#darknymfa

Danny stepped off the bus and stretched. It was a long bus ride for this field trip and he had definitely got a crick in his neck from the nap.

“I told you to bring the neck pillow.” Danny turned and saw his mom with a hand on her hip and a lopsided smirk, “But did you listen to me? No. why would you?” She teased.

He rolled his eyes with a smile because she had warned him after all. “I was going to stay awake, but.” he just shrugged. Lately, if he was in a car longer than 20 minutes he was asleep.

The bus ride here was easily over an hour, maybe two if the traffic was bad. He checked his phone for the time and saw that he got at least an hour and a half nap. Nice.

Mr. Lancer stood on the last step of the bus, just so he had the extra height, and announced to the group that they had, in fact, arrived.

“Does he always point out the obvious like that?” His mom asked as she leaned into his shoulder.

Danny shrugged, “Yeah, kind of.”

Mr. Lancer then proceeded to tell everyone the plan for the day, again. Because apparently saying it before they had gotten on the bus the morning wasn’t enough.

Once Lancer was finished they entered the museum. Inside the class was broken up into smaller groups with either a teacher or a chaperone. Danny of course was put in a group with his mom.

He didn’t mind in the slightest. It was actually kind of refreshing to do something so normal with her. She had even left the jumpsuit at home.

He was pretty sure she still had some ecto-weapon on her, but it was subtle.

The museum was huge and they only had a few hours to explore before they had to all pile onto the bus and journey back to Amity Park. To try and make sure everyone got to at least go to one exhibit they would like, they had filled out a questionnaire the day before the trip and were arranged into groups that way.

This did mean that both his friends were in different groups, but he figured he could survive one afternoon without them.

He’s really got to learn not to jinx himself like that.

Most of the day was fine. They walked from exhibit to exhibit. Learned some stuff. Saw kids from other schools. Just an average field trip.

That is until they got to the elevator.

His group got in and he lingered just outside for a second. Something just felt off.

“Come on, Sweetie,” his mom gestured for him to follow her.

Not seeing any reason not to, besides the weird feeling, he shrugged it off and stepped inside.

“Could you push the button for us? It’s B3.”

He nodded and turned to the buttons looking for the correct one.

He spotted it easily, its shiny chrome reflected the green of someone’s headband and he froze.

That wasn’t right.

His hand twitched over the button. The light flickered, or maybe he blinked.

This wasn’t right.

“I can’t.”

He ran out of the elevator and that’s when he noticed he was hyperventilating.

What the heck was wrong with him?

“Danny?” his mom’s voice was just to his left but she didn’t touch him. He was glad for that, he might have jumped if she had.

“Sorry. I just,” Why was he like this? “I can’t go in there.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know.” he turned to her still working on breathing like a normal person, “Can’t we just take the stairs?”

“It’s three flights?”

He floundered for an excuse, anything would do, “So? I want to get my steps in! Do you know you’re supposed to get 10,000 a day? What better way to get the blood pumping than a good old staircase?”

His mom just stared at him. Her brows coming together in concern.

Luckily for him, another group had just arrived. His mom asked Paulina’s dad if he could take their group in the elevator while they took the stairs. He agreed easily and they went on ahead.

Danny was about to walk to the stairs when his mom stopped him.

“Why don’t you want to use the elevator, Danny?”

He stopped mid-step, his foot hovering above the shiny linoleum. He took a breath and turned to face her.

“I just, I don’t know. Something felt off and I didn’t want to.”

“What do you mean it felt off?”

“I don’t know? Just off. Like something bad was going to happen if I did.”

“Do you think the elevator is going to break?”

“No.” That wasn’t quite it.

She hummed in thought, clearly trying to figure him out. The only problem was he didn’t know the answer either.

He wasn’t trying to lie to her or be evasive. He just didn’t know why being in the elevator made him uncomfortable.

“Look can we just go downstairs? I’ll try to get on when we go back up, okay?”

Would he? He really didn’t like the thought of that either.

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not! I-” he stopped and then sighed as his shoulders dropped. “I really don’t know what happened. Stepping in there just felt bad. All that metal and the buttons and I just-” he stopped mid-sentence and it slowly dawned on him why he was so nervous about the elevator.

God, Jazz was going to have a field day if she found out about this. Definitely need to make sure that never happens.

“You know what, I figured it out and I was being dumb. Let’s go!” he spun on his heel and made his way to the stairs as fast as he could without technically running.

Thank God for speed walking. The most useful thing he’s learned in school.

He was already on the first landing when his mom finally caught up with him. “Danny wait!” his mom called and joined him on the landing. “Is this about your accident?”

He stopped dead. His hand holding onto the railing and his foot suspended above the next step.

He just needed to say no. Just lie. Say it reminded him of a horror movie or something. She knew he liked scary movies, it would be believable enough.

He just had to say it.

But he couldn’t get his mouth to work.

He still hadn’t moved.

How had she figured it out so fast?

“It is, isn’t it?” she asked, but it really wasn’t a question anymore. Just confirmation in what they both knew.

He took a step back onto the landing, his hand slipping off the railing. “It’s pretty dumb, isn’t it? They aren’t that similar but I guess it’s close enough.”

His mom was quiet and he wasn’t sure he was ready to face her yet. This was not how he expected things to go.

But considering how many worse case scenarios he had run through, aka, how many different nightmares he had, this wasn’t that bad. And he was still feeling nervous from before so that seemed like a running theme, might as well keep it.

“They’re both big metal things you can stand inside. Both mechanical and,” he chuckled a little before continuing, “they both take you places.”

“And the button?”

“Yeah.” he turned to face her both with a pseudo-bravery that he had mastered as Phantom and a small hope that maybe this would all end okay. “Both have a button on the inside.”

He watched her, as the gears turned in her mind. As the final puzzle pieces started to click into place.

It really was foolish of him to think he could keep this from her forever. Not that he really thought that he would, he just wasn’t sure when the right time was. Or if there was such a thing.

“On the inside? You,” she hesitated as she tried to find the words, tried to find some other explanation. “You never said you went inside.”

“You never asked.”

She gasped and he realized that sounded like he was blaming her.

“Not that you should have needed to! I should have told you sooner. I just,” he looked away and stared at the dusty corner of the stairwell, “I just didn’t know how to tell you. I tried, but things kept getting in the way. I kept getting interrupted. And then one day I just gave up. I thought it would be better if you didn’t know. And then I was worried that” he bit his lip, “I was worried you wouldn’t like me anymore if you knew.”

“Why wouldn’t I like you?”

“Because I’m different.”

She walked over to him, closed the distance, and lifted his face to look at her. “I don’t know how you survived, but clearly you did.”

He looked away but she placed her other hand on his shoulder, not tightly, just placed it there.

He looked back at her.

“I’m sorry for whatever I did that led to your distrust in me.”

“Mom,” he started but she shook her head.

“No, I can’t have you keep blaming yourself for this. This rift between us.”

He wondered how much she really figured out. How much was she willing to accept?

She pulled him into a hug and for that moment it didn’t matter.

He hugged her back and promised himself he’d tell her everything. Just not yet. He’d wait until they got home.

Tucker remembered the night vividly, no matter how hard he tried to forget it. The night his best friend died. Danny was video calling Tucker and Sam, ecstatic at the thought of showing them the moment his parents turned on the portal and busted a hole into the ghost dimension.

Tucker and Sam watched intensely through their screens as Danny’s parents turned the machine on, beaming.

“Guys- it worked!” Danny cheered, flipping the camera to face him. His face was a Christmas tree, alight with excitement and awe. Jazz bent to give him a sisterly kiss on the cheek, Danny pretending to gag as he hugged her. It was been a beautiful moment... until it wasn’t.

Sparks started to fly, and Danny’s face fell. Tucker could still hear Jazz’s voice, warning her little brother to stay back. The teens heard a scream and suddenly, the line was dead.

Tucker had never run faster in his life. A normal walk to Danny’s would take him 20 minutes, but that night, he made it there in 5. Fire engines and police cruisers came screeching to a halt in front of the burning building; a cop pulled Tucker away from the door, instructing him to stay back.

“Danny! He’s my friend! Let go of me- he’s still in there!”

The cops promised he’d be fine; they promised they’d get him out in time.

They lied.

It had taken hours to get the fire managed, even longer for it to be safe to send in firefighters. Tucker never stopped shouting, never stopped fighting to get past the police line.

It was 2 AM when the fire was finally extinguished. A small crowd had gathered around the building, whispering quietly amongst themselves. Tucker’s frantic cries had turned hysteric, tears streaming down his face.

He was too distressed notice Sam show up; he didn’t realize she was by his side, screaming just as loudly. Tucker didn’t see the fight slowly leaving her as they watched, helpless, as the fire consume Fenton Works.

Sam saw the final fireman exit the building. He stopped the EMT’s from going in with a sad shake of his head. It didn’t take a genius to understand what was wrong; there was no one to save.

Tucker refused to move, grief weighing him down. He kept staring at the remains of the front door, hoping and begging to see Danny crawling from the wreckage. It was daylight before his parents were finally able to coax him off the ground.

Tucker sobbed at the funeral, despondent as people mourned an empty coffin. He spoke at the service, as best he could, sharing his favorite memories with Danny. The day they had met in day care, their first reactions to having homework. Sam’s eyes were shining as he talked about how excited Danny had been for their first day of high school, which was only been a few short weeks away.

The rest of the summer was empty and depressed. Tucker rarely got out of bed, instead staying in his dark room, feeling his heart physically break.

The school board had offered to let Tucker begin school a week later than other students, to give him more time to grieve. Tucker refused. He had to experience the first day of school, not for himself, but for Danny.

Casper high was quiet and subdued. Though no one had been close to either of the Fenton kids the loss had hit the community hard. In the few short weeks they’d been gone, the people of Amity Park had come to realize just how prominent the Fenton’s had been.

Jack Fenton was no longer roaming the streets in his van, searching for ghosts. The people on his street found they missed hearing the family do their daily ghost drills.

Maddie Fenton was no longer there to be part of the PTA. The parents had to learn the hard way how hard it was to plan events without her there to take command.

Jazz Fenton was no longer able to offer tutoring. Her summer clients were forced to move on and find new students to help them study. None of them were as good as she was.

Danny Fenton was no longer there. Period. He wasn’t there running around with his friends. He wasn’t there raising his hand in science class, eyes bright with curiosity. He was no longer there to smile his bright, beautiful, sunshine smile.

The Fenton’s were no longer there, and the community felt it every day.

That first day the school held an assembly in honor of Jazz and Danny. A plaque was to be placed in the entryway of the school in their memory. Though Danny had never been a student at Casper High, most teachers knew him through Jazz; they felt it more appropriate to memorialize the siblings together. The principal introduced the school’s new grief counselor, urging everyone to feel free to meet with him. Teachers took it easy on the students, slowly integrating homework into their workload.

As the year went on, the shock of the tragedy began to wear off. The building was left as the wreck it was; it had been left to Maddie’s sister. However, since no one could contact the recluse, the city gated off the building until such a time as they were legally able to claim it.

Tucker and Sam had been granted access before it was closed, sifting through the ash in hopes of finding something, anything, of Danny’s. Tucker had found half of Danny’s model rocket, unharmed, and hung it in his room. Sam found a family portrait, charred, but intact. She kept it in a box under her bed, pulling it out every time she feared she was forgetting Danny’s smile.

Months after the accident, Fenton Works had become the designated spot for teenage shenanigans. Students would dare each other to go in, joking that the house was haunted. It angered Tucker to no end, watching his friend’s house be so disrespected.

“Just ignore it, Tuck,” Sam said as Dash ran into the cafeteria, boasting that he’d found the remains of a bra in the house the night before.

“I can’t!” Tucker snapped, glaring at Dash and his friends. “You don’t get it Sam- you only knew them for a year. I practically grew up in that house; they were like my second family! How can you be okay with this?”

“I’m not.” She stabbed her salad with more force than necessary. “Trust me, it pisses me off just as much as you.”

“You sure don’t show it.”

Sam shrugged. “I distract myself. When I hear stories like that, I just imagine what Mr. Fenton would think if he knew these kids thought he house was haunted.”

Tucker cracked a small smile- the first in a long time. “He’d be furious.”

“I know. To think all it took for this town to believe in ghosts was the death of a ghost hunter.”

Tucker chuckled, ducking his head.

“What?” Sam asked, heart lifting at the sound of laughter.

“Nothing,” Tucker tried to stifle his amusement. “Just had this funny idea of Mr. Fenton haunting the place.”

Sam dissolved into giggles. “I can totally see it!” She sat up and puffed out her chest, lowering her voice in her best impression of Jack. “Don’t believe in ghosts, do ya? Well what do ya say to this? BEWARE!”

“Dad!” Tucker said in a high pitch. “You can’t go around haunting people- it might stunt their psychological development!”

For the first time since the accident, the pair burst into pure, genuine laughter. Across the cafeteria people looked over, shocked and pleased by what they saw. It was Tucker’s laughter that truly sparked the healing of the community.

Tucker went to bed that night, still laughing at the idea of the Fenton’s haunting their old home.

The next day, the idea didn’t seem so funny.

Tucker was changing for gym in the locker room when he heard Dash swear.

“Who took my underwear?” The jock demanded.

“Why’d you take it off?” Wes, another freshman, asked in disgust.

“To shower!”

“Why do you need a shower? We haven't had class yet!”

“Don’t tell me how to live my life, Weston!” Dash yelled.

“Maybe you pissed off a Fenton the other day,” Kwan joked.

The room went silent as heads turned to Tucker. It wasn’t a secret that he didn’t like the ghost jokes, and while upperclassmen didn’t seem to care, there was an unspoken agreement among the freshmen not to make them around him. However, Tucker found himself laughing.

“You did steal a bra,” he pointed out to the delight of his classmates. “Maybe this is revenge.”

Dash scoffed, declaring he would just go commando as the boys filed into the gym. The girls were already there, gathered under a basketball hoop, snickering.

“What’s so funny?” Tucker wondered, watching as the girls looked back at Dash and laughed harder.

Wes shrugged, making his way to the front of the crowd. Hanging from the hoop was a pair of boxers, ‘Dash Baxter’ embroidered on the waist.

Laughter exploded in the gym as Dash grabbed them, running back to the locker room in embarrassment.

That was how it started. After that, there were more and more reports of strange things happening to people who went to the Fenton house. Dash continued losing his underwear in the locker room, only for them to show up in increasingly random locations. The day after Kwan snuck in to drink a beer, the water fountain exploded in his face. Then, the hauntings became stranger.

Star mentioned that Jazz must have cheated to earn such a high score on her C.A.T; she found her test prep material shredded in her locker. A substitute teacher remarked that the Fenton’s had deserved their end, messing with something as unholy as ghosts. For the rest of the day she was locked out of every door she encountered. The weirdest though, was when Mr. Lancer was handing back tests.

Tucker knew he had failed the test- he hadn’t even read the book. However, the test he was handed back had scored a 92%. As Tucker looked it over, he noticed that almost all of the answers he had put had been erased and corrected.

“It was a joke, Tucker,” Sam repeated for what must have been the tenth time in ten minutes. “I didn’t think you would take it so seriously.”

“C’mon Sam!” Tucker begged. “It makes sense!”

“They’re just pranks! Sooner or later whoever’s pulling them is gonna get bored and move on.”

“You can’t seriously believe that!”

“Yes,” Sam shut her locker. “I can.” She sighed, looking at Tucker sadly. “I understand why you want to believe it Tuck; I really do. The idea that Danny’s still here... I’d do anything to see him again.”

“What if we could?” Tucker asked, gears spinning in his head.

“Could what?”

“See Danny!”

Sam gave him a hard look. “Why do I have the feeling you aren’t talking about pictures?”

“When Danny and I were, like, 12 or something we bought an Ouija board-”

“Oh my God.”

“We were too chicken to use it, but what if-”

“You can not be serious!”

“Please Sam!” Tucker begged. “I know...I know it’s crazy. I know it won’t work. But...” He trailed off, voice cracking.

Sam stood there for a moment, watching her best friend struggle to find the words to convince her. “Fine,” she caved. “We’ll go- maybe it’ll be fun. I’ve always wanted to speak to a real ghost!”

She met Tucker at the remains of Fenton works at midnight, long after the rest of the town was asleep.

“I gotta admit,” Tucker confessed as they scaled the chain link fence. “This seemed like a much better idea in the daylight.”

“Can’t back out now,” Sam smiled. “Besides, the darkness makes it more authentic!”

The two moved to the darkest corner, settling down with the Ouija board between them.

“This is the real deal,” Sam observed as she inspected the board. “Where did you and Danny find this thing?”

“An old antique shop- the owner swore it let him talk to his dead wife.”

“The why’d he sell it?”

“Apparently she was still nagging him about fixing a leak in their basement.”

Sam chuckled. “Did Mr. Fenton know that Amity Park had a ghost specifically haunting leaky faucet?”

“Why else do you think two 12-year old’s were in an antique store?” Tucker snickered.

“The instructions say to balance the board on our knees,” Sam explained, reading the rules by the glow of her cellphone. “Don’t apply too much pressure to the planchette; just rest your fingers so it’s free to move around the board.”

The two jumped as the rubble shifted behind them, the silence of the night making the sound that much louder.

“It just occurred to me that trying to talk to spirits in the remain of a ghost lab probably isn’t the smartest choice,” Tucker laughed shakily.

“Do you still want to do this?”

“Yeah,” he responded without hesitation.

Sam finished explaining the rules, setting her phone aside and balancing the board on her knees. “Let’s do this.”

Gulping, Tucker placed two fingers on the planchette and whispered, “Hello?”

“Let’s hope the ghosts aren’t deaf,” Sam muttered.

“Hello?” Tucker said again, louder. Nothing happened.

“Anyone here?” Sam tried. “We aren’t here to hurt you- we’re just here to talk. Preferably to one of the Fenton’s’ but, whatever.”

Nothing.

The two sat there in silence, holding their breath as they waiting for the planchette to move. After a few minutes, Sam let out a heavy breath. “Tuck, I don’t think-”

“Let me try something!” Tucker interrupted. With one hand he reached into his backpack, pulling out what was left of Danny’s rocket, setting it by the board.

“This was made by my best friend,” Tucker looked up at the remains of the ceiling. “His name is Danny. Danny Fenton.” He paused. “He lived here his whole life. He grew up here. He and Jazz were measured on the same wall in the kitchen. He got so mad when she got taller! He broke his wrist jumping out of his window on a dare.”

“What are you doing?” Sam asked quietly.

“Trying to fill the place with good memories- Mr. Fenton once said ghosts are attracted to that.”

“Oh. Proceed.”

“I spent most of my childhood here too. Danny and I used to ride our tricycles around the kitchen while his mom made cookies; Snickerdoodles of course- those are Danny’s favorites. One time, when we were 5, Jazz had Racheal and Maggie over for her first sleepover and they snuck us candy when we were supposed to be in bed.” Tucker laughed. “And there was this one time, when we were 9, Danny and I decided to run away. We snuck out of the house and got as far as the park before Mr. Fenton found us on his ghost patrol. We were so scared he’d be mad but he just... he just sat us down and explained the dangers of going out at night.”

“Dangers?” Sam raised an eye brow. “What kinds of dangers?”

“Ghosts, mostly. But he also asked us why we’d run away to begin with.”

“Why had you?”

“Dash called Danny a freak- told him he didn’t belong here. And ya know, for all the crazy things Jack Fenton has said, I’m never gonna forget what he told us that night.”

“What’d he tell you?”

Tucker smiled sadly, eyes glassy. “That it didn’t matter what Dash or anyone else thought; we’re family and we’ll always belong.”

Sam grinned. “Smartest thing he’s ever said. However,” She glanced down at the board. “I don’t think he, or any other ghost is gonna say anything tonight.”

“Yeah,” he agreed dejectedly. “I guess not.”

The two said goodbye, slowly packing the board back into Tucker’s backpack.

“It’s late,” yawned Sam. “I think it’s time to go.”

“Go ahead,” Tucker leaned back on the ground, staring at the stars. “I’m just... gonna hang here for a minute.”

Sam thought about protesting but seeing the despair in his eyes made her stop. This was something he needed in order to move on. After making him promise to text her when he got home, she bid him goodnight and left.

Tucker watched the stars in silence, mind wandering through memories of him and Danny.

“5...4...3...2...1,” Tucker whispered to no one, lifting the rocket and flying it around. “Ladies and gentlemen the Red Ranger, the first rocket to be both built and piloted by the same person, has launched! How’s it looking’ up there Captain Danny? Excellent! With the speeds you’re going at you’ll be able to meet aliens on Mars and be back in time for cookies before bedtime!”

As he spoke, Tucker imagined him and Danny at 7 years old, playing in the Fenton’s backyard; Danny sitting in his cardboard rocket and Tucker with his cereal box mission control.

“Mission control, I am at Mars!” Danny announced, jumping out of the box and sneaking towards the swing set. “I can see the aliens!”

“What do they look like Captain Danny?”

Danny peered around the slide to see Jazz reading as she swung.

“Gross! They look like girls! This planet is infected with cooties!” Jazz glared at her little brother with a mischievous smile.

“Abort mission!” Tucker yelled. “I repeat, abort mission!”

“Rodger, heading back to the rocket now.” As Danny turned, Jazz jumped off the swing, chasing him. Danny squeaked when she tickled his sides.

“Mission control, help! The alien sees me!”

“Mission control can’t help you!” Jazz laughed as Tucker jumped up. “He’s back on Earth!”

Tucker sat down defeated before pulling his cardboard screens closer. “Captain Danny, go left!”

The three laughed as Jazz chased Danny around the yard, Tucker shouting directions at Danny. Danny jumped into his rocket, screaming with joy as Jazz shook it.

“The alien’s got me!”

“Alien?” Maddie Fenton asked, walking out.

“Yeah!” Danny beamed at his mother. “She followed me from Mars- she’s trying to give everyone on Earth cooties!”

“Goodness! Going to mars and fighting aliens? You must be hungry! Good thing I made some cookies!”

“COOKIES!” Tucker exclaimed, jumping up as Danny tumbled out of his rocket.

“No cookies for Jazz- she’ll get cooties all over them!” Danny demanded, sticking his tongue out.

“I think we have enough to share,” Maddie smiled, hugging her daughter as the boys ran inside. “Even aliens from Mars get hungry.”

“I can’t believe we named our first rocket ‘The Red Ranger’,” A voice said.

Tucker turned to see who was speaking, and nearly jumped out of his skin. “Danny!?”

A kid was reclining next to him, looking almost like Danny, but not quite. Black hair had gone white, pasty skin now a pale shade of green. The teen was wearing the classic black and white Hazmat suit the Fenton’s had been wearing the night of the accident, but the colors were inverted. Two glowing red eyes stared back as Tucker’s jaw hit the ground.

“Hey Tuck,” Danny said softly.

“Oh my God!” Tucker scrambled to sit up, staring at the ghost of his best friend. “I knew it! I knew you were here! Wait, how are you here? Are you real? Is this a dream? Oh my God, have I just gone crazy with grief and now I’m hallucinating-”

“Tucker, it’s me,” Danny smiled tiredly.

Tucker launched himself at Danny, hugging him as tightly as possible.

“It’s a good thing I don’t need to breath anymore,” the ghost joked.

“Sorry, sorry!” Tucker sat back, staring in awe. “You look... different. Like a-”

“Like a ghost?” Danny chuckled.

“Yeah.” He shook his head, smiling. “I can’t believe you’re here! I knew it from the moment Dash first lost his underwear!”

“Tucker-”

“That was hilarious! And my test grade? I don’t know how you knew but- wait, how did you know?”

“I’ve been... watching.” Danny confessed awkwardly.

“Watching?” Tucker moved away, suddenly angry. “Watching? You’ve been watching us this whole time and never thought about appearing? Didn’t think we might like to know you’re okay? Well, I mean, not okay okay, but okay in afterlife terms!”

“I-”

“What, were you just in my room, watching me suffer? Do you have any idea how hard this has been? Do you even care?”

“Tucker,” Danny sat up, grabbing his arm. “I didn’t show up before because I couldn’t. I didn’t have enough power yet.”

“Power?” Tucker questioned, anger slowly ebbing away.

“Yeah,” Danny grinned. “Being a ghost is kinda like being a superhero. Watch this,” his hand began to glow as he fired a glowing ball of green energy. It burst in the sky like a firework, though it made virtually no sound.

“Wow! What else can you do?”

For the next few hours the two sat together, talking and joking around as Danny showed off his new powers. They stared at the stars, recounting some of their best missions with the Red Ranger. Danny told tucker how his parents and sister were doing, describing how they too had undergone physical changes in becoming ghosts.

“Sometimes dad forgets we’re dead,” Danny snorted, “He’s still trying to hunt all these ghosts. He met this ghost- Skulker- and it’s like he found his platonic soulmate. Mom’s happy too- turns out a friend from college is also a ghost. They’ve been talking non-stop, filling each other in on life post college.”

“And Jazz?”

“A little disappointed she can’t attend Harvard. I’m trying to convince her to haunt the library- casually have a book fall off a shelf to help someone out, ya know?”

Tucker laughed. “It sounds perfect.”

For a moment, it was silent, the two perfectly content to lay on the ashy floor of a burnt down building.

“Danny?”

“Yeah Tuck?”

Tucker rolled over so he was face to face with the ghost. “Why didn’t you show up earlier? When Sam was here?”

Danny closed his eyes briefly, as if preparing himself. “She’s grieved enough as it is- no reason to load more on her.”

“More?” Danny stayed silent. “Oh... you aren’t staying, are you?”

“There’s this whole new world for me to explore Tucker- more than one! There are hundreds of thousands of doors in the Ghost Zone, and they all lead somewhere different! Different times, different places- I’m sure a few go to entirely different dimensions too!”

“So, take me with you!” Tucker smiled. “Imagine it! You and me, traveling through time and space!”

“I have,” Danny said sadly. “You have no idea how much a wish we could do that.”

“Why can’t we?”

“Humans can’t survive in the Ghost Zone,” he explained. “Everything about the environment is catered to the dead, like how Earth is for the living. You could survive, but after a while...”

“I’d die?” Tucker guessed. Danny nodded soberly. “So, how are you here? If Earth is made for the living-”

“I can’t stay for much longer. It’s kind of like being a fish out of water- I more or less absorb the atmosphere of the ghost zone. Here, there’s nothing to absorb.”

“Right,” Tucker huffed awkwardly. “I’d ask for a better explanation, but I don’t want you to waste your breath... or absorption... I guess.”

Danny laughed, laying back on the ground. “I miss the stars,” he said wistfully. “I can’t see them in the Ghost Zone.”

“You could always come back,” Tucker offered hopefully. “Every night- video games and star gazing, just like the good old days.”

“I can’t,” Danny’s voice shook. “It’s not fair to you Tucker. You have a whole life to live- I would just hold you back.”

“You wouldn’t be-”

“How do you expect to live your life if you’re constantly waiting for your friend to come back from the dead and talk to you? Time isn’t even the same in the Ghost Zone as it is here. I could come back thinking it’s only been five minutes when it’s actually been five years.”

Tucker wanted to argue but couldn’t. “I don’t want you to leave,” he whispered tearfully.

“I wish I could stay,” Danny swallowed thickly, swiping a hand over his eyes.

“How much time do you have left?”

Danny looked at his friend, a mischievous glint in his glowing eyes. “Enough to give you a flying lesson.”

“Flying-” Tucker yelped as Danny scooped him up as if he weighed nothing, slowly floating into the sky. Tucker kept his arms locked around the ghosts’ neck, screaming when Danny pretended to drop him.

“Open your eyes you wimp,” Danny teased, hovering high above the buildings. Slowly, Tucker’s eyes cracked open, taking in the sight of a sleeping Amity Park beneath him.

“Wow...” he breathed. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah,” Danny agreed, soaring over rooftops. “Beautiful.”

Tucker woke up the next morning, cold and sore, curled up on the floor of the Fenton house. His phone was blowing up with texts from Sam, demanding to know why he had never texted her. Sleepily, he apologized, explaining that he must have fallen asleep.

Depressed, he packed his rocket into his bag, convinced that the previous night was a dream. He couldn’t find the Ouija board, assuming Sam had taken it with her.

I’m meeting you at your house. She texted him. You have a lot of explaining to do.

“Tucker Foley!” She snapped as he entered his bed room. “Do you have any idea how bad you scared me? I stayed up as late as I could waiting for you to text me!”

“I’m sorry Sam. I really didn’t mean-” He froze looking past her to his bed. The Ouija board was resting on his pillow, the planchette resting over the word goodbye.

“You better have a good explanation.” Sam huffed. “What happened last night?”