Yay for updates!

Okay guys; quick author's note. I'm going to try to get updates coming more frequently. This story is actually getting closer to where it might possibly end (because I don't want it to run on forever, and I do have the ending clear in my mind) so I'll try to finish the chapters quicker. If anyone is interested in potentially helping me out, let me know. It'd mostly be me getting opinions on certain events that mey happen, and bouncing ideas back and forth. PM me if interested, and please try to let me know by the end of this month (October 2015) if nobody is interested, I'll just keep doing this myself B)

Aaaand, I have a little poll going on my profile right now; it's asking which of my recently updated stories do you guys like the best. It's completely optional to vote and is mostly me just curious on what you guys are liking more; haha. (And I may or may not have a major update planned for the winner woops)

Also; holy cow you guys; it's been almost two years since I started writing this story; oh my lordy.

Anywho; enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

08: The Whole World is Watching

"The whole world is watching when you rise.

The whole world is beating for you right now.

Your whole life is flashing before your eyes.

It's all in this moment that changes all..."

- Whole World is Watching, Within Temptation ft. Dave Pirner

Rachel looked at Danny standing next to her as they walked towards her house after school. "So..." Rachel started; pausing. "What's up?" Danny asked. "Well...I wanted to know if...you wanted to, maybe, take a detour, before we go to my house?" she asked. "Oh, sure. Where do you want to go?" Danny asked, a lopsided smile on his face.

A smile lit up Rachel's face, and she started to lead Danny into a different direction; turning left instead of crossing the road. "There's a store a block or two this way that I wanted to check out and maybe after that we can stop by the local cafe and grab something, like a coffee?"

Danny chuckled, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Alright, I suppose that sounds like a plan." he stated. Rachel chuckled, stopping in her tracks. "You remember what today is, right?"

"It's been about a month since I asked you out, hasn't it?" Danny asked, looking at Rachel. She nodded happily. "And I'm still glad that you did."

Danny let out a sigh as he floated above the town that night. He smiled at the thought of Rachel; and the fact that she's smiling a lot more than before. Was it because of him?

He felt a flutter in his chest at the thought. He only wanted Rachel to be happy, and he would do whatever it took for that to happen.

Danny's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a loud bang.

He quickly flew over to the spot he heard the noise come from; letting out a gasp as he spotted the familiar person laying on the ground.

Rachel's father; Mr. Jones.

Danny landed by a nearby dumpster, quickly changing back to normal, and running over to the fallen man. "Mr. Jones? Mr. Jones, what happened?" Danny asked; his voice frantic as he looked at the red spot on the older man's side. Mr. Jones let out a cough and a groan as he attempted to sit up. "D-Danny...if I die...I...I want you to...take care of R-Rachel." he groaned.

"You'll be okay, you won't die, alright?" Danny stated, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. Mr. Jones touched Danny's hand that was applying pressure to the wound. "Danny...no matter what...p-protect Rachel, alright? Don't...don't let anything h-happen to her." Mr. Jones stated, stopping as he coughed; blood coming out and he winced. "Of course I'll protect her." Danny replied.

Mr. Jones closed his eyes. "Tell Rachel and her mom that I love them."

Danny called 911.

But by the time they had gotten there, they were too late.

That night; at 11:28pm; Mr. Jones had been shot and killed.

And there was nothing Danny was able to do to save him.

One Week Later

Danny sat beside Rachel; the funeral for her father having ended an hour ago. Rachel declined going to the reception. She just wanted to be alone; and Danny went with her.

Rachel looked at Danny; her hair still in the loose bun it was in for the funeral. "Danny..." she started; her voice quiet and barely audible. Danny looked at Rachel. "Yeah?" he asked quietly. Rachel let out a low breath and looked a their entwined hands. "Is...is this supposed to hurt like this?"

Danny watched as Rachel's eyes welled up with tears and she bit her lip. "Because...I...I really don't...I don't like the feeling of losing someone close to me." she whispered; her voice cracking.

Rachel squeezed her eyes shut and let out a quiet sob. Danny moved and pulled her into a hug; pulling her onto his lap and hugging her tightly. Rachel buried her face into his shoulder; wrapping her arms around him and hugging him back. "I...I'm sorry, Danny."

Danny shook his head. "Don't be sorry. Don't you ever be sorry for feeling any emotion." he replied softly.

Rachel nodded into his shoulder and sniffled. "...Danny, I need to tell you something." she whispered quietly. "What is it?" Danny asked; watching as Rachel wiggled and moved off of his lap and back to sitting beside him on the couch. His hand found hers, and she squeezed it, a faint smile appearing on her face, but it quickly faded as she spoke. "Dad...um; Mark...he wasn't my real dad."

Danny bit his lip as Rachel took a deep breath; her hand shaking as she tightened her grip on his hand. "My real father...I...I haven't seen him since I was in eighth grade. I haven't seen him in four years; and that's because...he actually, had raped my mom when she was in college. He was put in jail and...well, Mark, the man who...I knew as my dad, was actually my mom's best friend. They were engaged when that had happened, and, well..."

Rachel's free hand was balled up into a fist; her knuckles white. She let out a shaky sigh. "Four and a half years ago, I met my...biological dad. He had just...showed up at the school. And well...some stuff happened. Long story short, he tried to kidnap me and he...beat me. My mom and Mark, they had no idea how he had gotten out of jail; but this had gotten him sent to a higher security prison and...well; he's not allowed to be in the same city as me or my mom."

Rachel let out a long breath. "I...then met you, about a half a year later. When Sam and I started High School. That...what happened...it made it hard for me, to trust people and be around people I didn't know too well. You and Tucker...were the first people I had managed to befriend, despite my fear."

Danny pulled Rachel into his arms. "I'm...so sorry Rach." he mumbled; Rachel hugging him back.

Danny let out a sigh as he looked at Rachel's sleeping form beside him. He bit his lip and sat up, about to get off of the bed, when the door opened. Danny looked at Rachel's mom, who looked back at him with a tired smile.

"Hey there, Danny. Would you like a cup of tea, or something?"

Danny nodded, and followed her out of the room. Before he closed the door, he looked back at Rachel to make sure she was still asleep. He smiled, and gently closed the door behind him.

When he walked into the kitchen, he spotted Rachel's mother standing by the counter with a steaming mug in her hands; a tired smile still on her face. "What kind of drink would you like?" she asked, setting her cup down. "Ah, um. Maybe some cocoa?" Danny asked, a smile awkwardly making it's way onto his face. The smile on Ms. Jones' face grew slightly, and she chuckled. "Cocoa it is, then."

Danny sat at the table and waited, staring at his hands on the table. Before he knew it, Ms. Jones had set a cup of cocoa in front of him and sat in a spot of her own. Danny took a sip of the warm drink. "So uh, what did you want to talk about?" he asked.

Ms. Jones chuckled. "Rachel always did say you were good at that." she said softly before letting out a sigh. "I wanted to just...talk, if that's alright." she stated, taking a drink of her tea. Danny smiled and nodded. "That'd be fine."

"So, I'd assume Rachel told you about the incident that happened a couple of years ago." Ms. Jones started. Danny nodded. "She just told me today, actually." he said. Ms. Jones sighed. "These things we regret, huh? I...wish she didn't have to go through that. It was...very, very unfortunate. Up until that happened, Rachel had been...well, I guess she was more positive than she is now. However, after that, she had started to get a little bit more cynical. She sort of became somewhat of a realist, you could say."

Ms. Jones paused to take a sip of her tea and sighed. "It was...stressful. She had to go to therapy for a little bit because of it. After she had insisted she stop, she didn't talk to that many people. She had Sam, of course, bless her soul for being such an awesome friend to Rachel. If it wasn't for me being friends with her dad, the two probably wouldn't have met back when they did. Anyway, up until Rachel met you and Tucker, she only had Sam."

Danny nodded. "Sam has said that the two of them were, uh, are, close." he said softly, taking a sip of his own drink. "After the two of you came into her life...I guess you can say she started to open up a little bit more. You guys have been good for her; I've started to see the old Rachel again. The Rachel who would stay up late playing video games or watching her favorite shows; the Rachel who would ask me questions about boys and stay up late talking with me about things."

Ms. Jones paused, and smiled. "So thank you, Danny. Thank you for being there for my daughter. She needed someone like you to help her." she stated. Danny smiled back. "It's no problem, I uh; I really like Rachel."

Ms. Jones let out a chuckle. "Good; because she really likes you too, Danny." she said, smiling. Danny let out a chuckle and finished the drink in his hands. Ms. Jones let out a sigh, running a hand through her bangs. "I'm so glad that today is over." she said quietly.

Danny reached over, resting a hand on top of Ms. Jones'. "I'm sorry; a-again, I mean." he said. Ms. Jones smiled. "Danny, you have nothing to be sorry about. There wasn't anything you could do. You were with him for his last moments and tried to help him. What matters is that you tried. Move on and do your best with your future. That's all that you can do now."