Danny's POV

Sharp pains shot through my side as I bolted through the front door of Casper High at eight ten, cursing to anyone listening that I had to go to school in the first place. All eyes turned towards me as I paused at the door to Mr. Lancers classroom.

I momentarily scanned the room- my classmates curious gazes scanning me back- before walking over to Mr. Lancers desk, grabbing the detention slip out of his hand, and sitting down at my desk. My eyes flickered momentarily over the all too familiar paper, my gaze captured by the corner of another detention slip sticking out behind it. I quickly scanned the other slip, Mr. Lancers sloppy cursive evident on the paper.

'See me after class.'

I sighed as I collapsed into my seat, feeling many a pair of eyes burning through me as I lay my head in my arms, wincing slightly as I shifted, the wetness of my ectoplasm infused blood being soaked into the temporary bandages- the very same bandages that made me late in the first place. Sitting up, I attempted to keep up with the lecture, but the schooling that I have been missing lately was supposed to lead up to this, ergo, I'm lost. I dug through my backpack for my notes- most of which were copied off of Sam or Tuck- and quickly found our more recent lectures. I glanced down at the notes every few seconds, linking information from the notes to the current lesson with ease.

"Can anyone tell me why they think F. Scott Fitzgerald uses these colours to represent Gatsby?" I looked around the room, my classmates turning towards each other with confusion etched into their faces. I knew the feeling. Glancing down at my notes one last time, I raised my hand, Mr. Lancers surprise making him pause before he nodded at me.

"Some of the colours are metallic like gold or silver, which represents his wealth, and the pink and white suits represent his hopes for his and Daisy's love." Mr. Lancer blinked before smiling at me.

"Very good Daniel! Now-" Mr. Lancer winced as the bell interrupted him, frowning as he called out our homework to the horde of teens practically sprinting for the door. With only a few stragglers left, I slowly made my way up to Mr. Lancers desk, careful not to aggrivate my wound any further. "Daniel, can you please help me get some supplies from the supply room?" I frowned, pausing for a second before propping my backpack up against Mr. Lancers desk, following him into another room.

"Sure, Mr. Lancer. Whadda'ya need me to carry?" He closed the door before turning and scurrying past me.

"Come now Daniel, do you really think I would make you carry something if I knew you were injured? I came in here bucause I know your want for secrecy." He pulled out a large box labeled 'essays', opening it up to reveal a vast array of wraps, antibiotics, antifungal, sterile needles, I.V., stitching equipment, a stethoscope, and various other medications that I couldn't hope to pronounce.

"Wow, Mr. Lancer, this is more than just some old first aid kit. Trust me, I know. I had to buy about seven different ones to get my first aid kit together, and this must be at least nine or ten."

"Well, I- I couldn't sleep after we got back. I kept thinking about everything that had happened, and I thought back to everything I'd ever said to you before that and I-" He bit down hard on his lip, so hard I thought it was going to start bleeding, actually.

"Hey, no worries Mr. Lancer. You didn't know. I take pride in my secret keeping abilities thank-you-very-much." I managed to get a small smile out of him, but my own smile turned to a frown when I saw what he was holding. "Hey, don't worry about it Mr. Lancer. I've already bandaged it up, I can sew it up at break."

"What, and let you run around with a gaping wound in your side? Not happening, Mr. Fenton. Besides, I do know how to sew wounds, if that's what you're worried about." He turned back towards me, needle and thread in hand.

"No, no. I didn't know how to sew at the beginning. That didn't stop me. Hence the large scars." I lifted my shirt up and over the wound, the red and green bandages falling immediately when I pulled the release strap, landing in my free hand with a gross plop. I heard Mr. Lancer suck in a sharp breath, pausing a moment before getting to work wiping the blood off of my torso.

I swallowed as I felt the needle repeatedly slide into my skin, the pinch I felt no where near painful, but the thought more uncomfortable than the actual physical stitching. I looked down at the stitching, already feeling my flesh and muscle healing and melding itslelf together as Mr. Lancer turned around to get some fresh wrapping for my side. As I helped him wrap the wound, the late bell for second period rang, making me purse my lips as I thought of my not-so-nice maths teacher giving me some sort of number related punishment.

"Don't worry, Danny. I've got this." He quickly packed up the box before shoving it under the counter with the rest of the inconspicuous looking boxes, picking up a phone that I hadn't seen, since it was behind the kit. "Yeah, hi. It's Mr. Lancer. Can you please call Mr. Telano and tell him that Daniel Fenton is helping me this period? Yes, of course, thank you." I stared at Mr. Lancer as he shuffled over to a tall dresser, opening it and reaching up, pulling the top down. A bed. He had a bed in his classroom. "Its usually for when I have to pull all nighters, but I figure this is a better reason."

"Mr. Lancer, you don't have to-" he raised his hand, stopping me midsentence.

"You lie there and rest, I have a class to teach. Use your phone, do whatever. There's a plug to your right side, I know you brought your charger, Mr. Fenton, you all do." He exited the supplies room, closing the door as he apologized to his students, explaining that he was stuck looking for some paperwork. I smiled as I layed on the bed, my back to the floor, and closed my eyes. I finally wouldn't get yelled at for sleeping through classes! Thank you Mr. Lancer! I stretched as I stifled a yawn, my side twinging in protest as I twisted onto my good side and curled up into a ball.

•~•~•

"Mr. Fenton? Danny, you need to eat." I groaned and stretched as I forced open my eyes, only to find Mr. Lancer hovering over me with two trays of lunch in his hands, though it wasn't the usual slop that they gave out. He sat a tray on my lap, along with a fork and spoon. "Its from the teachers lounge. I figured that that slop they call lunch wouldn't do much for your healing, so I made sure to get everything you would need. Protien, grain, vitamins, dairy..."

"Mr. Lancer you really don't have to-" he shook his head, taking a bite of broccoli.

"I know I don't have to Danny. But neither do you, is that going to stop you?"

"I... suppose not."

"And why is that?" He raised one eyebrow, looking directly at me as I swallowed a bite of potatoes.

"Because it's the right thing to do." I didn't even hesitate, my mouth moving faster than my brain and answering before I could even stop to think.

"Then we understand each other perfectly. Eat up, you need it."

"Wait, Mr. Lancer, is it really lunch time? What about my classes?"

"Despite not needing as much sleep, you still need some, and you're not getting it. Besides, as far as students and faculty know, you're helping me with a ghost related project of mine for class tomorrow. They understand why I didn't want to call your parents in, and they want to avoid having them in if at all possible, so they won't be asking many questions." I paused, my fork of roast beef almost halfway to my mouth, just hovering.

"You thought of everything, didn't you? How could I ever repay you?"

"Taking care of yourself, for one. Letting me help you, of course. Maybe even, heaven forbid, let someone else deal with the ghosts every once in a while." I shook my head. Was he kidding?

"No, seriously-" His jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing into a glare as he sat down his tray.

"No, seriously. Take care of yourself. Look at yourself, Daniel. You're thin, covered in scars and bruises and lesions- it's not good for you, Danny. It really isnt." I poked at my food, taking another bite as I stared down at my tray. He was right, but I couldn't just... stop.

"I can't just... I can't just leave the ghosts out there. Who's gonna get them? My parents? I don't think so."

"The red huntress-" I lifted my hand and shook my head, cutting him off. I'm not gonna reveal Valerie, but I'm not about to get her killed to save my own ass.

"Is also a teenager with a secret identity. She also doesn't have as much stamina or pain tolerance that I do. She'd be killed on the first day, or someone else would be because she's out of commission. Look, Mr. Lancer, it's fine, I promise. Would it make you feel better if I tried to eat and sleep a little more?" He nodded, so I shoved another bite of food into my mouth, chewing, and swallowing.

"Thank you, Daniel." He picked up his own tray as I finished mine off. I looked at him as I swallowed my last bite of food.

"Huh? For what?"

"For doing what you're doing. Your parents hunted you, the red huntress hunts you, and yet you still do everything in your power to protect them, even if they would not return the favour." He finished his food and grabbed my tray, throwing them in the bin in the corner of the room.

"Hunted me. The red huntress hunted me. We have a sort of truce now. But regardless, of course I have to protect them. They were just doing what they thought was right, protecting their families from an evil ghost. They did nothing wrong." Mr. Lancer shook his head.

"You are wise beyond your years, Danny. Still, you must be careful. I cannot imagine your body can take much more of a beating after these few years."

"Mr. Lancer, this is honestly the best I've felt in a long time. I'm okay, I swear. Thanks for letting me stay."

"Hold on, first I want to change your bandages. What do you gave fifth and sixth?" I sighed, lifting my hand and phasing the bandages off.

"Chemestry fifth, sign language sixth." He nodded as he tied off the bandage.

"Alright, at least you're out of P.E. try not to do anything too strenuous, alright?" I smiled, picking up my phone, which I had sat to charge, and my backpack, which had showed up next to me at some point. Mr. Lancer must have brought it in. I smiled at him.

"I'll try, but no promises. Thank you, Mr. Lancer, really." He smiled back, walking over to the door and holding it open as I walked out.

"Anytime, Danny, all you need to do is ask. Maybe next time we'll work on all those missing assignments."

"That would actually help me a ton, thanks Mr. Lancer!" I paused as the end of lunch bell rang. "Sorry, gotta run. Thanks again!" I spun on my heel and bolted out the door as other students poured in, making my way to my next period.

So y'all can thank marianamystery on AO3 for having this chapter today, because they're the ones that inspired me to keep writing! If it weren't for them this wouldn't've been put up so soon, so go give 'em some love! 3