TWWA 9: Summer

Spring blended into Summer without either noticing. What was bitterly cold gradually became warmer until both preferred to have the shades drawn to block out the sun. Along with the change in temperature another aspect of their lives took a unexpected turn. In a sense, it was a good thing. It meant the remaining ectoplasm within Daniel's system had depleted to a minimal amount. However it also brought something Danny had dreaded.

"No. Please just… go away Danny. I'm begging you." Daniel's voice sounded like sand paper. A frown formed on his lips as guilt saddened his expression.

"But what if I-"

"No… all you'll do is make things worse again." The human shivered under the mass amount of blankets. Not only did Danny's presence make the room cold, his ice core dropped the temperature even lower. The only good thing about it was it kept the horrid heat away. As soon as the weather shifted Daniel's nonexistent immune system cracked. Neither knew or really cared about what he had caught. The only thing Danny cared about was whether it was fatal or not and how to make Daniel better now.

The last time the boy let Danny close, a cool chill overwhelmed his body. The human broke out in a harsh shiver so bad his muscles started aching. Reluctantly, Danny had removed himself from the boy's side and waited in the hallway. When the sound of chattering teeth disappeared Danny had peeked in to check on the ill human.

The cold was already starting to seep back into his bones when his ghost showed his face. As much as he wanted Danny close and to be in those arms the intense cold only made him feel worse. Telling the spirit no might as well have been the same thing as kicking a puppy when it was down. He watched as Danny fled from the doorway, unwillingly leaving the human to his suffering.

Later that night Danny phased through the closed door with a mug of hot chocolate wrapped in a wet, heated washcloth in hand. "Daniel?" His voice was soft, unsure if the boy was awake or sound asleep under the covers. He didn't want to wake the human up but it had been hours. The human had hardly gotten up at all in during the day. He wasn't going to the bathroom, other than to dry heave, and he wasn't drinking nearly enough fluids as a sick human should be. "Daniel? Wake up," He wanted to reach out and caress the boy's fever red cheeks but the body under the blankets stirred.

A blush spread from one ear to the other. The human's eyes were at half mast and clearly still half asleep. Black hair was folded and stuck up at all sorts of odd angles. Daniel pulled his arms out from the heavy layers and stretched. "Whaauh- time ish it?"

Like a mother hen, Danny floated over the bed and repositioned Daniel under the quilts. His legs formed into a single tail as he lowered the drink down. "Thank you," As Daniel slipped, getting whipped cream and chocolate shavings over his upper lip, Danny patted the boy's forehead with the washcloth. Once the hot chocolate was gave, Daniel exhaling with a delighted breath of warm air, Danny retrieved them and started back toward the wall.

"Wait-!" Daniel sprung from his warm nest and catch the ghost's sleeve. "Please don't go again, Danny. Please stay." As he spoke the volume quickly decreased until it was barely audible. Seconds ticked by with Daniel's gaze glued to the floor. Fingers once held in a tight grip loosened, retreating back to their owner.

This human never had to ask twice. Danny obliged and accepted the invitation. He shooed Daniel back underneath the covers before crawling in himself. He snuggled up to the overheating human, ghostly tail squeezing between the boy's legs and wrapping around one of them. Dull blue eyes stared into his own vibrant green. Those eyes left his for a moment as Daniel repositioned himself closer. He had his arms tucked tightly to his chest, body arched slightly towards the ghost. "Am I going to die?" The warmth from Daniel's forehead was almost dizzying for the cold elemental.

A hand brushed sweat covered black hair from the human's eyes. "Don't be ridiculous." He caressed Daniel's cheek, watching as the boy leaned into the cold touch with a soft smile. "It's just a human cold. You'll feel better in a couple days."

Anything Daniel was about to say was interrupted with a yawn, his eyes fluttering closed before slowly opening again. "Promise?" He settled back down onto the mount of pillows, snuggling beside Danny.

He made an affirmative sound. It'd be impossible to actually promise that sort of thing. There was no telling how long Daniel would be feeling ill. The human had no immune system. It hadn't been able to develop in his early years within the Ghost Zone. For all he knew, the common cold could be enough to kill the boy. Danny wrapped his arms around Daniel, letting the chill from his core chase the fever away.

---

The Post Office was practically empty when they arrived. One or two employees and less than a handful of other humans disciplined enough to be up so early in the morning. The sun had risen hours prior making it feel more like midday versus still way before noon. A bell rang above them as Daniel pushed the door open. Already the smell of licked postage stamps and stacks of freshly opened paper filled the air. Apart from a few sounds of someone sorting through mail behind the counter it was quiet. Just the kind of place Daniel preferred to be, other than libraries or the Observati. Despite being in the human world for almost a year there were still many parts to it that freaked him out, threatening to mentally curl in on himself and hide within his own mind.

Over the past few months the two had about perfected their trick. They practiced daily for hours in and outside of the apartment many times. Danny took the boy to supermarkets, malls, bookstores, plazas, public events and just around the streets of Amity Park. Due to the human's still forming muscles, Danny always made sure to exert a bit of his power to help support the boy's legs. Not once did they trip a ghost alarm or drag the Fenton's out of their home. Ectodetectors still picked up a small signal from them when they walked by but there was still at least a 50-75% deduction in the levels. While Daniel was in control of his body he was able to think his own thoughts uninhibited. They weren't ever kept to himself though. With another being tucked away in his mind privacy was a concept both boys didn't have anymore. With their connection Danny was able to speak within the human's mind and while Daniel could always answer in his thoughts, he preferred to voice it under his breath. During risky instances they worked out a system in case Danny needed to leave Daniel's body. It was agreed upon to only be for a short amount of time. For the longer the ghost was in the open the more likely he'd appear on radar. Only once did the town's detection siren go off and it turned out Danny was able to disappear from tracking devices when he returned to the back of Daniel's mind. Although neither noticed, there was one outward difference in appearance when Danny was in control. Depending on how much ghostly power was being used one or both eyes would change to a vibrant green. No mirrors were present when it occurred so it went unknown to both. Any other differences were undiscovered as Danny never pushed too much of his power into the human's system.

No matter how many walks they went on Daniel never stopped shying away from others. Whether the street was crowded from rush hour or just about empty it was clear he didn't trust anyone. Adults, children or teenagers his age went avoided. On the outside his expressions didn't falter but on the inside Danny was overwhelmed with the boy's anxious emotions. The same was true when Daniel was confronted with something he liked. The human's emotions skyrocketed to a hilarious amount when he was happy. It didn't matter if it was a little or a significant thing that brought it on. No amount of trying ever helped him control that happiness. Danny supposed it was because the feeling of joy was still relatively new to him. It had to be natural for someone who only knew one side of the spectrum to freak out with excitement when something happened to pull them across that line. He wasn't sure if Daniel would ever be able to control his reaction to joy and he really didn't care. He'd rather see the boy flip out from finding a penny on the ground than not. He loved seeing the look of bliss on the human's features.

Three twists of the wrist and the lock to Daniel's personal P.O. Box, courtesy of more shenanigans from a certain spirit, clicked open. Inside was a single wide envelope. Daniel reached inside and extracted it from the mailbox. He flipped it over in his hands reading the front, 'From Casper High, To Daniel'. The human took a seat by a window and undid the seal on the back. Inside were three pieces of paper with another paper clipped to the last as well as a miniature booklet.

The first page was a letter addressed to him from the school's principal.

"Dear Daniel,

"Welcome to Casper High! We're so excited to accept you into our school and programs!

"You'll find in this envelope your class schedule for the upcoming semester along with a map of the school grounds and the student handbook. Please read the latter over before your first day with us.

"All of your teachers have been notified of your previous education as a homeschooled student. All of our staff are kind and more than ready to give a little extra help to students in need of it.

"Due to your financial situation we will be providing you with all the basic supplies you'll be required to have while attending classes at Casper High. Enclosed should be a short list of said materials for your convenience.

"Please bring this letter and the rest of the enclosed paperwork with you on your first day."

"We look forward to seeing you in the Fall, Mr. Daniel,

"Sincerely,

"Principal Ishiyama"

Daniel turned the page over and held it down on the table, averting his eyes from the sheet. "Regnol elttil a tiaw dluohs ew ebyam… siht od nac I kniht t'nod I."

"Now Daniel." Here it comes. He'd heard this speech multiple times before. "If we push this back further away it'll be harder for you. Plus the age gap will increase. You can do this." As Danny spoke in his mind the human mouthed it in mockery. "Come on-"

"Siht fi em deksa neve reven ouy, No emoc uoy! On." He gestured dramatically to the school envelope, "-Nim daednu ruoy ot emoc reve siht sdrawot trofmocsid fo level ym did. Pu em dengis dna daeha tnew tsuj uoy! Detnaw I gnihtemos saw" Before Daniel could finish his sentence Danny extended his control over the distraught boy. The words hurt. They were so clearly spat in a state of fear but it brought out an occurrence of distrust. Of course Danny had Daniel in mind. Whatever action he took, no matter what options were on the table Daniel was the only thing in his mind. The only being in the world that captured the ghost's thoughts the most.

With the two switched, Daniel pushed back into the recesses of his mind to continue his nervous fit in the silent privacy of his own head, Danny glanced around. On or two of the employees had paused their work to see what all the fuss had been. A smile and a nod satisfied their curiosity. Nervous to get away from the other suspicious stares his way, Danny quickly stuffed the papers back into the envelope. Tucking it securely under his arm he subtly bolted for the door.

Outside he listened to Daniel's anxieties as he walked along the sidewalk, occasionally cooing to him despite the bizarre looks he got from passerbys. A huge silver van blazed passed them, splashing mud their way. Danny let his power flow through the human's body. No way was he going to let some freak driver get Daniel sick again. Turning intangible, mud flew and hit the ground behind them. To his surprise the van pulled over without warning quite a few yards down the street. Danny turned to see Maddie and Jack Fenton exit the car, the woman's arm still in a brace. "I know I saw a blip on the radar. It's close!"

With a devilish smirk, the ghost they were so desperately looking for turned his back to the hunters and continued up the street. He could feel Daniel's previous anxiety shift to fear, his soul curling in on itself. "Su dnif t'now Snotnef esoht. Uoy no sdnah yhtlif rieht teg reven ll'yeht. Eciton neve t'ndid yeht dna seson rieht rednu thgir erew ew. Yrrow t'nod."

---

Soon the day Daniel had been dreading was upon them. The true test of their studies. Had everything they worked for in the past year been enough or even worth it? Do or die tomorrow was the day they'd find out if a human who lived his entire life in the Ghost Zone could be successfully introduced back into human society. The two had practiced their trick nonstop for several months. Although still imperfect Daniel had significantly improved on writing and reading in English. The boy would always be more comfortable in his first language but at least could pass as an unknown foreigner. Still… Danny had insisted they took the day off so Daniel could rest his mind and relax before, as the human so called it, 'judgment day'.

"You ready? First day's tomorrow." The two had moved to the bedroom after Danny suggested getting a good night's sleep.

"Don't remind me!" Daniel groaned dramatically, flopping onto the bed like a rag doll. The ghost stared at him, another groan erupting into the room this time muffled by a pillow. After that, Daniel didn't move a muscle.

With a sigh Danny phased the covers over the human. "Sleep well, Daniel." Danny floated above the bed, fingers twirling through various locks of the boy's bangs as he slept. When he was positive the human had fallen asleep, Danny rummaged through the school envelope. Picking out the class schedule and map, he spent the upcoming quiet hours memorizing the layout for the big day tomorrow.