Chapter Text
"Danny! Look what came in the mail!" Maddie shouted into the house, holding an envelope above her head. Danny opened his bedroom door and ran down the hallway, taking two steps at a time down the stairs.
He looked nervously at the envelope his mom was holding out for him. "Is it…?"
Maddie smiled gently at her son, "There's only one way to find out, honey." Maddie waved the envelope at Danny, encouraging him to take it in his hands. He looked at the envelope, grazing his fingers over his name and the sender's name, 'Amity University.'
"I can't open this without Sam and Tucker." Danny said, taking his phone out of his pocket to call his friends, as Maddie walked into the kitchen. He listened to the ring of his phone, waiting for his friends' voices on the other end.
"Hey Danny," Sam answered.
"What's up, dude?" Tucker responded.
"Guys, did you get your letters?" Danny asked. He heard movement on the other end as his friends ran to their mailboxes to see if they received their letters.
"I'll be at your house in five minutes." Sam said as she hung up the phone.
"Same with me." Tucker said as he hung up the phone, too.
Danny waited in the living room for his friends as he stared at the envelope in his hands. Whatever the content of this letter says impacts Danny's life tremendously. If he were accepted, then great. But it wouldn't mean much if his friends weren't accepted. Since they were young, the three of them always talked about sticking together after high school and going to the same college, living in an apartment. They promised each other that they would be best friends forever. Staring at this envelope now, every dream and conversation that they've had about their futures is right in his hands.
If he wasn't accepted, then that would just mean that he wasn't meant for college life. But that would mean that he and his friends could kiss their ideal futures goodbye.
Sure, his grades weren't exactly the best before he got his powers, but ever since he got his powers, his grades had taken a bit of a dip. It really was the help of Sam and Tucker, and all those all-nighters that helped him survive this far in high school. It was only when his identity was revealed, and more understanding from his teachers that resulted in a bit of an incline for his grades.
Exactly five minutes later, Sam and Tucker ran into Danny's house, holding their own envelopes from Amity University.
"Are you ready?" Sam asked, looking at Tucker and Danny. Tucker lifted his letter to eagerly rip it open, but Danny stopped him.
"Wait! Before we do this, I just want to say that you guys are the best friends I could ever ask for. And no matter what is in this letter, I hope we can still be friends…" Danny trailed off, looking down at the floor. Sam put her hand in Danny's to bring his attention to her eyes, piercing sapphire meeting rare amethyst.
"No matter what is in this letter, we're sticking together."
Tucker placed his hand on Danny's shoulder, "To be honest dude, I think you're in. Who wouldn't want the world's hero to go to their college? Your face will be plastered all over the website and in the common rooms!"
Sam swiftly hit Tucker in the arm, causing him to yelp. "But that doesn't mean that's the only reason Danny got in." She stated warningly. She then turned over to Danny with a softened expression. "If he did, it's because he earned it just like everybody else." Sam lightly hit Danny with her envelope, "Let's open these bad boys up."
The trio took a deep breath and ripped their respective envelopes, taking the letter out to unfold it and read it. The three exchanged nervous glances at each other, waiting for one of them to say something first.
"On the count of three?" Danny asked. Tucker and Sam nodded.
"Okay," Danny exhaled. "One…"
"Two…" Sam continued.
"Three…" Tucker finished.
"I got in!" All three exclaimed. When they realized what they had all said, huge grins appeared on their faces as they all joined in for a group hug, jumping in excitement.
"We're going to college!" Tucker shouted, making Danny and Sam laugh.
"You guys know what this means, right?" Sam asked.
"Oh yeah…we can officially go apartment hunting!" Danny answered.
In the kitchen, Maddie felt a sting in her eyes. She quickly sniffled as she rubbed her eyes furiously. Jack, noticing his wife's wave of emotion, stood up from the table and wrapped his arms around her as he stood behind her, laying his head on her shoulder. Feeling her husband around her, she allowed a few tears to escape as they trailed down her cheeks.
"When did he get so big?" Maddie mumbled to Jack.
Jack gently placed a kiss on his wife's cheek. "It feels like it was just yesterday when we brought him home from the hospital." Jack responded.
"Now our baby boy is going to college..." Maddie finished Jack's thought.
"We raised good kids, Mads. Jazz is thriving in college, and Danny will too. They'll all be fine."
Near Amity University, a dark figure appeared on a brick wall, moving slowly across the building toward the opening of the alley. Once they got to the edge, the dark figure placed a black-gloved hand on the side and slowly poked their head out, revealing a gray face with black eyes, which was a stark contrast with his red pupils. The unknown ghost looked to be around in his 20s, with gray skin, fairly slim, and had medium-length dark brown hair with an eerie red glow highlighting the edges. Their cheeks were sunken, showing their sharp cheekbones and jawline. He looked out anxiously into the empty street, waiting hungrily for any movement that might present itself to him. His pleading seemed to be answered when he saw a college-aged woman step out of the nightclub where she was partying.
She walked a little ways from the door she had just exited, looking up and down the street. The unknown ghost watched as she placed her drink down on the floor and fumbled with something in her purse. She seemed to find what she was looking for as she stopped her search and pulled out two objects: a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. Again, she looked up and down the street as if she were being caught stealing a piece of jewelry. She plucked out a cigarette, lit it up, and brought it up to her lips, holding it mere centimeters before contact. She hesitated before finally taking a drag. As she exhaled, her body relaxed as she leaned against a brick building, reveling in the toxins from the cigarette.
"Rough night?" The unknown ghost asked, bringing the woman out of her peace.
She looked over to the voice and noticed that the individual before her was fairly attractive. Not sensing danger, she gave a flirtatious smirk. "Just needed a moment out of there." As she nodded over to the nightclub, she had just come out of.
She then held up her cigarette, "Want one?"
The unknown ghost looked at the cigarette and nodded. The woman reached into her bag and grabbed her pack of cigarettes and a lighter. The ghost took a cigarette out and held it for her to light. Once she did, he cocked his head to the right and stared at the cigarette seeming to be questioning its existence.
"Not much of a smoker?" The woman asked as she observed his behavior. He shrugged in response. She chuckled lightly as she tapped on her cigarette lightly. "Better for you. It's a horrible habit," she said as she took another drag.
"Why do you do it then?" The ghost asked.
She sighed. "It started out with peer pressure. Ya know…wanting to be cool. Then it became something I needed. Besides," she started as she looked up at him through her thick eyelashes. "We all have a bad side in us."
He cocked an eyebrow. "That's your theory?"
She chuckled lightly under her breath. "Well, maybe not Danny Phantom. You've seen him, right?" Seeing that he wasn't going to respond, she continued. "The man got his powers at the ripe age of 14, and ever since then, he's been fighting ghosts, protecting all of us even though he was never asked to. He was a controversial figure in this town before he became the world's hero." She then took another drag and closed her eyes. "But no matter the hate he got, he still protected us." She then looked over at the figure through half-lidded eyes. "That guy doesn't have a bad bone in his body. I couldn't imagine having that pressure of responsibility on my shoulders."
"Think so?" The figure asked.
She playfully shrugged her shoulders and stood up from the wall, getting ready to go back inside. "Fuck if I know. It's just a theory, dude." She said as she dropped her cigarette and snuffed it out with her shoe. Before she could take a step around, the figure grabbed her wrist.
"Hey, let go…" she demanded quietly as she tried to pull her arm back, but it seemed the more she pulled, the tighter his grip got. "I said, let go!"
He looked at her in mock innocence, "But I want to know how bad you can be…" A dark red glow emanated from his hand and flowed right into her. She fought to pull her hand away, then stopped abruptly as the glow settled within her. Seeing that she wouldn't fight back, he let go of her wrist, where she stood frozen, waiting for his next order.
"Show them all how bad you truly are…"
At his command, she dug into her purse to retrieve the lighter. She then grabbed her drink, walked in a trance toward the club, and rolled the mechanism on the lighter to expel a flame. She splashed her drink on the door and brought the lighter up. The ghost smiled menacingly as he watched the flames blaze on the door, promising no escape for the patrons inside.