#ectoberhaunt24

Sam and Tucker looked at each other, guilt lining their faces with all the weariness of an elder. In that moment they looked far older than their 14 years apiece. God. 14 years old. Had they really been so young the first time?

“Are you sure about this guys?” Danny’s voice echoed in lab, full as it was of metal and glass. “Sam?” he added.

The gaze of his 2 friends woke from their age and snapped to his face. Sam swallowed hard, then opened her mouth.

“Absolutely,” she said emphatically. “this is the opportunity of a lifetime, Danny.”

“Yeah,” Tucker added. “You’re getting an up close look at this fucking wild machine before it even works. A sneak preview!”

“Once in a lifetime, huh” Danny muttered. “For you guys maybe. My parents have been working on this nonstop for like, 5 years. Longer even!” he added.

Tuckers heart clenched at hearing that. He remembered just how many times Danny had begged to stay the night. So many nights he can’t remember any particular instance. Just a memory of endless evenings spent with a Danny more relaxed than he’d ever been during the day.

Tucker’s parents' only sometimes said no, but Danny’s parents never did. Honestly, Tucker’s not sure anyone but Jazz had ever known he wasn’t home those nights.

“It’s not like it ever worked anyway.” Danny added, breaking Tucker from his retreat into memory. Sam and Tucker each grimace at the knowledge of just how wrong he is. Tucker doesn’t say a word, his throat dried to a silent husk.

Sam swallows, then says, “C’mon then, if it doesn’t work then it’s perfectly safe.” Tucker stifles a choke a the blatant lie.

“Then why bother?” Danny asks.

“Cause it’s cool as hell.” Sam replied definitively.

Danny looks at the portal, considering. “ I guess it is pretty cool looking, even if it doesn’t work.”

Sam swallows hard. “Exactly,” she says. “Totally cyberpunk.”

“And that’s, uh, cool?” Danny asks hopefully.

“Very.”

“I guess you gotta do it then,” Tucker finally chokes out.

Sam shoots him a look. They’d agreed that Danny’s latent crush on her would make her be better able to convince him.

“I mean, if Sam thinks so,” Tucker concedes.

“I am the coolest.” She says with a half-hearted smirk.

Danny doesn’t reply. He’s been stealing glances into the entrance of the portal this whole time. As Sam finished speaking, he takes his first step inside. Sam and Tucker hold their breath.

Danny was reminded of the movies he had seen where a character repeated the day and did all sorts of shenanigans since there would be no consequences. And while the idea was tempting, it would be just like Clockwork to stop the loop at an inconvenient time so that Danny would have to deal with the consequences of any shenanigans he got up to.

Still, Danny had skipped school the second time the day had repeated, and he had even gotten Sam and Tuck to skip with him after explaining (again) that they were in a time loop. It would be a lot more convenient if they were stuck in the loop too, but at least they didn’t doubt Danny just made fun of him (again). This was probably Clockwork’s punishment, that his friends would make fun of him every day for his choices.

At least there were no ghost attacks this day. The fourth day, Danny decided to skip school again and just play video games. The sixth day he flew up to space and had fun stargazing and making the astronauts think the International Space Station was haunted. If this continued, Danny might even try to photobomb the Hubble Space Telescope. That would be funny.

By the tenth day, Danny was so done with Clockwork! He had spent the whole day searching the Zone, but Clockwork still refused to let himself be found.

Danny was so going to get the old ghost back for this! And he had plenty of time to plan a way to get back at the ghost. He’d just have to be subtle so the old ghost didn’t see him coming on one of his many time screens.

Danny would find a way to get him back. He would.

Finally, after twenty days in the loop, Danny woke up and noticed the date had finally changed.

Hoorah! He was free! Why had he even asked for more time anyway? What had even been the point? Danny glanced at his calendar where he’d written something in big red letters on today’s date. 

Oh right.

He had a test today.