nice to be surrounded by the familiar model rockets and glow-in-the-dark star stickers again.

"So, how are you feeling?" Jazz stood in Danny's doorframe, suitcase still in hand.

"About what?"

Jazz set her suitcase down and crossed her arms.

"Come on Danny."

Danny sighed.

"A lot, I guess." Danny ran a hand through his hair "But also, weirdly calm? And scared? Not like...worried something bad will happen scared, but like...it's hard to describe."

"I'd imagine."

"I'm not going to tell them tonight, probably not even tomorrow."

"There's no rush."

"I know, I just..." Danny took a breath. They'd all been through a lot this weekend, especially Danny, and there was a lot going on in his head, he just didn't have the energy to put those feeling into words right now.

"Look Jazz, I'm really tired and I've got a lot of unpacking to do, so can we save the psychoanalysis for tomorrow?"

"This isn't 'psychoanalysis'." Jazz rolled her eyes affectionately "But, sure. I'll be in my room if you do decide you want to talk."

"Alright Jazz." Danny's rolled his eyes in a less affectionate way. He swung his backpack onto his bed. "I...do appreciate that."

Jazz smiled as she wheeled her suitcase to her room.

Danny waited a few seconds to make sure she was really gone, and then turned invisible and phased his head through the floor into the kitchen.

"...least the kids seem to be taking it well." Danny heard his mom say. She was standing next to the stove stirring two mugs.

"Mmm." His dad replied absently. He was sitting at the kitchen table, lost in thought

Maddie carried the two mugs to the table and sat down next to Jack.

"I suppose this explains why Vlad's been so...dodgy for the past two decades." she said.

"A human with ghost powers..." Jack stared into his tea mug.

"It shouldn't be possible." Maddie said.

"I mean, it apparently happened to Vlad, so..."

"I know, Jack. But do you know what this means for our research? The fact that a human body is even capable of sustaining a partial ectoplasmic structure whilst remaining human? This raises so many questions! I mean, the very implications that-" Maddie rubbed her forehead "I still can't believe he didn't tell us."

"He was scared, Madds."

"Jack, I would've gone straight to you two if I'd started developing ghost powers."

"I know Madds, I would've too." Jack took a big slurp of his tea. "I suppose that's Vlad."

"What do you mean, Jack?"

"I mean, he's definitely the most careful of us three, but he's also always been a little paranoid."

"You think so?"

"I might've seen it a little more, since we shared a room, but he was always like 'Jack, you're ignoring safety protocols!', 'Jack, that violates the laws of nature!', 'Stop tampering with the fabric of reality Jack!' You know, stuff like that."

"I suppose you're right." Maddie gave a little laugh. Personally, Danny was with Vlad on this one.

"Poor Vladdie." Jack shook his head sadly "He always seemed to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders."

"He spent all those years alone," All of the humour drained from Maddie's face "Genuinely afraid of us...oh Jack I feel so awful just thinking about it!" Maddie buried her face in her hands.

Jack rushed out of his chair and wrapped his arms around Maddie.

"I know Maddie." he stared blankly at the wall while Maddie let out a few quiet sobs "Me too."

Maddie gave one last sniffle and looked up at Jack.

"I'm fine now, honey." she said, wiping her eyes with her hand. "I'm don't know what came over me, I'm sor-"

"Shh, shh, You don't have to apologize, Babycakes." Jack patted Maddie's back softly. She leaned against his chest and rubbed his arm. "Oh, Vlad..." Jack said quietly

Danny felt a little bad for watching this private moment, but he had to know their unfiltered feelings about Vlad.

Their thoughts pretty clear at this point though, so Danny remerged into his room and resolidified.

"How's that unpacking going?"

Jazz was sitting crisscross at the base of Danny's doorframe, an open book in her hand.

"Hey! What are you doing in my room!"

"I'm not technically in your room." Jazz closed her book and stood up. "So what are Mom and Dad saying?"

"I mean, I'd say they're taking Vlad being half-ghost pretty well. It's just..."

"What?"

"I don't know, they were kind of talking about why Vlad didn't tell them earlier, and Dad said something about Vlad being paranoid..."

"Wait," Jazz narrowed her eyes "It sounds like you're saying they're pinning this all on Vlad and not considering how all their talk of destroying ghosts could've even possibly played into his 'paranoia'."

"Ugh, those two! How can such world renowned geniuses be so oblivious?" Jazz trailed off and shook her head exasperatedly.

"Maybe they just need some time? You know, to like, process it or whatever?" Danny shrugged "This whole situation is kind of a lot, and they did seem to feel pretty bad about Vlad not trusting them."

Danny decided not to mention Mom crying.

Jazz sighed.

"I suppose. Well, at least they accept him. All things considered, I would say their reaction was pretty positive." she relented.

"Yes, and I'm very happy and relieved with how thing's have turned out." Danny walked closer to Jazz "Now get out of my room!"

With that, Danny slammed the door shut, leaving Jazz standing in the hallway.

"Teenagers." she huffed to herself as she headed back to her room.

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Danny climbed up the steps to school. He was pulled from his thoughts when someone bumped into him hard enough to nearly knock him over.

"Hey!" Danny yelped as he regained his balance.

"Sorry Danny, didn't see you there." a familiar voice said.

"Oh, hey Valerie." With everything that had happened, Danny had forgotten to check in with her. "Sorry, I meant to call you last night. So how did everything, uh..."

Danny took in Valerie's appearance. Her eyes were glazed over, her hair seemed flatter than usual, and she'd completely forgotten to put on her eye makeup (Danny didn't remember what it was called).

"You good? You look a little..." Danny searched for the politest way to say it "...tired."

"Huh? Nah, I'm great. Some ghost couple showed up on a motorcycle, and they had an evil shadow that let out all the pets in the pet store."

"You mean Johnny and Kitty?"

"Yeah, and then after I rounded up all the pets, the stupid shadow had made its way to the zoo!"

"Ugh, that creepy shadow is always so annoying!"

"And if that wasn't enough, the freaking Box Ghost literally showed up eleven times! All while I was trying to round up various animals! Eleven times in two days Danny! I counted!"

"Okay, that's a bit much, even for him."

"But it's all good." Valerie's voice calmed down "I handled it. All the ghosts are back in their world, and all the animals are back in their cages. Probably."

"Okay, good good, nicely done." Danny nodded. "Glad you made it through all that. You sure you should be in school today, though? You seem pretty out of it."

"What? Naah! I'm great. I am sooo great! I aaam the champion!" Valerie started to sing "And IIII'll keep on fiiiiighting, till the-"

Her song was cut off by a ghost phasing out of the ground between her and Danny.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST!"

"Not you again!" Valerie's unfocused smile turned into an unfocused scowl "This is the twelfth time in three days! Why can't your stupid butt just stay in the stupid Ghost Zone for five stupid seconds!"

Valerie took a swing at the ghost, but completely missed. Her body got caught in the momentum of her punch, causing her to fall over.

Danny and The Box Ghost cringed in sympathy as she hit the stairs.

"Hey, you okay Val-"

Danny was interrupted by a loud snore.

"You know what? You take a rest, you deserve it." Danny reached into Valerie's backpack and retrieved The Fenton Thermos. "I'll handle this one." Danny glared at The Box Ghost.

"BEWARE!" he shouted before zooming away.

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Danny transformed and flew after him.

Valerie continued to snore on the stairs.

We finally made it! The Fenton parents know about Vlad!

But this story's far from over...

What's gonna happen next? Who knows? Not me!

Don't worry! I do have a few ideas. I'll probably do the thing where I upload a short bit and then a long bit later. Just seems to be what works.

Anyways, thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think :)

#Danny Phantom #dp #danny phantom fanfic #dp fanfic #fisp #my writing #my fanfic #writitng #fanfic

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