Ethereal

03

Danny Fenton was far from willing to take a walk through a small, secluded town with two people that he just met, let alone barely knew. The town had a certain level or terrifying mystery to it, and Danny would have preferred the scariest ghost in Amity Park over taking a tour with one suspicious preteen and a red-headed girl in flannel.

The group rounded a corner and Danny heard a twig break. His head snapped around, eyes darting over the lush greenery of the dark forest, the moonlight shining on his light blue eyes.

Wendy laughed. "Come on, City Boy, it's probably just a deer or something."

As if on cue, a large buck stepped out of the darkness of the forest and into view, munching on the grass nonchalantly. Danny stumbled backwards in surprise and tripped over his own feet, falling backwards with a small whoop. The buck lifted its auburn head in alarm.

Dipper snorted and, showing a brief moment of kindness towards the teen, extended his hand. He couldn't be that bad, right?

Although the night was warm, Dipper saw a cloud of condensation escape Danny's mouth. Dipper's head cocked to the side and grasped Danny's hand, which was so cold he gasped and immediately let go, dropping the teen back to the dirt road in confusion. The deer continued to watch intently.

Wendy, oblivious to the Pines' shocked expression, looked at Danny in excitement.

"What's the matter, City Boy? Never seen a deer?"

Danny picked himself off the floor and glanced at Dipper with a slightly annoyed expression. Had he dropped him on purpose?

"No, I've seen them. Just never this . . . close."

"Great. You grab the back legs, I'll grab the front. Dipper, you hold the head."

"What?"

Wendy cracked her knuckles and dove. "Kidnap!"

The deer turned to race away, but Wendy grabbed it by the back feet and was kicked in the process. Dipper and Danny watched, helplessly confused, from the sidelines.

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Wendy had a bruise forming on her right cheekbone and a big smile on her face as she held up the deer antler triumphantly.

Danny had a terrified expression on his face.

"Did you just . . . wrestle a deer?"

"Yeah."

". . . Why the hell did you just wrestle a deer?"

"Because, City Boy," Wendy tossed the deer antler to him and Danny  caught it before it hit the ground, making Dipper squint more, "they make great trophies. And knives."

Danny looked forward. Around them, the dark town stood tall, street lamps only partially lighting the roads. Most of the town was covered in a thick layer of darkness that was barely visible in the dim light, which made Danny wonder why he was taking a tour in the dead of night, a time when every color mixed together to form a dark and fading background. There was no way he could take note of his surroundings.

The cold feeling was diminishing the farther he got from the forest, which made him race ahead in urgency. The trees were filled with creatures that he did not wish to fight tonight. He had two other people with him, both of which were unaware of his powers and one of which was already having mixed feelings about him. He was stuck with these people for a week, if not more, and the thought of one hating him on the first night made his stomach flip.

There was a tinge of jealousy in Dipper's eyes and Danny wanted nothing to do with it.

Dipper, on the other hand, was mad.

He knew that Wendy only wrestled the deer to show off. He also knew that this whole tour was completely irrelevant, seeing as he barely knew where they were. Dipper glanced at Danny and shook his head in disgust. Him with her? It was almost scientifically impossible.

Yet, here they were, Danny's blue eyes practically glowing in the dim light. No wonder the deer hadn't run away at first. Those things were like headlights.

"So Wendy, what do you want to be once you graduate?"

Wendy raised her hands in the air in a dismissing gesture. "Man, I don't know. Life is too short to be focusing on the future, you know?"

Danny whistled. "That's pretty deep for someone who's closet only contains flannel shirts."

Wendy scoffed. "Please. What about you, City Boy?"

"Well," Danny put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the concrete, studying his laces. "I wanted to be an astronaut."

"What's stopping you?" It was the first time Dipper had spoken without being forced to speak, and Danny looked at him in surprise. He hid this expression by scratching his jaw and looking up at the stars above. They were much brighter than they were at Amity Park.

"Well," Danny paused, thinking, "my parents want me to take over their career."

"What's that?" Wendy asked.

Danny visibly flinched. "They, um, hunt ghosts."

There was a long pause in which Danny thought both of them were considering these insane words. Perhaps they would run off, leaving him stranded in the middle of town. The thought made his eyes twinkle with worry.

"Dude, that's sweet," Wendy finally said, and Danny's shoulders relaxed. He looked at her inquiringly.

"Just ghosts?" Dipper asked. "Why not other monsters?"

"Are you two serious?"

"I just got a ghost last week." Dipper was excited now, talking rapidly. "Can I talk with your parents? Surely they know more about them than I do."

Danny scoffed. "Knock yourself out, kid. I know more ghost facts than they probably do. And I'm like, failing all classes."

Though Danny was playing it cool, his mind was exploding. They believed him? Danny shuddered. Dipper had said he got a ghost last week. The thought of the preteen finding out his secret unnerved him. What scared him more was the fact that he was already suspicious.

"I knew something was off about you," Dipper said, knocking Danny out of his thoughts. Danny raised his eyebrows.

"Did you, now?"

"Yeah. You look at everything so closely, like you're looking for potential predators. You're so guarded, when we woke you up, you looked like you were about to fight us. Don't even get me started on those scars."

Wendy nudged Dipper and shook her head, signaling that he had gone too far. Danny's eyes widened in alarm.

"So," he said, avoiding the subject diligently, "what other ghosts have you fought?"

"Just three. This old couple that used to run the abandoned Dusk 2 Dawn, and this Lumberjack dude haunting Pacifica's house? I don't really know."

"Dusk 2 Dawn?"

"Yeah, I got the Lumberjack dude, but I think the old couple might still be haunting that place."

"Yeah man, we barely got out of there with our lives!" Wendy stated, adding onto the conversation.

"Where is this Dusk 2 Dawn?"

"Woah, you aren't going to go there, are you? They hate teenagers," Dipper said quickly, holding out his hands.

Danny shrugged him off. "Psh. No. Of course I'm not going. Oh, look at the time. I better be heading back. See you!" Danny waved and turned away, walking quickly back towards the direction of the Mystery Shack. He'd find that Dusk 2 Dawn whether Dipper wanted him to or not.

"Man, what's his problem?" Wendy inquired as he walked off.

"I don't know. . ."

Dipper studied Danny's back as he left. There was only one thing running through his mind.

He's definitely going there.