Chapter Text
Danny Fenton stood on the sidewalk, staring at the nondescript building that was now his new high school. Chamberlain, Maine, was a far cry from the chaos of Amity Park. There were no swirling green ghost portals here, no flickering lights signaling a ghost attack. The town seemed almost too quiet, too normal, a contrast to the storm of guilt, fear, and loss he carried.
Though Danny could sense a vibe, an energy in the air. It made his fingers tingle, but he was sure it was just his nerves about being at a new school. Anxiety had its way of racing through the body; even half-ghosts weren't immune to this.
He adjusted the strap of his backpack, his thoughts drifting back to Amity. His parents. His friends. They were all gone, victims of a future that he had narrowly avoided. He could still see the explosion, still feel the weight of it in his chest. The guilt never left him. Even though he'd averted that disaster, the memories of that future haunted him, his family's faces, frozen in terror, his failure to protect them etched in his mind.
That's why he was here. Vlad Masters, his parents' old colleague and former enemy, had pulled strings to get him a fresh start, far from the memories of his old life. He said it would help. A chance to be normal. Danny wasn't sure he believed him. Normal wasn't something he had been for a long time.
Danny couldn't imagine a day without being interrupted by a ghost.
The idea of Vlad playing the role of guardian was weird enough. Their history was complicated, to say the least. Vlad had offered to take him in after the tragedy, though he kept his distance, perhaps out of fear of making the same mistakes as his former future counterpart regarding Danny. Now, Vlad's influence loomed quietly in the background. This town, this school, it was all part of his plan to keep Danny safe. And, Danny suspected, to keep both of them from losing control again.
Vlad had been aghast that his counterpart would've risked splitting Danny's ghost form into a separate being. It was an unknown result, and as half a person made into a single one, Vlad explained that Danny's future counterpart's actions made a lot of sense when one thought of the Future Ghost Dan as half of Danny's thoughts, incapable of love or joy truely but only rage, jealous, envy, and a malicious type of joy no one considered positive.
Danny had left out the part where his counterpart had split Vlad from his ghost half, absorbing it into himself. There were some details people would be better off not knowing.
Vlad wasn't directly over Danny's shoulder; instead, he left a guardian in charge. Perhaps Vlad had thought himself too unstable with that future knowledge of his actions? Danny would probably never learn the answer; Vlad would be too insecure to answer it.
As Danny walked through the front doors of Chamberlain High, he couldn't help but wonder how long this new life would last. Would the ghosts follow him here, too? Or would he just have to deal with his own?
Danny stepped into the hallway, the dull hum of students milling about replacing the silence of the town outside. He moved through the unfamiliar crowd, catching snippets of conversation and laughter. No one paid him much attention, which was fine. He wasn't looking to stand out. Just blend in, he reminded himself. Try to be normal.
Danny had seen what standing out had done to him in his last school. Sure, it was more his... but that didn't mean the ghost antics hadn't caused him to stick out like a sore thumb.
The air inside the school was cooler, the polished floors reflecting the buzzing fluorescent lights above. His shoes squeaked slightly as he walked, feeling out of place in a world that didn't feel like his. He found his way to the office and collected his schedule. Homeroom was first. A good place to start, he thought, with a hint of sarcasm.
He traced the halls to his first class, sliding into the back of the room just before the bell rang. The teacher called roll, mispronouncing his last name, but Danny was too distracted to care. His mind was already wandering. Maine was supposed to be a clean slate, but everywhere he looked, the weight of what had happened in Amity Park followed him. He had questions, unspoken and unresolved, swirling just beneath the surface.
And now there was this, Chamberlain, the town, the school, the new faces. A small town in the middle of nowhere, chosen carefully by Vlad. He had to admit it was unlikely anyone here would know who he was. Still, something felt off. The passive sense of unease that accompanied him was harder to shake here. But he tried.
He really tried.
Danny's attention drifted as the teacher droned on about school announcements and schedules. His eyes scanned the room, students chatting quietly, some yawning from the early morning start. Nothing stood out. Everything felt... normal. Maybe too normal.
He rested his chin on his hand, absently staring at the clock. The minutes ticked by slowly, dragging out the time between him and the unknown. He was used to unpredictability, to something supernatural crashing through his life at any moment. The silence and regularity of it all made him feel like an outsider, watching from the fringes.
It was like he was a filmmaker, making a documentary on the wildlife while pretending to be one of them himself. Looking in, but surrounded by the subjects, and not being able to really connect to them.
Finally, the bell rang, and the students began to file out. Danny gathered his things, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he made his way to the door. Just as he was about to step out, a voice called out behind him.
"Hey, new guy."
Danny turned to see a tall, athletic-looking guy with sandy blond hair leaning against the desk. He looked friendly enough, though Danny had learned not to trust appearances at first glance.
"I'm Tommy," he introduced himself with a grin. "Tommy Ross. I noticed you're new here. If you need help finding your way around, I can show you the ropes."
Danny hesitated for a second, unsure of how to respond to the easygoing offer. But there was no hint of malice in Tommy's eyes, just genuine kindness. There was a risk in taking the offer, but not taking it would be just as risky. Blending in was about acting as normal as anyone else, not excluding yourself away from them like a pariah.
"Thanks," Danny said with a small smile, "I'd appreciate that."
Danny Fenton walked up the steps to his new home, the weight of his backpack feeling lighter with each step. The house was a modest two-story, a far cry from the high-tech gadgets and spectral disturbances of his old life in Amity Park, but it was a place to start anew. The quiet of Chamberlain, Maine, seemed almost too serene, a stark contrast to the chaotic echoes of his past.
He opened the front door and stepped into the familiar, somewhat comforting space of his new home. The walls were lined with boxes, still waiting to be unpacked, and the scent of fresh paint lingered in the air. As he made his way through the hallway, he saw Robert Thompson in the kitchen, preparing a simple meal of chicken and rice.
Robert looked up and gave Danny a nod, his graying hair and tired eyes reflecting years of experience. He was dressed in a pair of rough work-style jeans, a flannel shirt that changed color every day, today was red, and boots that were suited to working a construction set. Robert had been given a home of his own in town, separate from Danny, but it was to be worked on, not just lived in. Robert told Danny that he liked the construction aspect, a career he would've gone into if not for a greater calling in Social Work. Even though he was here temporarily, living here for the six months before moving into his home nearby to routinely check up on Danny, his presence was a stable anchor in Danny's new life.
"Hey, Danny," Robert said, his voice carrying a mix of warmth and weariness. "How was school today?"
"It was okay," Danny replied, shrugging off his backpack and setting it down. "Just the usual school stuff you expect for a new kid. It'll be a while before they know enough to box me into some category to interact with socially."
It was the type of sentence, the type of statement his sister would've said. It wasn't what Danny would've said, or at least not how he would've said it. But... talking like her felt good sometimes. Made it feel like his sister was still with him.
Robert's gaze lingered on Danny for a moment before he continued. "We had a visitor today. Mrs. Margaret White came by. Quite an intense woman, I must say."
Danny's ears perked up at the name. "Margaret White? I think I've heard that name before. Someone from my class, maybe?"
"Yeah," Robert confirmed, nodding. "Said she had a daughter around your age. She's got some pretty strong religious views. She dropped off one of her custom Bibles and talked about sin and redemption. Very intense, though. You'll probably hear more about her soon."
Danny's mind briefly wandered to his own experiences with intense beliefs and fanaticism. His parents had been deeply absorbed in their work, and while their obsession wasn't religious, the intensity had been familiar. He nodded, trying to keep his curiosity in check. "Sounds... extreme."
Robert gave a half-hearted smile, still processing his own encounter with Mrs. White. "You could say that. I just wanted to give you a heads-up. People like her can be a bit much."
Danny nodded, grateful for the warning. He glanced at Robert, noticing a hint of surprise in his eyes. "Is there something else?" Danny asked, sensing a shift in the conversation.
Robert hesitated for a moment, then said, "You know, this type of arrangement is usually for kids who've had a lot of trouble, not someone who's had an... unfortunate event in their past. I'm just surprised that someone with your background would need a guardian like me."
Danny felt a pang of discomfort but masked it with a casual shrug. "It's complicated," he said vaguely. "Let's just say my situation isn't as straightforward as it looks."
Robert's expression softened, but he didn't press further. "Alright. You said that you had the 'usual day', does that mean you made any friends yet?"
Danny considered the question for a moment. Tommy Ross had been kind to him. There'd been no probing questions, no misleading answers from the other boy, but Danny wasn't born yesterday. "Too early to tell. But... yeah, I hope I did."