With Arms Wide Open
Accepting the world with arms wide open isn't easy. Especially if you were dead before you could live.
Hey hey. I'm back with another chapter. Hope you like. This is based on Ember's and Danny's points of view. Sorry for the LATE update.
DISCLAIMER: Danny Phantom and all related aspects are under the ownership of Butch Hartman. All characters, places, and events not involved in the actual series are fictional. Any similarity to people, dead or alive, events, be it past, present, or future, and locations are pure coincidences. The author has clearly stated the ratings and content of the work of fiction before the work proper; therefore the author disclaims any responsibility of writing inappropriate content for a reader's age.
I felt the man's eyes on me as I cleared their plates. I don't know if they were of lust or of suspicion. So far, I hadn't blown my cover. Nor had I divulged my identity to Brent. I caught him looking at me as if he were suspecting me of something, but he didn't say anything about it. Sooner or later, Brent would find out. I needed him to trust me first. And make sure Vlad didn't suspect a thing.
I had been working there for only a week. The pay was, as promised, excellent. I was paid five hundred dollars a week. I never thought such a job could earn much, but this was Vlad Masters, and he was unpredictable.
That was why I was extremely careful to make sure that I was not identified by anything I owned. I kept Danny's photo on me at all times to make sure he was with me, even though he wasn't. I was homesick. I missed him terribly. But when I touched that photo, it calmed me like no other thing could. Danny was my life now. And Brent was a perfect addition to it. My first glance at him, and I see a mini me of Danny.
I was confused though, by what he actually was. Was he a ghost with human qualities? Or a human with ghost powers? Or a half ghost like his father? I wanted to know what happened those past years. And I wonder, too, why Danny had never consulted Clockwork about it. I suppose he was upset to think about it, and just wanted to move on, as I have. Moving on hurt, but we had to. Dwelling on the past would never do anything. It would be a waste of time once we think of it too much.
I put the plates in the dishwasher, while Vlad walked out of the room. My posture relaxed. Brent was inside, reading a book about early transport or something of the sort; I didn't know. Whatever it was, I'm sure it would be a foreign language to me. I wish I were a bit like Brent. I'm sure he had photographic memory. He could recite to me a poem he'd just read the day before, without looking at the copy. He didn't understand it, though, and couldn't pronounce a lot of the big words right, but he was a child. He was still learning.
Every day, from nine to eleven in the morning, he had home schooling. From eleven to twelve was his lunch break. Twelve to one was usually time with Vlad, play time, or garden exploration, or generally just free time. Then at one to four in the afternoon, he'd continue his schooling. Then after that, until six, was training with Vlad. Then, he had the rest of the time to do anything he pleased, as long as he didn't go against any of Vlad's rules. There weren't a lot, but they were strictly implemented. I didn't want to know what punishments Vlad gave, but he never beat Brent, as far as I knew. If ever he did get punished, Brent came to me and stayed at my room until his bedtime at nine. Usually, I'd bring him a treat or a toy. He was satisfied with these, and always left my room with a smile.
I finished fixing the place, and washed my hands. It was seven in the evening.
"Bee?" he called. He'd accustomed to calling me that. It was Danny's special nickname for me, which he rarely used now. But it was still special to me. He called me that because he didn't want to call me "Honey" at such a young age. I found it adorable that he wanted everything between us to be special. Besides, honey was sticky. And he said I wasn't clingy like that Paulina girl that worked at the Nasty Burger. I hated her. Period.
"Yes, Brent?"
"Do you know Ember?" he asked.
I froze. How on earth do you respond to that? I was Ember. I didn't want to tell him yet. Not now, not here.
"Well, uh, yeah." I said, absolutely unsure of what to say. I didn't ask why, because he might say something Vlad might hear. Vlad had pretty good ears.
I was not willing to take any chances.
"You want to watch TV?" I asked.
His face brightened, immediately forgetting the question he asked earlier. I think. "Okay." he said, following me up to my room.
I sat beside him, and clutched on to my wedding ring, which was also inside my pocket. I did not want Vlad to think I was married. It was both good and bad. Good, because he would not ask any questions about me or my (after) life. Bad, because in case he took an interest in me which I highly doubt and highly hoped not, I would seem to be available.
"So who is Ember to you?" he asked. Sigh. He hadn't forgotten.
"Brent. This isn't going to be easy." I said, carefully.
He frowned. "Why not?"
"I don't know if you're ready to face the truth."
"Who is she? I think I have a connecting thing with her. I don't know." he said.
"She's your mother."
He turned to me, eyes wide, genuinely surprised. "She is?"
I nodded. "Yes. And Danny is your father."
"So you are my mommy." he said, looking at me, smirking. Oh my God. He knew. He was smarter than I'd thought.
"I-- I... you. How did you...?" I stammered, unsure of what to say.
"You look like her. I remember your eyes and your voice." he said. "So why follow me? You have Danny... um. Daddy." he said, smiling at the word.
"I wanted our family to be complete, sweetheart." I said, holding his hand. "Somehow, I felt like I'd already known you. Like an old friend."
"When are we going back?" he asked, looking eager to leave.
I sighed. "Not for a while, son. I have to find out a way to bring you out of here. Without Vlad knowing."
"Oh."
We sat in silence for the next hour and a half, comfortable in each others' presence. I was reading a magazine, which Vlad had had delivered, but never really read. So he allowed me to take them.
Brent stood up to leave.
"Bye, Mommy." he said, giving me a hug.
I smiled. "Brent, don't tell Vlad, okay?"
"Okay." he confirmed, nodding. "Good night."
He closed the door and I listened to his quick footsteps running to his wing of the house.
I lay down on my bed, and felt a shiver go up my spine. This was never a good feeling, because that meant something bad was going to happen. And every time I felt it, something bad did happen.
I had a strange feeling I was not alone.
I used my thermal vision to search the room. I saw nothing, but I felt something. Or was it just a bad feeling? I needed to be even more careful than I already was. Groaning, I just kept up with what I was doing.
Ember still hadn't returned. I missed her terribly, and she was only gone a week. It felt like she was gone for a month already. I couldn't focus on anything. I went to the University, to work, to the park, home... but nothing could get my mind off her and Brent. I was getting more and more restless as the days went by. Every day, I read the letter she wrote. She promised that she'd be back, and I believed her. But I just couldn't help but worry. I guess I was just scared of losing her the way I lost Sam.
Sam and I, we had a great relationship. I'd been in love with her ever since I could remember. But she moved away the next year after we became an item, and we just couldn't keep a long-distance relationship. I was upset for a long time. I missed her, and hung onto everything I had of her. I couldn't bear to go without her. There was something missing. The ghost fights were never the same without her. It was only me and Tucker left. I lost a lot of battles that time, but soon enough, I started winning, due to my frustration. I'd moved on. And when she came back, Ember and I were already courting, had gone to the third base, and were about to be considered as boyfriend-girlfriend. I was deeply in love with Ember, and I didn't feel the spark Sam and I had before. Things just weren't the same anymore. She had accepted this already, though it hurt her a lot.
I know she wouldn't go hooking up with other guys. Not now. I trust her. I know I can.
I finished my work, and walked to the place where I had seen Ember for the first time. Casper High. It was just the same as ever, only with a better coat of paint and a nicer garden. I walked to the spot on the road where she stood. She had actually scrawled her name across it when the road was being repaired. It was right there, and I smiled, as she wrote it back when I was fifteen. She was a hard-partying rockstar that enjoyed breaking and bending all the rules. She was a free spirit, spontaneous and impossible to read. You could never tell what she was thinking.
That was why I loved her so much. She was complicated. She was different from all the other girls. She was like many of them. Beautiful, smart, sexy, and talented. But she was wild and fearless. She was not afraid to get down and dirty for the sake of fun. She was funny, witty, and sarcastic. She liked to make random jokes and puns. I loved each one, even though some of them were ridiculously stupid and she knew it. I loved the pranks she used to pull on me. After that, usually we'd end up chasing each other like children. Or a tickle fight, which she usually won, or a play fight, which I usually won. We were sickly sweet to each other and fun-loving youth.
I sighed at the memories. Memories don't repeat, and that's what makes them so special.
One of the most unforgettable ones would be our first anniversary. She had actually organized an entire party without me knowing a thing about it. She was so good at playing things as if nothing was wrong. And she sang for me that night, several original compositions. She was amazingly beautiful, as always. But the one song I loved was this one song about/dedicated to me. She'd released this one as a single, since Tucker recorded her performance and posted it on his blog. A talent agent saw it and asked her if she'd want to record an album. She said she didn't want to yet. She agreed to release the single, though, and it made it to #1 in a matter of days. She was happy she'd succeeded, and said it was thanks to me. We made love the whole night, young as we were.
Christ. I was so lost in my thought I didn't hear my phone ringing. I fumbled around in my pocket for it and grabbed it.
"Hello?" I said.
"Danny? Hey, it's Jazz." said the voice on the other line. God, I sure missed Jazz. She was at home with mom and dad.
"Hey sis. How're you holding up?" I asked, leaning against a tree trunk. The cool night air blew against my face.
"Fine, thanks. Mom and Dad are okay too, and they say hi." she said, and laughed. "Okay, you. Has Ember returned yet?"
"Nah. I have a feeling it's going to take longer than a month for her to come back. Out of the God-knows-how-many people on earth, how could you expect to find a specific kid among them?" I sighed. "Well, I'm fine. I just really miss her."
"So when're you going after her, little bro?" she asked.
"I'll give her another day or two. I don't want to break her request, but I just want to make sure she's fine, and because I can't stand to go without her." I said, pushing myself from the tree trunk, and walking to Ember's signature.
"Oh, Danny. I swear. Ember is just so lucky to have you." she said. I could see her smiling. I touched Ember's signature.
"And I'm lucky to have her." he replied, staring at the night sky.
"Well, I'm coming over tomorrow. So's Sam and Tucker. I'm gonna bug you, while Sam and Tucker want to watch a movie with you."
"Just like good old times." I said, smiling.
Jazz laughed. "Just like old times. Hey, I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow, bro. Bye! Love you."
"Love you too, sis." We both hung up.
I stood up, and looked at Casper High again. Man, I missed that place. I walked back home, to an empty house. I hated that. Whenever I'd come inside, I'd smell something that Ember was cooking at the moment, or something she cooked and left for me. And if she wasn't busy, she'd sneak up on me and ambush me with a hug, a kiss, or hop on my back. I missed that. I felt so miserable and depressed when I was home. It was never complete without her.
I made myself a sandwich, and ate it. I went up to bed, lay for a while, and brushed my teeth. I took a shower. And I slept. This was my routine that week. Pathetic, silly me.
After Sam, Tucker, and Jazz left the house the next day, I decided that it was time to go. Whatever it took, I was going to find her. I was going to prepare myself for anything that would happen.
After all, what could she get up to?
After Brent went to bed the next day, Ember herself prepared for bed. She washed her face and brushed her teeth. She dried her face, and stepped out into the room, when a large gloved hand pulled her close to him, muffling her speech.
"So it is you. You thought you could sneak him away just like that, couldn't you? Well, Ember, know that I will not allow this to happen. I'm going to make sure you never get out of here. You and Brent." said Vlad. "You wouldn't dare leave."
She squirmed against his grip, attempting to escape, but his grip was too strong.
"You're not going to be leaving for a long time."